Last Summer, CB2 launched its Black in Design Collective – a collective that celebrates Black designers, artists, and creatives. Now in its second iteration, CB2’s Black in Design Collective is a myriad of projects created in partnership with Black designers around the world, with each designer focusing on a few specific decor or furniture pieces that they believe represent their culture.
Inspiration varied from all over. From the streets of Paris, France, and Lagos, Nigeria, to the Caribbean islands, each piece exhibits a different culture and is unique to the designer who created it. It goes beyond interior design trends and focuses on the designer’s story instead.
Evan Jerry is an interior and product designer based in Canada. He is the owner of product design firm Studio Anansi.
One such designer, Evan Jerry of Studio Anansi, spoke to me about the importance of having such a collective and why it was so important to him to take part in this second launch.
‘It was very important as a designer because entering the zeitgeist and industry 10 years ago, it was very challenging for me to see my culture represented in design. Sometimes, Black-identified interior spaces are represented through craft, like a sculpture or something art-inspired, but it doesn’t have the refined element that design brings,' he says. 'I knew I wasn’t the only designer going through that collective experience, and CB2 gave us the opportunity to express ourselves through design and bring it to the mainstream.’
Upon looking at the collection myself, I was amazed to see that it really did cover so many diverse perspectives and traditions in the Black design industry and worked to explain the significance behind each design choice used – whether that was a spiritual belief translated to materials selected or more modern representations of traditional decorating ideas.
CB2 Black in Design collective
‘The Black in Design Collective is a vision of black connectivity,’ adds Evan. ‘Black creatives are coming together to envision what Black identity looks like through product, and definitely coming at it from a very global and diverse perspective. It's bringing that perspective to celebrate the connectivity of Black culture, but also the uniqueness of Black identities and culture itself.’
Shop CB2's Black in Design Collective spring 2024 launch
Each piece tells such a gorgeous story that it was hard to narrow down my favorites, but hopefully, my selections will be able to inform your own perspective on Black design and how you can bring it to your home.
This gorgeous velvet bench from Evan has a U-shape at the center, in order to symbolize unity in the Black community as a whole: a global group of Black people, cultures, and identities merging as a unit. The thick, solid metal base brings about that sense of stability as well.
With spring coming soon, we’re all thinking about outdoor decor, and this option created by Mariam Issoufou of Atelier Masomi plays up the drama of contrasting colors and a striking diagonal pattern that’s only on one half of the cushion to bring more attention to it.
This striking table lamp was created by Sandra Githinji Studio . The beautiful textures of the wooden base represent traditional African hairstyles, which is seen as a gateway for divine communication. The soft, dimmable bulb is to symbolize the divine realm.
Entirely created in brass (a true feat!) by Studio Lani, the silhouette of this frame draws inspiration from Nigerian cultural symbols, including the Nsibidi unity symbol developed in the southern regions of the country.
Both the base and the top of this solid oak wood coffee table tell a story: The top has a traditional pinwheel pattern, while the legs feature asymmetric horizontal lines, whose geometry echoes the traditional four-legged Kikuyu stools made specifically for women out of singular tree trunks.
This mask puts a modern spin on the Ngil mask of the Fang people of Gabon. It features an elongated face, rounded forehead, arched eyebrows, and slim nose, but is reinterpreted in brass in order to play with light and shadow even more, lending a dramatic effect.
Created by Tavia Forbes and Monet Masters of Forbes Masters, this rug is a testament to Black women and how they take care of their hair: Beautiful and intricate curves of black and gray against an ivory background pay an impactful nod to the style of cornrows, and the fringed edge echoes the texture of hair, too.
Designer Jerome Byron created this aluminum side table to look like a stacked checkerboard, adding a luxe, playful element to any home. Don’t let its lightweight appearance fool you, either: It really is quite sturdy, and the natural variations in the material allow light to reflect beautifully off it.
French design duo Dach & Zephir created this minimalist porcelain vase to mimic the distinctive shape of palm seed pods found in Guadeloupe. The simple flared design up top brings extra pizazz to your blooms.
The Black in Design Collective by CB2, now in its second iteration, explores even more diverse perspectives in the Black design industry and aims to bring Black culture to the mainstream. Spanning traditional furniture pieces and modern decor, each piece has a narrative and will help serve as inspiration when you’re thinking of spring decor ideas.
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