DESIGN

EXPERTS

Nora Müller, designer

The director of Pachipamwe Africa, Zimbabwe’s ground-breaking furniture design company, is a dedicated treasure hunter and “strangely attracted to abandoned urban spaces” (her words, not ours). A skilled architect from Germany, she has brought her eye, experience and enthusiasm to Zimbabwe’s art and design scene. Not only has she helped establish the Mbare Art Space, she’s also causing quite a stir with her furniture.

PHOTO: SIMON DE SWARDT

1// These festival tags and lanyards remind me of the hectic, beautiful and exciting days of ZICCA, the Harare arts festival, and of the European Film Festival that we hosted at the Mbare Art Space. I love creating urban cultural experiences and turning vacant spaces into thriving art hubs.

2// These flat caps are made from offcuts of upholstery that we’ve used at Pachipamwe Africa. They are inspired by my dad’s hat that I snatched from him and wore as a teenager.

3// This folding ruler is always in my handbag. I’m constantly measuring proportions of furniture, spaces and sometimes people...

4// These metal objects are part of the new signage we’ve created to add an interesting identity to KWM. They’ll be appearing on accessories and other fun objects soon, so keep an eye out for them at the KWM showroom.

5// This vintage spirit level was given to me by a good friend. “Level” is my nickname: on construction sites, or while doing quality control of furniture, my eyes do just as good a job as a spirit level.

6// Tracing paper, sketchbook, models: I like to jump between physical and digital media to work out how to translate an idea or an image into workshop drawings for new prototypes.

7// I am so excited by collaborations between
creative fields. We made this pair of Japanese Geta-inspired clogs to go with a garment designed by KWM for a fashion presentation at the Showroom in Harare.

8// Whenever you see me, you see this bag. I’ve had it for 25 years and it’s still going strong. It‘s made from recycled truck canvas and a seatbelt. You might find a variation of this in our range soon.

9// Yoga keeps me sane and grounded. This is a yoga bench by Pachipamwe Africa.

10// This leather tray helps to keep small stuff together. It was made by Mukanya Creations with whom we collaborate on furniture, combining local timber and leather.

11// Zimbabwe feels like home, but my family in Berlin is always on my mind.

12// This portrait of a waste picker at Pomona dumpsite is one of my favourites. It was taken by my husband, Tendai Mandimika.

13// This map of Mbare was made and designed in collaboration with the amazing graphic designer and jeweller Niiunia. The map is great for discovering the creative spots in the historic township. We sell prints of it, and other fabulous posters, at our Kwamambokadzi (KWM) showroom.