One to Watch
Showcasing the work of Mimi Shodeinde, designer and founder at Miminat Designs
Words by Emily Martin
Who
Meet Mimi Shodeinde, founder of Miminat Designs, which she founded in 2015 while still a student at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. After completing her interior and spatial architecture course in 2017, she committed to her company full-time from 2018, where it designs furniture, lighting, sculptural objects, and interior spaces. Shodeinde says: ‘With my sculptural design pieces, I aim to break down the relationship between form and function, allowing art and design to intersect. My work dovetails an artistic aesthetic with architectural discipline, and the spaces I create embody a relaxed elegance.’ Shodeinde’s team assist with projects while working remotely around the world, which helps the studio’s various projects which are located across the globe in different time zones. One of Shodeinde’s first designed pieces is a sinuous Bentwood Dip Lounger Chair in 2016 and she says that, while she still adores it, her style has developed over the years.
Why
Shodeinde describes growing up in London with two entrepreneurial parents. Her mother ran several businesses and her father trained as an architect before exploring other pursuits with both parents inspiring her. ‘Watching [my mother’s] dedication and passion was a huge inspiration…and [my father’s] training combined with his industrious nature helped shape my desire to set up my own studio in the field. Collectively, their values, resilience and work ethic have been hugely influential,’ she says. The studio currently has projects in Portugal, Lagos, Kuwait and London as well as working on a new series of furniture for a British design house to be unveiled this year. ‘I’m hoping to get a new dedicated studio space early this year to showcase a bit more of what our studio is about,’ Shodeinde concludes.
Where
www.miminat.com | @miminat_designs
1. Malaga project
The Malaga project was a restoration of a stately building, built-in the 1900s. The clients wanted to keep certain elements like the beams and fireplace, but wanted the space to be more relaxed/fresh. Miminat tiled the fireplace with rustic Oxide tiles and bleached the beams to make the space feel lighter and airier. The statement architecture utilising natural stone around the pool creates incredible shadows throughout the day.
2. Wesbourne Grove project
For this project in Westbourne Grove, London, the studio was asked to remodel the communal living spaces in Mimi Shodeinde’s ‘raw luxe style’. The studio chose to focus on texture, warmth, and light. One of the hero pieces within the space is the Jude Pendant, which sits above the dining table. The softly smoked polycarbonate glass panels of the pendant light fall on hand-polished brass linear bars and the warm LED strip panels serve to illuminate the relationship between the modernist and the ornate on this elegantly layered ceiling installation.
3. The Howard Series
The Howard Series is a new collection of collectible furniture inspired by aviation and featuring dynamic angles and volumes. Taking its inspiration from recordsetting American pilot Howard Hughes, the five-piece collection explores gravity, balance and form. A continuation of the Howard Desk which Mimi Shodeinde created for the Design Museum in 2021, the final series comprises a daybed, dining table, sofa, low table and desk. Sculpted from European oak wood, titanium travertine, stainless steel and aluminium, each piece is united by a refined rawness which characterises much of Shodeinde’s work.
