This year, FENDI has invited Mabeo, the furniture and accessories brand and associated design studio from Botswana, Africa, to develop products that build on their ongoing research into craft specializations. Consulting with artisans spread across the country, Mabeo travelled many kilometers to inform the project’s collaborative development and bring together the techniques and viewpoints that exist between the various craft activities of Botswana.

Following creative meetings in Rome with Kim Jones, Silvia Venturini Fendi and Delfina Delettrez Fendi, a collection of ten pieces of furniture made up of distinct interrelating methods has been realized. Whilst some products were the sole responsibility of individual artisans, others were conceived in a way that required different craftspeople and techniques to collaborate to realize the structure and functionality of a piece.

Moving between one craftsperson and another, both physical and mental distances were covered by Mabeo. What might have appeared to be compromises or disagreements in this process helped to shape their results, creating tangible outcomes through objects that inherently and beautifully reflect these moments.

Mabeo is interested in expressing craft from varied vantage points, contexts and positions. They launched their products internationally in 2006 after 10 years of making bespoke furniture for commercial projects locally and have engaged the design world consistently since then, collaborating with some of the best designers on significant projects and developing a growing collection of products.

Accompanying the collection is a limited-edition publication, a visual record of the various road trips, meetings and works in progress during the collective realization of the collection, alongside schematic drawings for each of the ten pieces.