DESIGN
The designer Eva Sonaike reflects on the value of uplifting interiors and finding creative fulfilment through her evolving brand.
EVA SONAIKE’S PASSION FOR INTERIORS BEGAN with her childhood doll’s house. ‘I remember the delight I got from playing with it, making little items of furniture, furnishings from old curtains and wallpaper from magazine cuttings,’ says the designer from her north-London studio. Today, she finds a similar happiness in decorating spaces in her distinct style, which combines different aspects of her heritage. Born and raised in south Germany by Nigerian parents, she is drawn to the brightly patterned textiles prevalent in West Africa, as well as the mid-century European furniture she grew up with.
Sonaike moved to England to study at the London College of Fashion in the late Nineties, after which she took a job as a fashion editor and the UK correspondent for German Elle, ‘but I never felt satisfied in terms of my creative output’, she says. She found her professional calling while on maternity leave in 2007, as she sought to decorate her house with luxury pieces that reminded her of home. ‘Nothing seemed representative of who I was,’ she explains, ‘so I took things into my own hands and created a small collection of African-style cushions.’ With the help of a manufacturer in east London, Sonaike produced a handful of designs in multiple colourways. When she showed them to a buyer for Selfridges, they immediately put in an order – with Liberty and Fenwick following soon after. ‘That was my entry into the homeware world. It opened all the doors and gave me the confidence that there was a market for my work.’
She launched her brand in 2009 with a range of digitally printed cushions, rugs, pouffes, lamps and wallpapers inspired by various places in West Africa. The curved motif of her fuchsia-pink Ona cushion (meaning ‘passage’ in Yoruba) takes its cue from the flora of the Botanical Gardens at Aburi in Ghana; her circular yellow Ayo lampshade (‘ joy’) celebrates the Hausa architecture of Kano, northern Nigeria’s largest city; and the indigo Odi pouffe (‘new life’) is adorned with a batik print. She also cites the influence of fellow creatives from the West African diaspora, including her friend Yinka Ilori; Tola Ojuolape, who redesigned the Africa Centre in Covent Garden; and the artists Yinka Shonibare and Kehinde Wiley. Her greatest inspiration, however, comes from regular trips to Nigeria. ‘The bold colours of the clothing, the plants, the textures… I’ll be in Lagos for 48 hours and I’ll already have a new collection in my head.’
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