Our Story

About The Founder

Sharon Venancio is a Swazi designer and visual artist trained in Surface Pattern Design, Interior Design, and Textiles, Apparel Design and Management. Her practice is grounded in material exploration, collaboration, and process, positioned at the intersection of design and visual art. Through making, she examines how materials, forms, and traditional practices evolve over time.

She works closely with artisans and makers, developing a collaborative approach that values shared authorship and exchange. This way of working shapes both her individual practice and the direction of Vuna Africa, allowing each project to emerge through a considered balance of perspectives, skills, and material understanding.

Alongside her creative work, she is interested in building systems that support artisans beyond production, with a focus on visibility, access to market, and long term sustainability. This includes engaging interior design as a pathway for situating handcrafted work within refined, contemporary spaces. Through this, she continues to explore how design can connect people, materials, and place.

Vuna Africa is a collective design studio founded by Sharon Venancio, dedicated to elevating African craftsmanship and sustainable design.
Our work celebrates the ingenuity of rural and urban artisans, from soapstone sculptors in Eswatini to woodworkers and weavers across Southern Africa. We merge fine art, craft, and design thinking to create objects that feel both ancestral and modern.

Vuna Africa’s mission is to honor earth-based processes, revive traditional skills, and create contemporary African design that is both ethical and exquisite.

Originally established as an interior design studio, Vuna Africa’s early work focused on shaping spaces that told stories through color, texture, and locally crafted details. That deep engagement with material, form, and human connection naturally evolved into a broader creative practice; one that extends beyond interiors to include product design, artisan collaboration, and exhibition curation.

Today, the studio continues to weave these disciplines together, designing not just spaces or objects, but entire ecosystems of craft, culture, and sustainability.

Our Projects

Our Process

At Vuna Africa, our process is rooted in collaboration, integrity, and respect for both material and maker. We combine design thinking with traditional craftsmanship to create contemporary African pieces that are thoughtful, functional, and enduring.

⁠Research & Story

Every project begins with research; learning from local materials, traditions, and the stories of the communities we work with. This helps us design with context and authenticity.

Concept Development

Through ideation and material exploration, we define the story, function, and aesthetic direction of each collection or project. This stage allows us to identify which craft techniques, materials, and collaborators best align with the concept.

Collaboration

We co-create with artisans and small studios across Southern Africa, developing prototypes together and refining ideas through shared skill and dialogue. Each piece reflects the strengths and creativity of everyone involved.

Design Development

We merge handmade techniques with modern design methods, ensuring every product or object balances usability, quality, and aesthetic value.

Sustainable Production

We use natural or reclaimed materials and prioritize ethical production practices. Our approach values slow creation, small-batch production, and fair partnerships that support sustainable livelihoods.

Customer Engagement & Education

We believe design is most powerful when it connects people to process. Through exhibitions, storytelling, and client engagement, we share the origins, materials, and craftsmanship behind each piece; fostering appreciation for authenticity, care, and the value of handmade work.

Address:

659 Lucetu Lane, Lukhalo St.

Dalriach East, Mbabane,

Eswatini, H100

Phone:

+268 7669 7437

Email:

info@vuna.africa