All images courtesy of the Wexler Gallery.
Back in February, Jon Binzen and I visited the Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. We had the pleasure of meeting Jomo Tariku, a designer and woodworker from Ethiopia. His exhibition featured a large body of work inspired by African design, through historic artifacts, wildlife, and landscapes. Over thirty years of research and industrial design is reflected in his furniture, through the execution and creativity in his pieces.

Many of his pieces were displayed with the inspiration above or beside it. Jomo says “I’m showing you these inspirational works above mine, to demonstrate what designers can do when they take ideas from any place – for me, Africa – and do, through testing, sketching, ideation, create new pieces.”

Jomo works from small shop, but outsources many of his furniture pieces to larger shops who can accommodate his production needs. These craftspeople, all across the US, are often working on one of two of his pieces exclusively, to ensure the design is executed to the best quality possible. David Bohnhoff, a furniture maker in Columbia, Virginia worked with Jomo on the first iterations of the “Nyala chair”, a three legged chair inspired by an antelope with the same name. David Sterling, a woodturner in Richmond Virginia handles his large turned pieces like the “Mukecha Stool”. Justin Nelson of Fernweh Woodworking, in Bend, Oregon are producing a small run of his Nyala chairs as well.

You can find Jomo’s pieces in places like the Met and Philadelphia Museum of Art, and can view more of his furniture and design work at www.jomofurniture.com. The opportunity to engage with these pieces up close was inspiring, and I hope you find the same in this intimate interview.
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