Mimi Shodeinde’s beautiful furniture at Miminat

Born and raised in London, Mimi Shodeinde is not your typical young creative. The female designer sought to open her own studio for as long as she can remember. In fact, the designer who studied  Interior Architecture at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland actually set up her own studio while still in college in 2014.

Over the past nine years, the design and interior architecture studio called Miminat Designs has focused mainly on private residences. Her clients live throughout the world… from Kuwait to Portugal and Ghana to the United Kingdom.

Shodeinde says that (courtesy of The Bruno Effect), “in a lot of my work, there is a sense of movement that’s frozen in time.” That quote refers to her stunning furniture designs, as well as her lighting pieces. Mostly, the products that are designed at Miminat Designs, appear architectural… it is not surprising that Shodeinde had architectural training.

As for the designer, she hopes to bridge a gap she sees in the market, designs for contemporary pieces that combine craft and innovation. Working with a small team of trusted artisans based primarily in the United Kingdom, the studio is continuously exploring the traditional ways of craftsmanship.

Shodeinde’s pieces are inspired by designs often found in African art and culture; juxtapositioning that design with a modern, minimalist silhouette is what makes Miminat Designs’ pieces so stunning. Her African design influences are courtesy of her Nigerian background. For the designer, she sees it as her mission to present West African design to the Western world… in a new and exciting way.

Specifically, Shodeinde has referenced ancient cultural practices such as (courtesy of Atelier 55), “scarification, the rhythmic lines, and placement of the wood” used to mirror “the patterns seen carved on the faces of traditional Nigerian sculptures” in her designs.

It is helpful that Shodeinde is always obsessing about the manufacturing process… spending hours upon hours with her trusted craftspeople. This checks-and-balances system ensures that her design process starts at the very beginning, when things begin to take shape. Taking an active role early on allows the designer to be aware of all the possibilities that can be created.

Wood was initially Shodeinde’s favorite material… and it has remained as such. In part, wood is beguiling because of its tactile qualities and its ability to be manipulated elegantly. Many of the products in Miminat Designs’ collection have a sensual, female form; this is deliberate! She says, “I love the female body and its fluidity of form. I’m drawn to curves and anything that flows organically. I think there’s something innately sinuous and graceful about the female body and that sometimes consciously and subconsciously influences the way I might design a piece.”

Shodeinde does not have a specific design language, although she is very familiar with Brutalism and the Bauhaus design movement. In addition, the organic style of Art Nouveau-suggestive organic style is also seen in her catalog of products. We prefer to categorize her work using these four adjectives: organic, elegant, feminine, and sensual.

From the designer herself, she says about her work (courtesy of Domus Nova) “I would say that my work rather uses maximalist forms but in a minimalist and graceful way.” We believe there are no better words explaining the work than those… and as for how she describes her work, she calls it (courtesy of an Elle Decoration article by Amy Bradford) “refined elegance.”