My African Aesthetic

Kouomegne Celia Kamdom

• Eunice Nanzala Schumacher

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In this episode, Celia shares how a move from Paris to Norway, and a lifelong pull toward design led her to create Oriaku, a jewelry brand that fuses African craftsmanship with Scandinavian minimalism. She reflects on growing up with a seamstress mother who shaped her understanding of fashion, and how lived experiences in different contexts helped her develop her personal design language.

We talk about the work behind her rebrand, the psychology of visual identity, and the ways she reimagines traditional forms—like Fulani earrings—for everyday wear. Celia also offers an inside look at her process of collaborating directly with artisans across Africa, ensuring fair pay, honoring each maker’s strengths, and documenting the histories behind every piece. The conversation expands into identity as well: what it means to find home across Africa, France, and Scandinavia without feeling pressured to choose just one.

Themes: African design, Ethical sourcing, modern minimalism, cultural integrity. 

https://www.oriaku-studio.com/nb, https://www.instagram.com/oriaku_studio/

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Website: https://www.myafricanaesthetic.com/

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to My African Aesthetic. On this podcast, we shed light on the central and important roles Africans themselves have had, have and will have in creating sustainable neighbourhoods and communities in Africa and around the globe. A work centered African aesthetics, African design philosophy and African place-making. We do this through dialogue, project work, research, documentation and education. This podcast features talkable, constructive and reflective conversations with architects, artists, curators, designers, creatives, activists, innovators, community leaders and African design enthusiasts. I hope this podcast helps you expand and deepen your knowledge on African aesthetics, African design philosophy and placemaking and its tool in creating inclusive and sustainable communities in Africa and beyond. Thank you for tuning in. Today we're joined by Celia, the founder of Oreaco. Her story is one of those rare journeys that spans continents, industries and identities, yet somehow finds its way back to where it all began. Celia grew up in Paris, surrounded by fabric scraps, vibrant patterns, and the steady hum of her mother's sewing machine. Her mom, a gifted sinstress, unknowingly planted the seed of Celia's creative spirit while encouraging her to choose a more secure path. And for a while, she did just that. She studied communications, earned an MBA, and eventually moved into the tech world. After a decade, in that fast-paced environment, burnout forced her to stop, reassess, and reconnect with the artist she had always been. That moment of pause became the starting point for the Accord, a brand that thoughtfully weaves together African craftsmanship and Scandinavian minimalism. Today Celia collaborates closely with Craftsmen in Africa, bringing together her cultural heritage and her influences from her adopted homes, Norway and France. This with intention and artistry. She's here today with us to share that full journey, the creative beginnings, the corporate chapter, the banana, the rediscovery, and how every step ultimately shaped what we are here. Welcome to the podcast, Celia. We're very, very glad to have you here. Congratulations on the rebranding of your platform. It really looks uh fantastic. Uh how was that?

SPEAKER_05:

Oh, that was a lot. Um, you know, even before you even go into what things should look like, there's the research part uh before that, and that's what's done in the shadows. You know, you think about what do I want to say, um in which way, what do I want people to feel when they look at my brand and etc. So it's a lot of uh in the shadows work, even before you get into the nice um colors and and and etc. But it was very, very interesting because you actually realize that branding is actually actually quite a deep work because you think about the psychology of it, you have to think about so it's a lot of different layers. I had I had I had a lot of fun uh doing it. Yes, yes, yes. But thank you though. I'm happy you you liked how it turned out.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I really love I really love it, and I'm glad you enjoyed the process. So we usually uh talk about uh names on this podcast, especially our African names. Uh your family name is Kamdom. What does that mean? What is the story behind it if there is a story?

SPEAKER_05:

My my last name is actually just a typical name from the tribe that I'm from, which is Bamileke in Cameroon. So we have a lot of um uh this type of name, Cam Dom, Cam Dom, you'll have a lot of like variations of it, but um, I think um one name that would be a little bit more interesting, not more interesting, but at least um a story that I can talk about is um my kind of middle one, Celia, and common um Munya is uh a word in my uh language tribe, meaning uh twin. Uh because I am a twin. Yeah, yeah. So I have a twin brother, so and he his name is Twing Munya, so we have um this way of just uh you know marking who is who, and so that's uh that's that's the name, but I don't really use them. It's in my papers though, and uh it says something about uh my family history.

