Home decorating and exploring faraway places each hold a top spot on our list of beloved pastimes, but just because we cherish both doesn’t mean we don’t also find them daunting. Where to source those finishing touches that make a room feel complete can be as puzzling as trying to grasp the culture of another land.
 
With an eye for design and a desire to make her nation feel less enigmatic to outsiders, stylist Alexia Kondylis opened Deep Dark Africa. Specializing in fair trade, contemporary wares from South Africa, Kondylis’s boutique sheds light on and promotes the beauty and rich creativity of her continent, where art is often seen as the means to a better life.
 
Spruce up that bare wall with a Plastic Nguni, a playful cow trophy made of recycled plastic bottles and reclaimed wood and wire. Goose Egg Cups transform hardboiled eggs from ho-hum to hooray, and Wooden Hearts, carved from organic Jacaranda wood in Kenya, add a touch of warmth to any home or garden.
 
And for you, queen of the hearth, Deep Dark Africa offers a selection of elegant adornments. Our favorites? The striking Cotton & Brass Necklace, featuring Ethiopian beads and yarn dyed by women in South Africa, and the Chunky Horn Bangle, hand-carved in Kenya.
 
* To off-set the carbon footprint of your shipment, Deep Dark Africa invites you to donate a tree to under-greened schools in Cape Town via Green Pop.