The Currency gift guide does… Pan-African cool

Think of this tribe as the cousins who arrive at Christmas looking like they’ve stepped off a magazine cover – with that Lagos energy, Joburg swagger, Accra prints and Cape Town chill all blending into one impossibly stylish whole. But somehow without looking like they tried, really…

They’re the ones who know which artists are showing in Dakar, who can tell you all about the hot new DJ coming out of Kampala, and who know where to get the most delicious jollof rice and the best Hermès scarf in the same afternoon. Their homes smell of incense and Byredo, their WhatsApp groups hum with travel itineraries, and their gifting expectations are unlikely to be generic shopping-mall aligned.

This crowd magically disappears to Lamu on the regular. It is their home away from home, after all. You know the look: salty hair, Mami Wata surf shorts, slouchy linen and a tote bag stuffed with the latest African novels bought from the coolest Afrocentric bookshop in Rome.

Their holidays are a mix of sunrise surfs, slow lunches under the palms and evenings spent debating politics and playlists over tamarind cocktails. For this lot, gifts need to feel like a passport stamp — thoughtful, artisanal, a touch hedonistic and unmistakably Pan-African.

1. Give Me Summer Palms print, R699, Jasper & Jute.
2. Rolly On My Wrist poster (A2), R595, Aafricaa.
3. Miso dressing (250 ml), R75, The Leopard.
4. Sunbird Superior Spiced Orange Rooibos, R75, Soy Lites.
5. Embroidered logo cap, R699, Mami Wata.
6. Thule Aion Garrett McNamara surfboard bag, R14,999, Thule.
7. A Meeting of Cultures: Fashioning North Africa edited by Sara Hume and Nada Koreish (Hirmer), $45, Amazon.
8. William Kentridge The Invention of Africa cushion cover (40 x 60cm), R995, Zeitz MOCAA.
9. Animals Wild: Meercat beaded wirework sculpture, R570, Woza Moya.
10. Sibongile Pink Heritage handbag, R1,150, Dr. Pachanga.
11. Koba Hourglass hand-painted pine stool, R7,850, Design Store.
12. Pirates Choice by Orchestra Baobab vinyl record, R1,089, Echo’s Record Bar.

For more of the goodies in the Currency gift guide go here and here.

_{Top image: Rawpixel/Currency collage.}