Objects: Nathalyn Nunoo Crafts a Poem You Can Hold

Ceramics, sentiment, and the soft archive of design

Maryland raised, New York based designer and ceramist Nathalyn Nunoo is disarmingly charming as she is direct. She insists that her ID will work on the next try, as the delivery guy crowds the doorway of her Brooklyn pad with his insulated bag and uses Google translator to let us know that he can’t drop off any alcohol without a working ID. The frustration doesn’t stop her insistence and as she predicted, it finally worked.

Nathalyn, similarly insistent about what she likes, has an apartment decorated with the blueprint of her incredible taste, its own romantic charm and a real sense of individuality.

CD: I love the hints of romance in your apartment. Were those choices intentional? Do they represent your personality in any way?

NN: Not so much intentional, just pieces I’ve collected or have made over time. I think they definitely do show my personality - I’m a romantic at heart! A little lost in the clouds for sure but with a bit of edge. Growing up I used to daydream a lot, literally just hours looking up into space creating plots and characters in my mind. I used to read a lot of fantasy/science fiction, a kind of escapism; I was obsessed. I think I loved the aspect of world building, and living vicariously through femme characters that were a little weird, very tough-girl but entangled in romance and softness. I think as an adult this comes out as random objects that create a sense of delicate ambiance; candles, soft lighting, ceramics all kind of gesture at this soft whimsical thing I like.

Let's talk about some of your objects.

Nest Poetry Zine

NN: I started going to the poetry open mic at Ornithology Jazz Club a couple years ago - last year I started hosting it, and over time it's become the most beautiful community of artists + writers who are willing to share so generously. We created an anthological zine of works by 11 of us last summer, including these lovely illustrations by one of the club’s bartender’s named Peter Hopkins. The whole thing was laid out by Tiffany Tang, who happened to stumble upon the open mic one night and volunteered to design it. So it’s a lovely piece (visually too, I can’t turn the design mind off its cute!) and a testament to this community of folks who are vulnerable every week, and have honestly been a huge part of my healing journey. 

Glass Collection

NN: If there’s one thing I love to collect it’s a glass. I think there’s something in it that’s so grounding for me - the concept of something that’s beautiful and can last forever but also shatter in a moment. It’s fascinating. My mom has a thing for nice tableware that she used to bring out for special occasions. I feel like I liked the ritual of it; it felt special because it was. It’s one of the few things we agreed on and that feels special. I think it kind of gets at that idea of pretend I mentioned earlier. It makes me feel fancy and interesting. You can build a whole persona around it. I got these green ones thrifting from a guy who sold them to me as Venetian (back when I didn’t know better lol), I got the one with a red dot from my friend Yeli when she went to Kenya; this tall wiry looking one is from an artist in Paris, Ulysse Sauvage; this one is part of a set my mom gave me when I was packing up to leave MD for NY. I have a couple from a designer I admire, Eny Lee Parker and a couple from my neighbor who really came through to make me feel at home in the building when it was crazy. So yeah it’s a fun thing I like; it’s cute, it’s functional. It’s a little pleasure. 

Fossilized Rock

NN: I got this from my friend Mackenzie! She went to London and walked along the coast and found these fossils - I think it’s super cool! I’m always inspired by natural elements, a lot of my ceramic work follows this. I like how it’s just a piece of casual history sitting on my coffee table, a little prehistoric drama. 

Painting from Ghana

NN: I spent a lot of time in Ghana over the last couple years, mainly to explore local design culture and connect with folks in architecture. There’s an abundance of craft/arts everywhere, it’s so casual. I went to the arts market and picked this up from a stack of hundreds. I like it because it has color but is minimal still - I have a hard time resonating with  bright patterns so this suited me. I like how people are hidden in plain sight in an abstract pattern, it’s getting at a collective, communal energy that I associate with old Ghanaian culture. It has a sense of regality but is still warm that way. It must’ve cost like 7 dollars and they were still likely ripping me off lol. 

Look I Bought Plants Book

NN: When I moved to New York my first real place was a sublet from this comedian, Taylor Garron. She gave the tour of the apartment (very grown up for me at the time) and was friendly in a ‘Fellow Black girl’ way. She was like what do you do? and I said I work with plants because I was designing an office at the time and added that I was writing a poetry book. She said something like “You’re gonna love this shit” and handed me a copy of a book of funny poems she wrote with a friend. I think it’s the perfect intersection of my interests - home-making, poetry, a little shit-talking. Chef’s kiss. 

Individual Portrait

NN: These I got from an artist couple in Ghana. I’d met the husband Edward at an exhibition opening one night and he asked if I was down to model for a painting for him and his wife, Fran. I came to their home in Ordorkor and sat chatting with them for a while, awkwardly sitting and sipping a cool beer. They’re a fun pair! I loved talking to them because they felt like artist folk in Accra that I could relate to; we talked about local politics, accessibility to the arts, afro-diasporic proliferation, etc. It was one of the first times I felt at home in Ghana. It was also nice seeing myself through another lens, I could definitely see some of my family’s features more clearly. It kind of shocked me to see myself look ‘Ghanaian’ - I think growing up in the US I always felt detached from it so maybe some silly part of me didn’t expect it was there. But it really is. 

CD: & lastly, Birds of Paradise Plant.
NN: I love it! Its big and beautiful, easy to care for. I love massive plants, they’re like a whole person on their own— it keeps me company. Birds of Paradise produce this flower (when they're happy with you and mature, so not in my lil’ NY apartment) that do resemble a tropical bird. I had one on my birthday cake!

I kind of love it for a fun memory too: I studied biology in college and for my last credit I ended up doing a lab with this professor, Gerald Borgia, who single handedly has the biggest repository for observation on Bower Birds, commonly referred to as birds of paradise. These birds are all genetically so close but look and behave wildly different in terms of color, plumage, mating calls, and even dance rituals. I studied how all of these characteristics evolve, map to their environment and relate to mating behavior. It was about 6 months or something of spreadsheets and watching hundreds of videos of bird sex. Another romantic thing in my apt I suppose!

You can keep abreast of Nathalyn’s gorgeous design and ceramic work here or via her socials :::

Nathalyn Nunoo

& _nathalyn_ on instagram.