WORDS: UNATHI TWALA (@NDINGUUNATHI). PHOTOGRAPHER: RUSSELL SCOTT


LIFE BY LEXUS 14


THABISA MJO, CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF MASH. T DESIGN STUDIO, IS USING DESIGNS INSPIRED BY SOUTH AFRICAN CULTURE TO BRING LIGHT TO THE WORLD


DESIGN MEETS BUSINESS


E


astern Cape-born Mjo (29) received international recognition when she won the Nando’s Hot Young Designer competition in 2016 for her lampshade, Tutu 2.0, inspired by a xitsonga (a


xibelani skirt). (This despite the fact that she’d never designed anything before.) She created 50 of these shades, which have since been installed in Nando’s restaurants worldwide, including Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. “I don’t say: ‘I’m creating an African aesthetic’,


because to me, there’s no such thing. I create from the most authentic, inner part of my being, which is African – so whatever I come up with must be African too,” she says. “Representation is exactly what I want. It matters, and being a part of that is sublime.” Mjo’s passion for creating beautiful spaces led her


to venture into retail and hospitality design. “I love the idea of creating a product or designing a space to which people have an immediate emotional response. I want to have as many people as possible experience my work and feel joy.”


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