What Came Next for Kusheda Mensah

Kusheda Mensah first came onto our radar back in 2018, when she presented at Salone Satellite (a show for emerging designers that takes place during the wider Salone del Mobile fair). Her work stood out from everything else on show – it felt human, and bespoke, much unlike the mass amount of off-the-shelf furniture.

In the years since, her work – which she produces under the label “Modular by Mensah” has been picked up by several publications, brands, and private clients. But, as with all of us, life gets in the way at times, and eventually, your creativity takes a hit. “I had a premature child born at 24 weeks, during Covid, so as a self-employed person who centered their practice around people, the motivation for a career naturally wasn’t there," she says.

Earlier works from Modular by Mensah

Speaking so candidly about personal difficulties isn’t something that often happens in the design world. Unlike other creative professions – say art or music for example – designers don’t tend to explicitly channel their struggles into their work. Their output requires a certain level of pragmatism and functionalism, so it’s to be expected, but it doesn’t mean that life doesn’t happen around their practice. "I wanted to have a family, it was my choice but I guess you will never know how much your life will change until it happens," she adds.

When it came to embarking on a career in design, things really kicked off for Mensah during her time at London College of Communication (LCC), where she studied surface design. Her interest naturally shifted to spaces and the way people behave within them – and eventually, her furniture would almost become a tool to facilitate a social interaction.

"[Design] is bit of a boys club, and we need to look at why that is"

To do so, she makes her furniture inherently intriguing. It like a seems simple objective, but it isn’t something many designers or brands know how to do well. Rather than designing with herself in mind, Mensah adopts a genuine approach that is focused on the end user. “My design aesthetic includes very playful forms, color-consciousness, and lots of texture,” she says. “These are my key ingredients if you like. They’re things that I think are integral to attracting users.”

Now, as she readies herself to jump back into the design world with two feet, we catch up with one of our favourite London designers. Here, we speak about her journey into motherhood, what it takes to pursue a career in design, and why the industry really needs to move away from its "boys club" reputation.

What pushed you to pursue design?

I’ve always naturally wanted to be a successful person. I’ve never wanted to be left behind, and my peers and I always had big dreams, especially as children of immigrants. If you weren’t going to make it as a doctor, lawyer, or financier, you’ve [otherwise] gotta make it by any means necessary.

It’s a hard path though, right?

Yes, it’s quite hard. I’m a woman, I’m also Black, and I’m also a mother of two young children. So it’s triply hard.

The representation within this space is growing, but I just can’t see people like me to kind of normalize the career I’m in. It’s just a bit of a boys club, and that’s fine – maybe that is the gender who are practicing craft skills more, but we need to look at why that is.

Instead of opportunity increasing and lending itself to an economy of hard-working bad b’s who are now becoming mothers, we are left having to catch up.

Mensah's installation at the Harewood Biennial in Leeds, UK

Can you expand on that a little, and about your experience of being a mother in relation to your career?

Becoming a mother was hard in the way that a woman’s life and identity stops at the priority of their kid(s). Most children – who have the privilege to – look to their mothers for everything, regardless of whether their dad is around. I wanted to have a family, it was my choice but I guess you will never know how much your life will change until it happens.

I had a premature child born at 24 weeks, during Covid, so as a self-employed person who centered their practice around people, the motivation for a career naturally wasn’t there. Whilst pregnant with my second child I was considered a high-risk pregnancy so had to go to the hospital every two weeks to make sure the baby wasn’t coming. Anxieties were high all the time, and as a result, there was no real space for design ideas or inspiration.

This is all part of my journey and I wouldn’t change it. Someone else’s career could be completely different from mine, even when they are a woman. These are just barriers I’ve faced within the five years I’ve actively been giving my practice a shot.

But the short of that is: I motivate myself first, and my new family motivates me second.

What elements are key to your creative process?

At the moment I work from home, so a key element to my process is 3D work. I’m not completely old school, but when I first started designing, I would draw, and process seemed much simpler then.

Mensah's collaboration with Clarks and Apartamento

With life being so hectic and unpredictable, how do you nurture your creativity?

I nurture this process by doing coffee sessions with friends, to learn more about the processes of others. I also started working freelance for the company Hotel. The owner/founder Mitch Crook opened up his studio and allowed me to work there and learn more about rendering and 3D modeling, which has helped me massively.

What could be done in the UK to help foster design talent specifically?

Something I’ve wanted to do myself is offer grants to young designers who need a couple thousand pounds to create work they believe in, and to tell the story they want to tell. A couple of people and organizations I know do this, and I have been a recipient of some of these grants: Samuel Ross, Metallic, Ronan McKenzie etc.

I’m sure it’s a crazy task going through all the great creative ideas, and having to pick who deserves the opportunity the most, but I really believe in this model in general. When you have the opportunity to offer this to people, you put more opportunities forward, and it builds a bigger design community.

I think more support in design for families, single parents in design, and mothers in design is needed. It’s definitely a way to foster design talent, by letting people know that the opportunity is out there for everyone and anyone.

Mentoring is something that also needs to happen more. I’ve mentored, and I still find it funny that I have, because I don’t necessarily think I’m super equipped with any tools. But I think that it's important for people to hear how you do things, and take what they can, and then do their own version of that.

Community is super important. A safe space of support, a space to share experience – whether that’s failures or opportunities. It’s important to foster positive space, and these could come in the form of more UK-based residencies.

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What Came Next for Kusheda Mensah

What Came Next for Kusheda Mensah

What Came Next for Kusheda Mensah

What Came Next for Kusheda Mensah

What Came Next for Kusheda Mensah