Sabuku Shelf
Handcrafted by Eric's furniture in 005, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
The Sabuku Shelf is an open shelving unit handcrafted in Kenya from metal and cyprus. It is built as a tall, freestanding frame with five full-width boards, the kind of piece that is assembled slowly and squared by eye. The proportions are deliberately plain, so the timber and the joins do the talking. The structure is a slim metal frame in a dark matte finish, with uprights of flat bar and diagonal cross-bracing set at the back of each bay. Resting within it are wide cyprus boards, pale honey in tone, with a soft satin surface that lets the straight grain and small knots read clearly. The contrast between the fine black lines and the broad timber shelves gives the shelf a light, drawn quality rather than a heavy one. Five open tiers hold a mix of things well: stacked books laid flat, a framed print leaned against the upright, woven baskets for the objects you would rather not see, a trailing plant on the top board. The unit works along a living room wall, behind a sofa, in a home office beside a desk, or in a wide hallway. Because both sides are open, it also stands as a soft room divider. Kenyan makers have long worked cyprus alongside fabricated steel, a pairing that belongs to workshops in and around Nairobi as much as to any design movement. Buying through Kamara means the shelf comes from one of those independent workshops, made in small numbers by people who set the boards themselves.
Price: KES 14,400
Material: metal, cyprus
Dimensions: L 92cm × W 30cm × H 183cm
Availability: In Stock
Category: furniture