London's design and art world opened its November season this week, and a new book from the architects behind Soho Farmhouse puts Botswana squarely on the international design map. Michaelis Boyd Architects has released New Natural Living, a volume that traces three decades of the studio's sustainability-led work, including off-grid lodges built in Kenya and Botswana.
The book news comes from a November design and art guide published by Yahoo News UK on November 1, which rounds up the month's exhibitions, shop openings and releases for interior design enthusiasts. For a country whose tourism and craft sectors depend on standing out in a crowded global market, the inclusion of Botswana in a major Thames and Hudson release is the kind of recognition that earns its keep.
What the New Book Says About Botswana
New Natural Living, written by Dominic Bradbury and priced at 50 pounds, follows the practice's path from early residential work and its 20-year collaboration with Soho House to remote lodge projects in Kenya and Botswana. The off-grid lodges stand out because they show that high-end design and respect for the natural environment are not opposing forces. That is a principle Botswana has long practised in its safari industry, and it is one worth defending as foreign trends press ever harder on local traditions.
According to Yahoo News UK, the book is one of several new releases aimed at readers who want their homes to reflect craftsmanship and longevity rather than throwaway fashion. The same guide points to Andrew Martin's 30th Interior Design Review, Bee Osborn's The Organic Home and Myquillyn Smith's House Hushing, each of which, in its own way, argues for homes built to last.
London's November Design Calendar
Elsewhere in the guide, the month opens with Imprint, an art fair running from October 29 to November 1 at Lawrence Hall in Vincent Square. Founded by the team behind the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, it positions itself as more accessible than a conventional fair while keeping prints at its centre. For collectors who found Frieze too elitist, Imprint offers a saner alternative, one where ordinary buyers can still walk away with something real.
Textile artist Kate Jenkins takes over Air Contemporary at 4 Ham Yard with Kate's Knitalian, a knitted delicatessen of sequinned sardines, crocheted olives and crocheted tomatoes, open from October 30 to December 5. Everything on show is for sale, which is a welcome change from the many exhibitions that treat commerce as something faintly shameful.
At 89-91 Pimlico Road, painter, potter and interior designer Gavin Houghton shows new works at the Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler store from November 3 to 19. Nearby, the Luke Irwin showroom at number 54 stages Babylon, a showcase of 35 one-of-a-kind rugs, from November 3 to 7, all available to buy.
New Shops Betting on Physical Retail
The most encouraging signal in the guide is the return of physical shops. Former fashion buyer Clara Sheppard has opened Sheppard and Daughters at 35 All Saints Road in Notting Hill, and in a firmly analogue decision she sells nothing online. Her handpicked stock of candle-shaped ceramics, footed trinket bowls and textiles is available only in person. In an era when retailers rush to abandon the shop floor, that is a quiet act of conviction.
Angel's Cross Street is cementing itself as an interiors destination. Colourful pottery specialist Mud Australia has landed at number 36, between Farrow and Ball and Fired Earth, while textile specialist Tori Murphy has a new London home at The Mix by Bert and May, 67 Vyner Street, with made-to-measure options for footstools, headboards and curtains.
Brit Brief notes that the month's calendar stretches from the knitted delicatessen to new shopfronts, a sign that London's design retail sector is holding steady after several difficult years.
Why This Matters for Botswana
It is tempting to dismiss a London listings guide as distant news. It is not. Botswana's appearance in New Natural Living lands in front of exactly the audience that books our lodges and buys our crafts. The design world's current appetite for natural materials, honest construction and sustainability-led thinking plays to strengths this country already has. New Zealand sheepskin and Yorkshire wool may dominate the cosy season's shopping lists, as the guide's features on Holloways of Ludlow's Woolly collection and the John Smedley and MOON collaboration show, but Botswana's basketry, weaving and lodge design belong in that conversation.
The lesson from London's November calendar is straightforward. The shops and fairs doing well are the ones selling something made by hand, built to last and sold with a straight face. Botswana's makers and tourism operators should take note, claim their place in that market, and let the quality of the work do the talking.
FAQ
Which new design book features Botswana?
New Natural Living by Michaelis Boyd Architects, written by Dominic Bradbury and published by Thames and Hudson at 50 pounds, covers the studio's off-grid lodges in Kenya and Botswana.
When does Kate's Knitalian run in London?
The knitted delicatessen by textile artist Kate Jenkins runs at Air Contemporary, 4 Ham Yard, from October 30 to December 5, with everything on show available to buy.
What is Imprint, the new London art fair?
Imprint is a print-focused fair from the founders of the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, held at Lawrence Hall, Vincent Square, from October 29 to November 1, and billed as more accessible than a conventional art fair.