Nº 6 TABLE Collection

Awarded Special Mention in the category Excellent Product Design - Furniture at the GERMAN DESIGN AWARDS 2023

An Ode to the Shongololos
Rain is coming.

Back home on the farm in South Africa, dry spells are occasionally interrupted by spectacular summer thunderstorms. As the seasons progresses, the savannah’s parched earth begins to crack. Bursting open, it welcomes the dark wall forming on the horizon with open arms.

Flocks of birds swoop across the skies. Blades of grass break out in a dance as the wind sweeps in. Excitement fills the air as dramatic clouds roll in over the plains from afar.

Thrashing rains. Torrential downpours. Thick drops pound the soil, driving all lifeforms to retreat to safety. Thunder billows. Lightning crashes… and then, just as quickly as it comes, it passes!

The air feels lighter, its weightlessness infused with the fresh scent of water. The soil has swallowed back up yesterday’s dust; the sun quickly dissolves the blanket of clouds and drenches the earth in her rays.

Suddenly, like clockwork they appear above ground — little clusters of Shongololos crawl out from their nests. While the pitter-patter of these dark millipedes’ thousands of tiny legs is inaudible to the human ear, their presence echoes through the landscape.

The word Shongololo is common in many Southern African languages, including Afrikaans. It is rooted in the Xhosa and Zulu word ‘ukushonga’, meaning ‘to roll up’, as these critters curl up in a circle.

Nº 6 TABLE Collection — where there is rain, there is Shongololo movement.

Memories of home.

The Collection

Nº 6 TABLE Collection is a family of four sculptural tables in matt-lacquered ash wood. The tables are characterised by their round-shaped Shongololo legs, an organic form echoed by the table tops’ edges.

The collection of two coffee tables and two side tables is handcrafted from carefully selected solid wood sourced from sustainably managed forests in Germany. As wood is a natural material and the individual pieces are handcrafted, each table is unique.

The tables in this collection are available in four colours inspired by the savannah plains — a striking South African landscape known as the Bushveld. In this expansive region, the Shongololo roams. 

Black evokes the rich turf soils that nourish these terrains while terracotta embody ‘rooigrond’ (Afrikaans for ‘red soil’). The distinctive green hue awakens memories of lush grass after the heavy summer rains. Natural ash wood echoes the straw-coloured grasses that become muted in extended dry spells during winter.

Special Edition

During a trip home to South Africa from December 2023 to February 2024, Nicolene van der Walt seized the opportunity to work with an African hardwood. For this, she selected sapele mahogany as the colour evokes the red soil that inspired one of the four lacquers in the initial collection. She handcrafted the small side table from the collection in a wood workshop in Cape Town for CAPE TOWN FURNITURE WEEK 2024, marking the first time she is exhibiting her woodwork on home soil.

Production

Nº 6 TABLE Collection is made to order, and lead times may differ throughout the year. Custom colours are available upon request. Shipping costs and times are dependent on the delivery location. For inquiries about pricing, lead times, colour and shipping, please email: info@nicolenevanderwalt.com

Dimensions

SMALL | Ø: 450 mm | H: 460 mm
MEDIUM | Ø: 550 mm | H: 460 mm
LARGE | Ø: 750 mm | H: 300 mm
EXTRA LARGE | Ø: 900 mm | H: 300 mm

Release date

The black edition of Nº 6 TABLE Collection (sizes S and XL) was designed especially for and first showcased at MATTER of COURSE’s “ICH und DU” exhibition at MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2022. The extended table collection, including three new colours and two additional table sizes (sizes M and L), was released in October 2023 at “MODERN NOW”, a group exhibition at SETAREH Contemporary Art Gallery in Berlin.