Fagnidi debuts collection of African-inspired furniture
Gary James -- Furniture Today, May 28, 2006
High Point — A new company specializing in contemporary, African-inspired furniture and home accents made its U.S. debut at market here last month.
Based in the Ivory Coast in western Africa, Fagnidi International Group aims to sell its products through high-end retailers and designers in the United States and Canada, where it exhibited last year at the Montreal International Interior Design Show. At the Montreal show, Fagnidi was awarded second prize for excellence in design.
In the United States, the company is represented by Paris Brown, a New York-based interior designer.
"I strive to bring together the traditions of my West African culture with the universal need for comfort and desire for luxury," said Alain-Michel Fagnidi, the line's designer and company president. "At the core of all of my work are the essential values of well-being: tolerance, sharing, joy and faith."
In High Point, Fagnidi featured its Blue Mask collection, including the Alpha chair, a modern-day homage to the iconic African "birthing chair" that is fabled for possessing spiritual powers. Other pieces on display included the Grobri and Guissa cocktail tables, combining mahogany and walnut with etched glass in African motifs; the Deccan chair, wrapped in cognac-colored buffalo hide; the Lagoh gathering table with coordinated tabletop items; and African fabric-covered occasional chairs with leather pillows.
The line also includes accent items such as lamps, wine racks and desk accessories in exotic woods, glass, leather and fabrics.
"We are pleased by the reaction we've gotten here (at market)," said Fagnidi. "The combination of African influences with minimalistic, contemporary forms is a very fresh look that retailers haven't seen before."
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