Shaven Raven's African Patterns: Stories Woven Into Every Thread

This Africa Heritage Day, we're shining a spotlight on the vibrant African patterns and prints used by our makers.

The African Pattern Edit is a curated celebration of heritage and contemporary creativity. Featuring bold Wax Print (Ankara) designs, this collection showcases the work of migrant-led businesses and creators who use traditional textiles to tell modern stories of identity and belonging.

We caught up with East London-based illustrator and graphic designer Ufuoma Urie, of Shaven Raven Designs, to find out more about the inspiration for her designs, which feature nods to her cultural identity and West African heritage with the use of bold Ankara prints and British slang:

Patterns have always felt like a visual language to me - a way to carry memory, rhythm, identity and story without explaining everything in words. In many West African textile traditions, wax prints are more than decoration; they become part of daily life through naming, wearing, gifting and storytelling. Over time, patterns often pick up nicknames from the places where they are sold, with meaning given by both sellers and buyers. The same fabric might be known by one name in Ghana, another in Togo, Nigeria or Côte d’Ivoire. Each name adds a new layer of humour, symbolism, memory or social meaning.

My Naija to Blighty collection reimagines familiar Ankara and wax print-inspired patterns through a bold pop-art lens. I frequently return to designs such as Cha Cha Cha (also known as Senchi Bridge in Ghana, Aganmakpo in Togo, and La Danse à la Mode in Côte d’Ivoire.) The pattern is widely associated with change, movement and the rhythm of life.

Another recognisable pattern, Record, also known in Ghana as Nsu Bura, meaning “water well” in the Twi language, resembles both vinyl records and the rippling effect created when a stone lands in water. For me, the motif suggests rhythm and music, but it also conveys the idea of cause and consequence: how a single, small action can create movement beyond itself. I’ve also been inspired by patterns such as Kili Kili Stars, with its Igbo starlore, and Rolls Royce, a cloth associated with marital happiness, prosperity and good fortune. These patterns carry associations of the natural world, celebration, luck, aspiration and joy.

By combining these pattern influences with British phrases, such as "The Bees Knees" and "Cheers!", bold typography, humour and colour, my work reflects a proudly remixed third culture perspective shaped by my Nigerian roots, migration, London life and the language of everyday belonging. I want the pieces to feel joyful and contemporary but also layered: objects that celebrate pattern not just as surface decoration but as something that can hold history, identity and home.

In that sense, the collection is both personal and shared: a celebration of how pattern travels, changes meaning, and continues to connect people across places and generations.