SPEAKER_03:

In Uganda, we have we have also the specific names that are given to twins, yeah. I think it's a beautiful thing because it you know, it at least uh for for cultural record also, it's easy for someone to know that you're getting married into a family where they have twins. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

You have to get ready because your partner might not have the twin name, but if for some reason the cousin has a twin, you're aware that you might be getting double blessings, you know.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes, yes, yes, yes, you have to be ready, you have to be ready. What is uh what is the name in Uganda?

SPEAKER_03:

In in Uganda you have Nakatu and Bavirye is uh from from Buganda, uh and the language is Luganda, and Nakatu and Bavirye is usually given to to twin girls, right? Right, yeah, for example, and then they in the same tribe they have a set of names that are that are reserved in a way for for twin boys, but also it's a girl and and a boy, so you kind of names to to choose from as parents that are that have traditional names, yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, very interesting.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, so so I was just wondering, um how did you come to Norway and yeah, what are you doing in this culture?

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, good question. Good question. I get a lot of surprises, especially knowing where I'm from, because um so I was born and raised in Paris, and knowing that people usually think uh, you know, you would you would you would usually do the opposite, which is leave Norway for the big city. Um born and raised in Paris, and um well the short story is that I was headhunted to come in Norway work in tech. I was already doing uh this tech um job in Paris after my study at the time, which is eight years ago. Uh was yeah, already, I don't know how that happened, but it happened. Uh, there was not that many people do having the skills uh that I had. So I started looking outside the country for those. And I was just uh I was just headhaunted at the time, you know, you're single, you're young, and you don't have kids or anything, and I still don't, but you know, there was this idea of like, ah, why not? Let me just um go and see how things go. Life has its own uh plan. You know, we don't really make the rules that much. So yeah, I'm still here. That's how I ended up here. Yeah, do you like it here? I like it here. So when I when I moved, uh I always say I did not expect such a cultural shock, you know, coming from France, you're thinking I'm moving from Europe to Europe. Um, but uh wow, uh it's a very, very different part of Europe. Uh when I moved, uh the first thing was that I met great people. And I think no matter where you move, I think it's all about who is who are the people around you, what type of connection to make, right? Uh even if you get to uh the most beautiful islands, uh it can get very lonely, or or if you don't have the people that are good for you. So I was lucky enough that when I moved, I met great people, but I was also lucky enough that when I moved, I moved with a job already. And that um, right, so I I had I often say I came up, I came to this country with the red carpet. Um, you know, you have a permanent job and etc. All the doors are open. All that was left for me to do is to find friends, right? So you don't you don't have much of the stress and anxiety that people have when they move. So for me, it was very smooth. Um, and I enjoyed one thing. The other thing that got me staying was um the nature obviously, born and raised in the extreme urban uh environment, right? Um coming here was like really fresh air, literally. Um, the fact of yeah, you just go on the around the corner here and you're emerged fully into a forest just right here. In the winter, you just take a bus if you want to ski, and there's also um the beaches, everything. So to me, that was like it was I was in awe. I was really, you know. So uh, so I told myself, okay, as long as I'm comfortable, I'll be here. Uh, so yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

What sparked that interest and transition from tech to design?

