Hailing from Cameroon and Martinique respectively, Tania Doumbe Fines and Elodie Dérond are the creative duo behind Ibiyanε. Named for the Batanga word “to know one another,” the design studio’s guiding principle is to nurture curiosity between people and cultures at a fundamental level, driven by a belief in the endless world of possibilities that conversations can open.

Finding a sense of self in community, exchange, and collaboration, the pair work together to create everyday objects, primarily in hand-sculpted wood, that marry functionalism with the storytelling power of design to re-centre the canon on the heritage of the African diaspora.

Dérond earned a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Dynamics from École des sciences de la gestion (ESG UQAM) in Montreal in 2018. Doumbe Fines earned her BFA in Interior Design from the University of Montreal in 2016. The studio is currently based in Martinique.