Introducing London-based design house Sons of Craft, which is now hosting a monthly event fusing fashion, music, and art to build community.
“When you come to a Sons of Craft event, you don’t have any limitations – whatever your craft is, push it to the limit,” Kouadio Amany, co-founder of multi-disciplinary design house Sons of Craft, explained at the launch of their new event series on Sunday 5 May.
Sons of Craft was founded in London in 2020 by Ozwald Boateng’s senior designer Kouadio Amany and film director Ade Balogun, driven by the ethos of “nobility, innovation, and collaboration.” Amany and Balogun were inspired by the symbiosis between music, art, and fashion, and subsequently have put “[their] fingers in each of those things” as a company, they said.
Under Sons of Craft, the pair launched Omo AUTEM Artis, a footwear and accessories brand that epitomises careful, slow fashion by offering made-to-order cow leather loafers, boots, and trainers, and 925 silver rings, necklaces, and earrings. Their alternative music record label, Sounds of Craft Records, has collaborated with the likes of Foot Patrol, and their annual festival that usually occurs in autumn, ACall Festival, champions alternative modern art and music.
Left: Ade Balogun, Middle: Kouadio Amany & Ade Balogun, Right: Kouadio Amany, all featured jewellery and footwear is Omo AUTEM Artis. Credit: Kim Lang
“With ACall Festival, we initially started it in co-working spaces – [we were] trying to figure out how [we can use spaces] for different purposes,” said Balogun. With their latest endeavour, a new event series called Sunday Social Club that kicked off in East London over the weekend, they have embodied a similar DIY spirit. The series’ opening event saw independent brands, designers, DJs, and a live painter transform what is usually a security training centre in Bethnal Green into a creative hub.
While showcasing their own products, they also invited independent brands and designers from their community to transform it into a collaborative, community-fuelled event – reflective of their ethos as a brand. “As a brand, we like to celebrate the people in our community,” Balogun said. “In this day and age, retail space is quite expensive. A lot of the brands in our community don’t necessarily have the finances to have their own space – they don’t often get the opportunity [for] people to come and physically see [their products].”
According to the pair, the event’s aim was simple: to bring different creative mediums together, with good craftsmanship acting as the common thread. “There’s no high bar or low bar; our interest is just good music, good art, good fashion,” Balogun said. The Sunday Social Club series is set to continue monthly to provide a haven for emerging creatives in the city, with the next event taking place on 2 June. Amany added: “In London, you’re always having to do stuff, and you always have to be making money – it’s very fast, fast, fast. At our events, we want people to be like, I can breathe.”
The event championed the diversity of London’s creative landscape by spotlighting independent brands and designers including Lucinda Graham’s upcycled pieces that have been seen on the likes of Pink Pantheress and Eliza Rose, daughter of designer Ozwald Boateng Emilia Boateng’s swimwear brand, and fashion content creator Koby Ohene’s jewellery line Greige.
Most of the independent designers at the event launched their brands to fill what they perceived as a gap in the current market. “Most of the swimwear brands I was seeing were either based in America or Australia. I felt as though the models in the campaigns were a bit Eurocentric, so I wanted to change the narrative [with Emilia Boateng Swim,]” explained Emilia Boateng. “With each piece, there are small elements of my [Ghanaian] culture, including waist beads that come with each bikini.”
Koby Ohene echoed these sentiments. “I got the idea for Greige after a friend gifted me a ring from Senegal that sparked a lot of interest among those who watch my styling videos [on YouTube]. It made me realise there’s limited visibility for jewellery inspired by West African heritage in the UK, even though many of the precious materials used to make jewellery are found in West Africa,” he shared. “My designs are influenced by my own [Ghanaian] culture, heavily drawing from traditional symbols, imagery and culture.”
As designers showcased their work in one room, DJs spun everything from techno to amapiano to reggaeton in another, creating an atmosphere of eclecticism. The event brought together diverse identities from across London, fostering a sense of community under the umbrella of creativity. “Neither [Kouadio nor me] are from London, so when we came to [the city], we had to find our community. Through that experience, we know how hard it is to find your tribe – that’s why our brand is centred around bringing people together who share a common interest,” said Balogun.
The next Sunday Social Club will take place on 2 June at 1 Hollybush Gardens, London, E2 9QP. You can find Sons of Craft on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, and their website.
Photography – Sim Panesar