SPEAKER_05:

So actually, um, I think I have to go back a little bit in my story to answer this question because um when I do, uh, you actually realize that we're not really talking about a full 360, but my story actually just recently, um just recently I was uh talking to a journalist about my story, and then how it's actually very um very similar to what we call the voyage and return kind of plot. So a lot of uh uh story uh types out there are what we call the voyage and return, and you have many others, you know. You're in for for a lot of Disney movies, is more of like you know, you have a problem, the hero comes get you, and your life is better. And then you have movies like uh then you have movies like Alice in Wenderland, which is one of my favorite ones. I absolutely love um this story, which is more of um the person or the hero of the story goes into this voyage and then comes back home, but they come back stronger because of that voyage that they went. So my story is actually uh closer to that. So I was um I was raised by my mother um alone as a single mother, and she was a seamstress, actually. Yeah, yeah. So my mother was a seamstress. I grew up I grew up with you know fabrics, and uh there was uh magazine, fashion magazine all around the house, and all of that, and her drawings also of like the designs and all of that. So she was working for these big French designers. So I grew up really seeing her being in the shadows, uh, what we call in French, we call it the little hands that are behind the big names. So um, I I growing up, I wanted to basically do the same. I wanted to be in the fashion industry, and I really, really um, I started perfectioning my drawing because of it, because I told myself I was going to be a designer. Um I told myself that I was going to, so I started really drawing a lot, um, taking courses. I really, really wanted to be very good at drawing. Um, but she was the one that to actually uh tell me not to, so actually advise me against it, um telling me that this was a world that would be it's it's a ruthless world world, and um you probably don't want to get into it, it's difficult. Um, only very, very the 0.01 percent um are able to do something with it. Um so she actually advised me not to go into it and I didn't. I I started um I I shifted my uh studies from um designer into communications. So I have a master's in communications. I worked in the music industry after that for a year because I still wanted to be somehow close to the artistic world.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

Somehow, right? Not fully in as an artist or the designer, but maybe you can be on the side and then you can have a more uh stable job. Still in the music industry was not very stable. It was um, you know, it was like a a month contract here, two-month contract there. And um, I I was looking for um something you know more stable that I wouldn't have to really think about tomorrow. And um I then went into an MBA, so I went back to school for MBA, and from that MBA was really the shift to a more corporate type of uh life and more corporate career. Um MBA into IT, IT just happened to me, literally just happened to me, a little bit like Norway, actually. Um I just uh received an email one day um saying, you know, we have this program where we'll we'll train you. You come, we train you, and then you work for us. And I said, Yeah, okay, why not? Um, so that's how I ended up in IT. IT brought me to Norway and etc. So I worked 10 years in the IT industry. I was comfortable, as you say, you get the financial comfort, you get uh also a very fulfilling career. I met amazing people, I was uh also, you know, you're at boardrooms uh with very influential and powerful people. Um and also I was very actually, I was there was a sense of pride, a lot of pride in myself for actually being in this room full of people that have gone through uh they've gone through engineering uh type of uh um schools, and uh and I didn't, right? I was there with my communications masters and and still we are here and at the same level. Most of the time I'm also the the youngest in the room, right? Um and and the women and etc. So you know, you when you you reach that level, there was a lot of pride. That was uh it was it was it was great. So for a long time I enjoyed doing that. Um very long time. Now, fast forward to last year, so very recent, um fast forward to this time of year last year, actually, so end of year 2024, where um the conflict part of my wonderland story happened, which is that I I went through um a burnout. I went through burnout, so I had overworked myself and to the point that I just could not work anymore. It's it's it's it's a pretty difficult place to be that you uh you realize I just can't, I just can't continue. So I was out of work for uh several months, and you know what happened is that you are in bed after being after having calendars full of 10 meetings a day, you now found yourself in bed and there's no more calendar, and there's this this the phone doesn't ring, and you just think what next, right? You think what next? I don't want to go back to exactly where I was what next, and that's when this uh your yearning, you say in English, yeah, for creativeness and the art world just kind of came back into me, really shouting like probably a big reason of why this even happened is because you've let it, you've put it um you know, under the rug for too long. I have to somehow let my creative side back into my life.

SPEAKER_03:

It gives me at least uh an understanding of the not only the external factors that you know led to this, but also the the internal factor that you the brain the brain space in which you were when when this was birthed. So the the the the thing is is is only your core your personal reaction or response to your negotiation between your Scandinavian experience, African experience as uh French is it how you negotiate you being here right now and also the experience and creativity that you are? Is this where you the new you meet?

