In the Lesire Collection, Botswana-based designer Peter Mabeo highlights the beauty of panga panga wood + the masterful skills of local craftsmen.

Textiles and furniture often go hand in hand, but for Peter Mabeo’s Lesire Collection, textiles became the inspiration for something far more solid. The Botswana-based furniture designer, founder of Mabeo Studio, pays homage to the intricate lace crochet techniques perfected by South African women during the 1900s. Lesire, which means ?wedding veil? in Tswana, refers to a textile known for its distinctive scallop edged detail. Mabeo has skillfully translated this delicate pattern into a hardwood furniture line, Lesire Collection, that not only showcases the craftsmanship of the local artisans, but also provides them with a global platform to share their talents, with the collection now available through Design Within Reach. Lesire Storage Bench
Lesire Storage Bench
At the heart of the collection is panga panga wood, a durable hardwood from Southeast Africa that?s prized for its resistance to insects and fungi. This choice of material grounds the collection in its surroundings ? an essential principle for Mabeo. ?We find that looking for design directions that are universally applicable in a world that is separated from us, is easier when we reach for what is around us with care,? the designer explains. ?Our craftwork finds a place when we start from what is familiar and what we appreciate, translating either litera...