Copyright © 2025 Motivate Media Group. All rights reserved.
The vases are made in metal and wood as a nod to the designer's heritage
Mimi Shodeinde – founder of London-based design studio Miminat – has rapidly made a name for herself through her artistic sensibility and architectural discipline, creating objects and interiors that are bold and confident in their vision yet still embody a feeling of softness and sensitivity.
Her latest creation – the NRIN vases – further reflects this approach. The series of sculptural vessels pays poetic tribute to the female form, with a name derived from the Yoruba word for ‘female’ (obinrin), as well as to Shodeinde’s Nigerian heritage. Rendered in wood and metal, the design showcases the way a cool material like metal can metamorphose into a seemingly liquid form, giving it a sense of feeling, energy and movement.
Processed with VSCO with kp8 preset
The flowing shape of the metal echoes the softness of the female form, while the mirrored finish is a nod to inner reflection, allowing both sides to be seen as one. Upon closer inspection, the cast aluminium that surrounds the vessel is subtly grained with textures that represent the pollen grains of flowers, which the vessels will hold.
The central wooden column, on the other hand, signals strength and stability and references the African materiality which inspires Shodeinde’s work.
Processed with VSCO with kp8 preset
“For me, wood is definitely the material I love to play with the most because it represents so much of my heritage,” Shodeinde explains. “It’s such a strong, ancient material that can be manipulated in so many ways. Metal, too, is an incredibly noble material, with the capacity to take so many forms – just as the female body is continually moulded and remoulded and capable of carrying another body. The material choices are all rooted in the strength of the female body.”
NRIN has been fully handmade in Manchester in the UK, where the metal and the wooden columns have been hand-casted, hand-poured, -carved and hand-finished. “It’s a very intimate, sculptural and personal process,” says Shodeinde.
Processed with VSCO with ih5 preset
Here, organic gestures are created in harmony with more stoic forms, while maintaining the coherent use of materials. All in all, NRIN is a well-executed experiment in contemporary sinuous shapes that are both functional yet elegant in form.
The dinner was the first of its kind in the Middle East that connected female industry professionals
Inside the Foster + Partners designed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pavilion at Expo2025 Osaka
Efie Gallery relocates to Alserkal Avenue and hosts the Middle Eastern debut of María Magdalena Campos-Pon’s solo exhibition
This month, we shed light on innovation and what propels the industry in terms of creativity.
These internationally and locally renowned architecture firms will bring to life 10 distinct villas
Designed by Antoine Grulier and crafted by 13Desserts, Byblos is a versatile aluminium piece that seamlessly blends functionality and aesthetics.
Understated Luxury Meets Urban Heritage at the Hari Kong Kong
Marcantonio’s Terra pouf for Natuzzi Italia is a statement of conscious craftsmanship
Not to be underestimated, here’s where side tables take centre stage
The project combines both commercial office spaces and industrial warehouses
Paul McClean and Michael Webb explore the art of liveable modernism in their latest Rizzoli book
Kettal’s Pavilion H blends aesthetics and functionality