SPEAKER_05:

That's a great question. Uh I love how you have um. I love how how you have uh put uh this question together. And it's it's I think you really understood the story of my brand and the story of me because as I was saying earlier, uh Ohyyaku is literally the story of me going back home to who I am, but also strong of my life experiences. So it was literally the birth of Iriacu is literally me placing myself at a point of centering every part of me, centering every part of me into this um into this identity, and it was necessary because I couldn't really find it in other ways. When you've had a background like mine, which is basically always um being in between cultures from the moment I was born. So Africa, France, uh, and then Scandinavia, there is this little there's this blending point, and you have a need to recenter your identity to who you are, right? I cannot say that I'm actually that's it when someone asks me where are you from, there's always this little time of okay, what do I actually answer? Right? Um, I'm an African, I was born in Europe. France has an enormous part in who I am because it's my entire childhood and beginning of um Alder's years, Scandinavia as a big part of who I am as well. I moved here, uh discovered um a whole nother world. Now, Africa is also extremely present in my life. I've been raised by an African mother, at home was always the African side, so it's literally Ohiayaku is really the centering of my identity, and when I built it, I was 1000% sure that my people feeling like me are out there, maybe with an extremely similar background as well, will be out there and will be needed, will be needing this type of um representation.

SPEAKER_03:

So uh yeah, because you've talked about Scandinavia, you've talked about Africa, and you've talked about uh France. Do you feel parts on a personal level that that is much more clear now for you, where you have uh some kind of clarity, but also some kind of uh that you've come to terms with how these different experiences have these different uh influences on your life uh interact with you as a person on a daily basis in your work but also in your ambition.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, absolutely. It's a great question. It's a great question, and and again, I'm going to go back into really trying to build this brand as much more than just building a brand. It is it is literally a um personal personal um entreprise as well. It's a very personal journey, and um we especially I can I can speak for a lot of uh first generation at least African uh kids born and raised in Europe. Um there's always this uh lack of balance, you don't know really where you are, where to place yourself. This is part of ourselves, it's always been this this identity crisis is a big part of who we are all the time. Um and people will choose one side, some people will choose the other, but I definitely felt like it was impossible for me. Um, I can't I can't say that I'm only African, I can't say that I'm French, I can't say finding the balance was necessary, very, very much necessary. I'm all of it, and that's what makes my story, makes me special. Um, and yeah, you have to find that balance is extremely, extremely important because otherwise you always find yourself trying to okay, uh, fit somewhere. I need to fit somewhere, I need to be this, I need to be that, and you realize like, okay, uh, I am all of it. I'm all of it now. How can I possibly um make these different parts of me uh be present in something?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, a very good job you're doing with also branding the product because thank you. Uh me and you both know that on the continent at least, it's not a lack of good products, it's not a lack of good uh artisanship or craftsmanship or design. It's usually that finish, it's usually how to sell it and how to how to get it out there and and and compete. Yes. Dwelling on the design part of things. Um can you cite some examples from your work where you really feel, or even your process or your sourcing where you feel the Scandinavian and African culture exchange exists because it is one of the catching and I think most important for me things that I noted with your brand is this fusion that you clearly state and aspire to the Scandinavian and African culture exchange through your work. Uh, could you just share with us how that plays out?

