Introducing the Thanda Sofa
Ardmore’s “love seat”: introducing the limited-edition Thanda Sofa
In December 2020, the stars aligned for Fée Halsted’s eldest son Jonathan and his fiancée Kate, when a brief window in the COVID-19 lockdowns meant they could get married. The setting for this very special ceremony was the beautiful Thanda Game Lodge in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Appropriately enough, Thanda means “love” in isiZulu. And while every Ardmore creation is made with love, this statement has never been more true than in the case of the limited-edition Thanda Sofa.
Only 40 examples of this remarkable piece of furniture will be made, making it a genuine collector’s piece. Upholstered in our Pangolin Park textile design, the Thanda Sofa was inspired by Kate and Jonathan’s wedding and features bushveld-inspired designs that perfectly complement the modern French style of the sofa.
With the featured flora enlarged for enhanced visual impact, the printed fabric features an ink-black background that perfectly offsets exuberant foliage in a palette of dusty pinks and leafy greens. The wild colours and flowing shapes tell a uniquely African tale.
Curious creatures – including a stalking leopard, graceful kudu and shy zebra – peek out from behind the spiky aloes and wild gardenia, while the pangolin motif and tortoiseshell pattern used on the sides of the sofa remind us of the need to protect the ones we love, and make the Thanda Sofa a piece to be treasured.
The Ardmore Artists found the endangered pangolin to be the perfect symbol of the vulnerability and need for safety we were all feeling during the COVID-19 pandemic. In African culture, the pangolin is revered by royalty and symbolises protection, which is why it was chosen to be the centrepiece of our Pangolin Park textile design. And we used a coordinate design of leopard tortoise on the side panels of the Thanda Sofa to “hold” the design within a beautifully patterned “shell”. The fabric’s allusion to tortoises helps capture the feeling of slow and tentative steps taken to leave our protective “cocoons” and carefully reintegrate ourselves back into the world after the pandemic had run its course.
Love is brave and fearless, and so are we.