MOGAU SESHOENE
At the age of 25, NTHABI TAUKOBONG was the lead interior designer on the project to redesign the Blue Train, an experience that would transform her notions of interior design.
After all the years, it FINALLY FELT as if I had FOUND MY SOUL in design.
My job was to help with the selection of fabric schemes and to come up with a new carpet design, forever conscious of our South African inspiration and the link to our then changing times. I was working with my colleague, Nessa, most of the time at the office and at the train, which was parked in Pretoria. And when it came to sourcing accessories, it was often with my colleague Karen. We visited art galleries, went to local markets, met forgotten South African artists and selected suitable pieces in alignment with the mobile gallery we were now designing for.
Our search for African artefacts and accessories led us to Amatuli. This was the late 1990s and their warehouse was in a rundown house in Corlett Drive, Johannesburg.We quickly learnt that during these out-of-office days, we would have to tone down our cream suits and pearl jewellery. Amatuli was like walking through the dusty streets and jungles of Africa. It felt as though we had stepped back in time.The house was crammed to capacity with different African wares, all with a story of their original location. I was a bit nervous at first, not sure if I would find anything in such a mishmash of items. There were different rooms with fabrics, baskets, sculptures, wood carvings, beadwork and furniture. I walked around in silent awe … I was in love.
The high-end luxury design world I had been exposed to slowly began to dissolve and soon I was finding every excuse to visit this creative hub. I loved the smell of Africa in those rooms; I loved touching and holding the artefacts and getting to know the inspiration and story behind each of the designs. Having grown up in Durban, I used to spend my weekends walking along the beach and talking to the mamas and aunties who had small stalls showcasing their baskets, colourful beadwork and hand-carved wooden items and other Zulu artefacts.
At Amatuli there were metres and metres of beautiful textured fabrics, all made in Africa, far from the mills I had visited with the designers at our office. I felt like I was finally home. I found a place that I could relate to, creatively. Until that moment, I had not yet been exposed to the greater magnificence of African designs from the rest of the continent and Amatuli, along with other markets in Johannesburg, allowed my perfectly groomed designer mind to run free.With all of the luxuriously styled interiors I had become used to designing, the markets made me understand that I had a responsibility to thread this love for all I was seeing into my own world of design.
After all the years, it finally felt as though I had found my soul in design. I didn’t recognise how deep that finding was at the time, but those initial days of sourcing all things proudly African were definitely when my love for being “an interior designer in Africa” began.