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, so one big message with Oriaku is that we want to break the stereotypes around African crafts. The reason why African craft is not uh even mentioned enough in the global luxury or uh uh space, or it's not at that table, is that it's not uh presented well enough sometimes. For me, one of the big goals was not only do you have access to African craft, but you also should not you don't really have to see it as you know something that you would need a big occasion uh for. And I want to I wanted to bring the craft into the everyday life of people. So one example of that, and and and when I when I speak like that, I also I'm not necessarily talking to people that are so far from African craft, meaning you know, European people or also African people, African people uh us ourselves have a lack of uh seeing the value in what we have, right? So now what I wanted to say is that not only do you not need a wedding ceremony to wear your African pieces, but you can wear them in your everyday life and wear them with pride. So if I have to look uh for an example, uh I could maybe I think one really good one is um the fulani earrings. Um I'll uh show those particular uh ones. So uh they're called Jabare on the website, but I will uh I'll show it to you. So these earrings are actually not my design, they are a uh big part of this tribe called the Fulanis, uh, that are across several countries in Africa, and they are known for this particular design that the women used to wear, and they it was a big sign of you know, uh femininity, wealth, and um these women they used to wear these enormous earrings. Um, they were gold, and they were really showing you know your status. One way that I've decided to uh place it into our life and place the Scandinavian life into is that we have first simplified the design in um not as many twists and turns as the original one, and then also reduced the sign the uh size significantly so that you can have a minimal light piece because it that would that would be also one problem that people have with uh ethnic or African type of design. They're thinking it's heavy, it's too much, it's I can't really see myself with it. So we make it lighter, we make it um smaller um and more discrete for you to uh for you to just yeah, get to the office with a lot of time. The minimalism part of my designs is um we will have it will almost be more geometric design, it will always be um I would say cleaner. So I always like to say the African side, the African side is um the texture, the story, the design. The Scandinavian side will be more of the calm clarity and structure, and that's how the fusion is made. So um another one of these examples uh would be the Bantu collection, it means people, okay, in many um different languages, it just means people, and um the way that the Scandinavian simplicity or the singular geometry uh appear in this is that if you look at those pieces, they are actually pretty simple in the way that they look, it's very clear lines polished fully, and um you will not have uh there's not like there's not that many um uh like others, like you don't have uh engravings on it very polished, and this is another way I think that's a great example of the fusion because um the name you've chosen to call it, the material is very ancestral metal work the way that it was done, and then we shaped it for the Scandinavian minimalism.

SPEAKER_03:

It's very easy to misunderstand your simplification, and I'm having court kind of uh signs for our listeners, the simplification of this heritage or these pieces or this inspiration, because you cite very precise, you have precise uh pieces from the African uh from the continent that are that have a history, that have a culture, that have even maybe a process that have a regional kind of reference, but then you also you also have these other you also have these other areas of inspiration like bantu, which are more concepts that you yourself weave into a piece and and in in a way you're like this is how I express this, and it can be worn every day. So there are two questions on this. Number one is uh uh do you cater for the more is more little niche that lives in Scandinavia? And and and you don't have to, but I'm just asking, or what are your thoughts around when you're taking away like when when one of the rings is less or when it's in size? Is there anything that is lost in translation, lost in simplification?

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, absolutely, and it's a great question. The first point is that we the idea was to cater for exactly that situation. We don't want people to think on my everyday life I'm gonna wear um European or American brands, and then when there's a big occasion is when I can go African, right? So we want to say that if you are if you want to wear your roots or just something unique, something that is a little bit out of the ordinary, you don't have to wait for this occasion, uh, you can you can have it in your everyday life. So that's the first point. Um the second point is it's it's very true that when you take um when you take a piece that has such a strong story, just like the the Fulani earrings, uh you you don't want to strip out that story and make it Scandinavian. That's definitely not what this brand is about. And this is why I always make a very, very important point to explain the history behind a design. You will not see, um, you will not see me come and say, Oh, I have invented this piece. Origins are always stated for people to understand this is where this is from. Now, um, is creating smaller version or uh less intricate versions stripping down of the um of that story? I don't think so. I think there's evolution, I think you can't really stop evolution uh when it comes to design, there's evolution, and the evolution goes with the people that are directly linked to it. If you look into uh we can we could start talking about uh um hairstyles, for example. Um if you look at uh uh African hairstyles, there will be time of history that it changes. There's a time of history that it will be about uh very big bull type of um uh what's the word? Um braids, then you go into you go into the smaller version, the uh small version, and then you go back into taking uh the the I don't think I've ever said these words in English, uh plated, yeah. Uh um so what I'm trying to say is that us as generations, we move and we take our heritage with us, right? But what always stays is that we've always always wherever life takes us, we've always wanted to take our heritage with us, right? So yeah, to answer your question, I think I think it would be uh naive to think that you can just preserve things and you can choose, and you you don't really have a choice to move with it. Um but I really really want uh to make a big important point in the fact that uh the the goal is never to strip down of uh the history, right? So yeah, that's why you know I I I write these blog posts explaining the history and etc. Um, it's a very important point to me.

