Lambert Shumbusho

Dr. Lambert Shumbusho is a fore-runner in modern organic design in West Africa. Shumbusho’s Design Furniture collection comprises original art-furniture hand carved by the artist himself from fallen tree trunks, unearthed roots, and branches of hardwood found at the riverbanks and swamps of the West African coast. 

Although he was born in Rwanda, Shumbusho lives and works in Nigeria, where he sources his materials to create his artistic furniture wood structures.

“I am animated by one principle: to preserve and convey the natural beauty of hardwood.”- Lambert Shumbusho

A Harvard trained Petroleum lawyer by profession, Shumbusho began developing his designs over 20 years ago based on his observation of the inhabitants of Niger Delta, and the mysterious beauty of these discarded and unwanted natural fragments. The artist goes in search for his materials down the riverbanks in the Niger Delta finding rare pieces such as the Iroko, Ewu, Okoliko, Eki and Okepe. Treating his wood like a ‘raw germ ready to reveal its singular character’, Sumbusho is able to dust, brush and treat each piece with a natural wax that preserves the uniqueness and dignity of the wood structure. Once the final form and natural texture are highlighted, the pieces are shaped into a wide variety of coffee tables, chairs and consoles

Shumbusho’s pieces have since been included in several publications and private collections.