The Dwell 24: Bellafonté Studio

A devout Christian, Tiarra Bell of Bellafonté Studio embeds the teachings of her faith into her furniture designs.

Most often working with wood, the Rhode Island School of Design graduate uses her craft to "translate biblical stories, words, and ideologies into something tangible." For Purity Mirror, which she created under the mentorship of Botswana furniture designer Peter Mabeo, Bell coated strips of ash and panga panga wood with dyed wax.

The resulting mirror frame evokes the undulating sand dunes of Botswana’s Kalahari Desert while prompting the viewer to reflect on faith and transformation.

Bell started to integrate her religious beliefs into her designs once she began working with Mabeo, who encouraged her to imbue her pieces with deeper meaning. "The object has to speak to you," she explains of Mabeo’s approach, "and not just in aesthetics."

Read the full Q&A with Tiarra Bell below.

Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Describe what you make in 140 characters. Sculptural furniture.

What’s the last thing you designed? A dining table made of bleached oak and alabaster quartz that is a reflection of communion as defined in the Bible.

Do you have a daily creative ritual? My creative ritual consists of prayer and reading the Bible to create a piece. I like to create pieces that touch the soul rather than please the eye. I typical translate the verbal stories from the Bible into a physical and tangible body of work.

How do you procrastinate? By sleeping.

What everyday object would you like to redesign? Why? The cell phone, so it can return back to its original purpose for communication without endless distractions and vain social media influences.

What skill would you most like to learn? At the moment, I would like to learn how to carve marble.

What is your most treasured possession? My mind combined with my Bible.

What’s your earliest memory of an encounter with design? My father, who was a contractor, would often take me on his job sites when I was a child. As I watched from afar, I begin to develop an eye for patterns and shapes found within houses and architecture. However, it wasn't until high school when I meet an architect, Alex Gilliam, who gave me a deeper understanding of what design is.

What contemporary design trend do you despise? Aesthetics with no meaning or message.

Finish this statement: All design should... communicate a message.

What’s in your dream house? A detached studio space and wood shop that resembles a traditional mill building with an open floor plan, brick walls, exposed wooden beams and huge windows.

How can the design world be more inclusive? By including basically anything that was once marginalized within the design world such as people, ideologies, theories, methods of making, materials, etc.

What do you wish non-designers understood about the design industry? I wish non-designers (or my mother to be specific) would stop suggesting that everything be sparkly and shiny.

You can learn more about Bellafonté Studio on their Instagram.

View the 2022 Dwell 24!