SPEAKER_03:

But you care deeply about the stories, uh the stories behind this work. I think what you're giving me as an African diaspora is to tap into the other cultures on the continent because one of the advantages of being in the diaspora is you search for connection to the continent and just not just to your country.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

But one last thing I want to talk about is uh is the artisan and the craftsman too. Could you say just a little bit about that? How do you work with them and uh what is what has it been like finding the right people to execute your content?

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, so one uh big piece also of Oriaku is that um we are not letting the people that are working uh in the shadow. They are artisans, they have they have they are artists with talent, and um show them very often in their face and the way they work. And so it's very important for me that someone knows that these are the people that we work and they're they're paid fairly. Um now uh finding so for the first uh person that I started working with, which was uh Abdu in Senegal, actually the way it happened is that uh I wasn't on I was on a trip um many years prior. I was on the trip just full holiday, uh, and I saw him work and I really liked the way he was working. I liked the Work that he was doing. At the time, I had taken his phone number, not knowing really why. That's the little anecdote there. And uh four or five years later, I just gave him a call and he was ready to start working immediately. Um the way that we work is that I would speak with him, um, thankful for uh the technology today, so I don't have to be there, you know. Uh I would speak with him um about something that I've seen or something that I'm thinking about doing, or something that he already has in his um uh atelier. Uh he shows me, he's thinking, okay, what do you uh do you like this? Would you like to make some changes to it? How can we um make it so it's it goes with your brand or it comes from me directly? Um, it could be anything that I've seen, something I've seen online, it could be uh something that I've seen on someone, anything. Uh send it to him, and then he tells me that if he thinks that is possible or not. Sometimes no, because it's you know, the between my head and um reality. It could be like, no, I don't think we can uh do that, or you if you want to get there, you might need to change this and this and this. Um uh he would then uh make it so uh again, uh uh lucky enough that we can be in distance for that. Show me the process, he shows me the process at each step, and etc. Uh, we choose the material, we choose the sizing, everything, and then uh I get them back here. So that's kind of uh the process of doing the work. Um, and how I've chosen who I work with. Uh it was uh testing. Obviously, there's also uh it was also um uh people recommendations because that's how most of things happen, right? People make recommendations and etc. And then testing, we test one, two different styles, and then I see what works, what doesn't work. So today I have three different people that I work with on the regular, and I know which one is best for which style. They have their different style and they have their different specialities. So I know if I want to make a necklace that's going to be this way or that way, then I need to speak to that particular person in Kenya because she makes those perfectly, and then if I want to go more into silver, I have to speak to that other person in Senegal and etc. So I've come to now a place that you meet the craftsmen that you like, and then you have to know what they are best at for each.

SPEAKER_02:

This is how I work, yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

And one thing I want to say is that we're also very open to customizations. So let's say you've seen a picture somewhere, and you're thinking, Hey, I like that, but I would like more of this, less of this. We're very open to that, we'll do it for you with uh very much openness.

SPEAKER_03:

What comes to mind when you think of African aesthetics?

SPEAKER_05:

African aesthetic, for me, I want to say that African people have always been an enormous, enormous source of creativity. We are creatives at heart, and when you look at the history, we've always been the people that have been starting trends all over the world. Um, and for me, the African aesthetic is deep, is death, is always this power behind it, is defined, is um, and also I automatically see hands of the makers when it comes to African aesthetic, because I automatically see people, hands making things um and the craft. So yeah, that's what I will answer.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you very much, uh Silva, for taking time to speak to me and enjoy our conversation and a lot actually. Please connect with Celia. Thank you and have a lovely weekend. Thank you. You too. Thanks a lot.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, thank you. Bye.

SPEAKER_01:

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