Journals

Fittingly in a French-Senegalese café  in Harlem, New York City,  Les Ambassades , I had the pleasure of finally meeting, in person, Fatimata Ly, ceramic designer, currently based in London.   Over café crèmes (similar to latte and cappucino), madeleines, spicy fish patties, and "Robespierre" lamb French baguette sandwiches, she told me a bit of her journey in design, between Dakar and London, with a few other African cities in between. We met through common friends who live in NYC.   From 2000 through 2005, Fatimata managed a gallery, "Terang’Art,"  in a Dakar neighborhood named "Point E," close to the Dakar Patisserie “Les Ambassades”. She'd draft designs which she'd have executed in various places such as Burkina Faso, and Mali. As her husband was working in London, she was on the road quite a bit, sometimes switching planes in Paris at 4 a.m. (it sounds exciting, but in real life, it isn't!). She hand-packed her own containers for travel, as there were so many fragile items and she couldn't entrust them to the professionals.   When she was at the Dakar gallery,  she encountered some difficulties; the expatriate Europeans who would come in and unfailingly ask whether the designer was a European, thinking that she was just a saleslady, and once a Dutch customer even went so far as to accuse her a plagiarizing a European designer. In general her customer base included expatriates from other African countries and a few locals, many of which were women. Another obstacle was customs, where corruption reigned. She and her sister, 2 young Senegalese women, were no match for the seasoned customs officials, and they didn't have the experience of the renowned "Nana Benz," formidable West African businesswomen who are named for the Mercedes-Benz cars they usually drive, and who are very hard-nosed in business transactions, thus their financial success.    After 5 years of struggling, Fatimata moved the gallery to her family compound, near the Corniche, a less desirable area commercially, as the traffic has become too busy. Her mother continues to manage the sales, mainly West-African crafts. Fatimata herself returned to London, as she had been bitten by a passion for ceramics, and went to Central Saint Martins for a B.A. in ceramic design.   In the meantime she has set herself up in business again as a designer and you can see some of her current ceramics designs here, and on her website  www.fatimataly.com . She also writes a  blog  which is a showcase for contemporary design, craft and art.    From my own experience as the spouse of an architect/designer, I know how difficult it is to gain notoriety as a designer from a non-European country, especially Sub-Saharan Africa. When a European designer is inspired by Africa, India or China, it is highlighted in the media, but the designers who are themselves from these areas have a lot more trouble, whether obtaining media exposure, or even recognition of their talent. Back home, of course, there are still the leftover effects of the colonial mentality, where only "white" products are of any good. Hence you'll see the wealthiest households sporting what an interior designer friend of mine used to mockingly call "Louis Chaise" (inspired by, and rhyming with, "Louis Seize"--Louis the sixteenth--but in this case meaning "Louis Chair," i.e. a mish-mash of overly elaborate 18th century-style furniture, preferably with gold paint). Thanks to social media outlets, the gates of information are being pried open, and thank you to Fatimata for providing an online showcase of African design.