Eva Sonaike
London, UK
Textiles
London, UK
Discipline: Textiles
Region: Europe
Eva Sonaike is a London-based lifestyle company using African prints and African inspired textiles to create beautiful fabrics and luxurious accessories for home décor, fashion and interior design.
Our mission, 'Bringing Colour to Life' is reflected in signature collections of cushions, bags, notebooks, footstools, fabrics and furnishings, combining the richness of the African aesthetic with the finest velvets and leathers.
Creative Director Eva Sonaike graduated with an MA in Fashion from the London College of Fashion, where she specialized in contemporary African fashion and African textiles. She then pursued an editorial career working as UK Fashion Editor for Hubert Burda Media for five years, working for German Elle, InStyle and Focus.
Driven by her enormous passion for colour and African print fabrics, she began producing cushions with African wax fabrics as a hobby, and then gave up her journalism career to focus full-time on building the Eva Sonaike brand.
Eva, who was born and raised in Germany and is of Nigerian origin, has taken the best elements of European and African cultures to inspire her work. Her designs draw from the two distinct influences of colourful African clothing culture and European antique and mid century furniture traditions. Emphasis is placed on hand finishing, distinct designs and high-quality manufacturing. All our products are manufactured and printed in England.
The Eva Sonaike brand is regularly featured in high–end press and media coverage of products with luxury African prints, tribal prints and ethnic prints.
Eva Sonaike products have since then been stocked worldwide in such prestigious stores as Liberty, Fenwick of Bond Street and Selfridges in London, Globus in Switzerland, Temple Muse in Lagos, ABC Carpet & Home in New York and Indigo Living in Hong Kong.
Johanna Howard
Montclair, NJ
Textiles
@johannahowardhome
www.johannahoward.com
Montclair, NJ
Discipline: Textiles
Region: United States - Mid Atlantic
Johanna Howard Home and Accessories is a line of Sustainable Luxury Alpaca home décor products featuring the finest alpaca wool fiber. We combine a modern high design Scandinavian/American aesthetic with the ancient textile traditions of Peru. We do not believe that luxury goods have to be produced in a way that is exploitative of the environment or the people who create them, or that consumers have to sacrifice quality for sustainability.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Johanna Howard grew up in a culture that prizes high design and aesthetics. Her mother owned a small custom-clothing atelier and combined impeccable craftsmanship with a unique sensibility. “My mom didn’t knit snowflakes and reindeer. Her bold designs broke with convention and she used innovative colors and patterns.” And this marriage of artisan quality and unique design continues to define Johanna’s look – inspiring such items as the innovative Beast Pillows.
Johanna moved to the U.S., and developed her design skills in the fashion capitals of Los Angeles and New York as a succesful women’s clothing designer. But on a trip to an alpaca farm with her daughter, inspiration struck. She was immediately taken with the luxurious feel of the alpaca wool and also the fact that it was a far better environmental alternative to cashmere. As a designer, mother, and entrepreneur she immediately recognized the fantastic opportunity before her. Within months, she was in Peru meeting people who are continuing a 6,000 year-old tradition of knitting and weaving with alpaca. “Taking the rich traditions of Peruvian artisan knitters and weavers and blending it with my love and passion for colors and textiles is what makes what we do so special.”
“We create lasting, high-end, quality products that have a positive impact on the world we are leaving to our children as well as the homes in which we are raising them.” Alpaca farming is done in harmony with the environment and does not destroy grasslands and create deserts like cashmere production. And alpaca wool is lightweight, water repellant, warmer than wool, and hypoallergenic. Joining this “treasure of the Andes” with gorgeous designs that enhance any home, and collaborating with fair trade and women-owned studios in Peru, we are able to create an unparalleled product which is the essence of Sustainable Luxury (TM).
Malene Barnett
Brooklyn, NY
Ceramics, Textiles
Malene is available for speaking engagements; inquire below.
@malene.barnett
malenebarnett.com
Brooklyn, NY
Discipline: Textiles, Ceramics
Region: United States - New York
Malene Barnett is an artist, entrepreneur, and authority on the cultural traditions and practices of art in the African diaspora and how it translates into her vision of the modern black experience. From her sculptural ceramic tiles and vessels to mixed media paintings to handwoven rugs, Barnett continues to evolve her craft and share her African heritage with a global audience. Using natural materials like the finest wools, silks, pastels and clay, she uncovers a deeper language of her legacy and an authentic understanding of her cultural identity. A passionate connector and expert ambassador, her mission is to use art as a tool to create community impact and open doors for the next generation of black artists and expand the conversation around marginalization in the arts and create greater opportunities for inclusion.
As the founder of the Black Artists + Designers Guild, a global platform and curated collective of independent black artists, makers, and designers, she is always seeking new ways to define the black narrative and experience for a new generation while bringing awareness to inequality. She’s also on the board for Cerf+, an organization that provides emergency loans to artisans and craftspeople during natural disasters.
Equal parts artist, anthropologist, and activist, she hopes to bridge the function of textiles and ceramics from the African region by exploring what it means to be black in America today.
Her work has been praised in Interior Design Magazine, New York Magazine, Traditional Home, Elle Decor, HGTV Magazine, Luxe + Design Magazine, and House Beautiful. She was also on the cover of Brownstoner Magazine and Wendy Goodman’s Designer Lives video series with New York Magazine’s The Cut. Her entrepreneurial spirit was captured in the NY Times bestselling book “In the Company of Women” and Home by Hygge & West. She has appeared as a guest speaker on Morning Joe, MSNBC Your Business, and TEDx. Malene’s clients include Marriott, Viacom, Saks, WeWork, Avalon Communities, and the MetLife Building. In 2019, she was awarded designer of the year by interiors + sources Magazine and the RADD Award (Real Estate, Architecture, Design Development) from Brownstoner.com.
She is a sought after speaker and has done engagements and keynotes for KBIS, THE D&D Building, United Nations, The Affordable Art Fair, and many others.
Malene Barnett is a certified MWBE studio and is based in Brooklyn, New York and is available for collaborations, public speaking, and business leadership projects.
Xenobia Bailey
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Fine Art, Textiles
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Discipline: Fine Art, Textiles
Region: United States - Mid Atlantic, United States - New York
A Fiber Artist/Designer/Cultural Activist. Based in Harlem, New York/ Philadelphia Pa. Design Mission: Sustain the beauty and raw earthy power of the material culture, originated by African American Homemakers.