We’ve previously featured her collab with furniture brand Popstrukt, and she’s been on our panel discussions at Decorex. Definitely time, then, for an in-depth interview with the talented Bonolo Chepape, founder of interiors brand Lulasclan.
WORDS Steve Smith
She’s a multidisciplinary textile artist and surface designer, an illustrator, an entrepreneur, and the founder of homeware and textile design studio Lulasclan – a brand known for its bold, geometric-patterned, Afro-modern aesthetic. Originally from Rustenburg, Bonolo Chepape was accepted at Wits to study medicine before the world of design got her attention. A trip to Mozambique ignited a passion for patterns and textile design – a talent that was recognised at the 2018 100% Design Africa showcase, when Bonolo was awarded Best Textile Design. From there, a stellar rise has seen MRP Home and H&M collabs, and the start of her own brand. Here is a snippet of Bonolo’s – and Lulasclan’s – story (you can find the full story in VISI 137).
Have there been any milestone moments or projects that have significantly shaped Lulasclan’s growth?
I think attending Shoppe Object new York and Maison Objet in the previous year really created a shift in the business, the exposure has been one that I’m truly grateful for, it sharpened the view on which spaces / partners and retailers our products speak too, as well as allowed us to export internationally aiding us in slowly growing our international foot print.
My creative process is influenced by …
thoughts I’ve been pondering on, whether exploring an idea, or nostalgic memories that I’ve kept at bay whilst researching or gaining further experience on the subject matter over time. I read a lot, I write a lot, and design and create patterns each day. These daily micro processes hone my skills, making it an act of love that I practice everyday, whether there is a collection in the making or not.
This phase is usually to pin down and gain clarity on the story and feel of a collection. This organic and less structured way to ideation then takes a more structured approach when I’m ready to put ideas down to paper and the story is concrete. I gravitate towards which ever medium can best translate the idea or the information download. Sometimes I sketch or out the idea and other times I go straight to the technological tool which is my design software. I try not to hinder the design flow with too much thought especially during this phase – for me it needs to be as organic and intuitive as possible.
Once the designs are finalized I then look at the application and medium that can best tell the story of the pattern. I will look at fabric choices, sourcing suppliers, makers and manufacturers, and applicable printing or making techniques. A product development and sampling phase is then crucial in testing key aspects of quality, durability and supply of raw material. After the final phase of testing and inspection, I then take the product to market – this process involves feedback with our clients a form of a beautiful co-creation that happens where we gain market feedback to further enhance or improve the product, so sometimes no one item is the same.
What do you hope people feel or experience when they engage with your designs?
I always say, it brings me joy creating every design, and that is the feeling I want people to experience when interacting with the work, I would love that this joy is something that collectors of our homeware experience every time they sit down to sit at a table wrapped in our tablecloths or sitting on a couch along side our scatters its always been about sharing this feeling with people so that they too can share it with the people they love it’s about having people experience a little piece of this African Joy.
What advice would you give to young designers looking to build their own brands in South Africa?
The advice I would give would be, just start somewhere, anywhere, the reality is you won’t have all the answers figured out at the start of the journey but the beautiful puzzle you are building will all start to make sense along the way, so have grace on the process and on the growth, every step amounts to progress and that’s always better then not taking a step at all.
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