Winner Best of 100% New Talent: Sifiso Shange

Furniture manufacturer and crafter Sifiso Shange of Afri Modern is a modern-day storyteller who references Zulu design in his narrative. “I see myself as a vessel between the past and the present. My design story is based on value systems shared with me from my grandparents, uncles, siblings and other relatives.” Drawing on a rich heritage of symbols and sacred geometry and using an innovative colourway of green and black, Sifiso’s Ma Wami Server pays homage to his mother. “Green is the colour of rebirth and new beginnings. Black is the colour of power and eternal life. Mothers give birth and provide us that power, too,” Sifiso says of his choice of hues for the server. Another Afri Modern piece, the Emakhaya Server, is a collaboration with John Vogel of Vogel Design. Complete with horns, it depicts the story of a child’s memory of sitting in the back seat of a car while passing a herd of goats. “I want to create an African luxury brand that becomes a lifestyle,” he says of his work. “I choose symbols with powerful stories in order to give people hope and strength.”