Ilé Ilà - 'Our chairs are functional art'

Images of Àdùnní range by Emmanual Oyeleke Photography

Tosin Oshinowo, the founder of lifestyle furniture brand Ilé Ilà, can sum up the inspiration for her range of handcrafted chairs in one word: “colour”. For proof, check out the Lagos company’s latest radiant design, Àdùnní – an armchair and accompanying foot-stool upholstered with a choice of seven shades of the vibrant Yoruba textile Asò-oké. As with all Ilé Ilà products, design and production is proudly Nigerian from start to finish.

The cloth is hand-loomed here and a team of Lagos carpenters working with locally sourced teak create the chair’s frame while design inspiration has come from homegrown muses such as singers Adekunle Gold and Chidinma Ekile as well as creative designer Oladotun Ojuolape Kayode. The results, which Oshinowo describes as “functional art”, blend traditional and modern Africa as well as comfort and functionality. Here the designer and architect (she designed Maryland Mall, known as the ‘Big Black Box’, in Lagos) shares her thoughts on why creativity loves challenge, how collaboration has taken her in new directions and why chairs are supposed to be special.

Living in Lagos has taught me that creativity comes from confinement

When you are stuck in a box you have to be learn to be creative with the elements of the limitations surrounding you. I grew up in a Lagos in the 1980s under a military regime and it was difficult to get anything brought in from the outside. We learnt to be creative, to learn to make things yourself actually out of imitation to replicate things you have seen in the outside world. In doing that you start to be creative Chidinma Ekile beyond what you are referencing. A lot of the creativity I have today is based on that.

Our furniture is aspirational and I think that’s how it should be

There is something really strong about the Àdùnní line. I don’t think it’s the kind of piece where you have three or four in your home. It is special and the price [US$ 1,975] reflects that. It’s functional art and I like the fact that purchasing them means something to people. I have met couples that bought this chair for their first home together so I know they value and appreciate the item. They tell me they saved up to buy it and it means something special.

I think there are certain things that should remain aspirational.

Tosin Oshinowo, image by August Udoh

Àdùnní range by Emmanual Oyeleke Photography

However, we are working on a new range of flat-pack furniture, which will be affordable to all Nigerians

We have had a number of international orders for the Àdùnní chairs, but they have proved expensive to package and ship out of the country It made me start to think about flat pack furniture. I began to create a line of furniture that is easy to assemble at home and I hope will appeal to young families, newlyweds and students. By producing more and quickly we can make this furniture more affordable to the average Nigerian and it will also be easier to export. I don’t want to lose the authenticity or design flair we have had with our use of Asò-oké fabrics, but design should be for everyone and that’s why the new range we are working on is quicker to manufacture, easier to afford and accessible to all.

I wanted to go in a slightly different direction with this new collection. That’s the beauty of this chair line – we’ve produced three designs so far [Àdùnní, the funky, modern Line Chair and the Victorian armchair-influenced Ite, which has a rocking chair option] and the fourth is the opportunity to push this idea of flat pack.

It’s been on hold for a while because of all the other things I have on at the moment, but I hope we will Tosin Oshinowo bring it out mid to late 2021 and I am very excited about it.

I use a different side of my brain for furniture design compared to when I’m designing buildings

I think space should be designed so it’s flexible. When you work as a designer or an architect you are constantly producing for other people and I think it has come more naturally to me to believe I am creating a canvas that will be occupied by other people so there is an element of detachment, but with my furniture I start to think about if I was designing my space how would I create that. Ilé Ilà is it was born out of genuine, personal interest. I have a lot of colourful pieces of furniture in my home with very neutral walls and being able to take that colour and this idea of my own tastes and see so many people reference and aspire towards it and want these pieces makes me really happy.

I believe wholeheartedly in collaboration. It forces you to challenge your idea of creativity, while also learning and evolving as a designer by working with others

Collaboration pushes your creative boundaries

I believe wholeheartedly in collaboration. It forces you to challenge your idea of creativity, while also learning and evolving as a designer by working with others. There is something very beautiful about having an idea and being able to thrash it out with someone else. I am currently doing a design collaboration with a textile designer. The work we have produced is out of this world and it’s stuff I wouldn’t have produced in isolation.

Another collaboration was with [award-winning artist] Victor Ehikhamenor. We did an interior exhibition [Angels and Muse, Ikoyi] together, which showed on Netflix series Amazing Interiors. It pushed my boundaries and understanding of internal space. I would never have created it on my own. True creativity comes from bouncing ideas off other people and you become a true creative and broaden your spectrum by working with others.

Àdùnní range by Emmanual Oyeleke Photography

The first 10 chairs I had made stayed in my house for three months until I gave all but one away to friends.

I had been doing some experiments with Asò-oké and had made a chair for an interiors project that was very well received and then my carpentry team said it made economic sense to produce it in batches so I made 10. I didn’t understand marketing when I started out. For three months they stayed in my house and I ended up giving them away. I did keep one in my house and when Oladotun Ojuolape Kayode, my creative designer for the Adunni range, first came over he saw the chair and said: “Oh My God! This is amazing. How did you come up with this?” He kind of pushed me and said I had something really strong here. We arranged a photo shoot with Adekunle Gold who’s a cultural, conscious artist. We put it on Instagram and the rest is history. All of a sudden everyone was saying: “Oh my God. The colours are so cool.” That’s when I realised I had something, so really the element I had been missing was how to market and communicate and once that format was clear we were sailing.

Chairs are supposed to be special. Ergonomics is important. It has to be practical. It needs to be striking. If it is Ilé Ilà chair it has to be a statement maker.

Find out more

Browse the range at ile-ila.com or follow its social media channels. Facebook: HouseofLines Instagram: ile.ila YouTube: ile ila