After spending over a decade at a major New York City architecture firm, Hana Getachew decided to embark on a more personal creative journey; merging her love of Ethiopian handwoven fabrics with her career in interior design. She founded Bolé Road Textiles as an homage to her upbringing in a home filled with amazing traditional Ethiopian textiles, creating designs with vibrant colors and graphic patterns that reflect her own personal global modern aesthetic.
This spring, Getachew has partnered with The Met for a new series of textiles inspired by African art.
“The impetus for this collection was the reopening of The Met’s Michael C. Rockefeller Wing for the arts of Africa,” Getachew shares. “I was especially interested in creating a collection inspired by the Museum’s remarkable holdings of African textiles.”
For this collection, Getachew selected three Met pieces as sources of inspiration:
- A khasa, or personal covering: a neutral wool textile created in the mid-20th century by the Fulani peoples in Mali.
- A kpoikpoi, or prestige hanging: an early 20th-century piece by the Mende or Vai peoples in Sierra Leone.
- An embroidered woman’s wrapper: a richly detailed garment created by the Wodaabe-Fulani peoples in Niger.
“Each piece captivated me with its unique design and craftsmanship,” Getachew explains. “The khasa blanket reminded me of the traditional Ethiopian gabi, immediately drawing me in. The kpoikpoi is a textile I’ve admired for years — its exquisite color and pattern combinations and the masterful multi-panel construction left a lasting impression on me from the first moment I saw it. And I was particularly intrigued by the embroidered woman’s wrapper, with its intricate, hand-stitched designs.”
The khasa blanket and kpoikpoi hanging were reimagined into two throw designs. For the khasa, Getachew distilled the motifs into a minimalist composition of stripes and dashes that mirror the scale and proportions of the original. With the kpoikpoi, a more playful approach was taken, utilizing a palette of vibrant poppy, pink and orange. Each throw is paired with coordinating table linens that extend the themes of the textiles into the home. The embroidered woman’s wrapper was transformed into a hand-embroidered scarf, made in Brooklyn in collaboration with textile artist Krystle Collins.
“My intention with each piece was to honor and pay homage to the original artworks so that the conversation could be as much about their lineage and craftsmanship as it is about this new collection,” Getachew concludes. “I’m especially proud to create this collection with my longtime partners in Ethiopia, Sabahar, who have been with Bolé Road since the very beginning. This spring, as we celebrate our 10-year anniversary, it feels especially meaningful to highlight the enduring skill and artistry of African textile traditions. The pieces Sabahar’s artisans hand-dyed, hand-loomed, and hand-stitched for this collection are a living testament to that legacy.”
Browse the full collection here.
Like what you see? Get it first with a subscription to aspire design and home magazine.