Eco-Friendly African Animal Sculptures, Made in Cape Town

I'm Joanna Orr, the designer and maker behind Head On Design. I started this business in 2010, inspired by the wire and paper kudu heads I'd see being sold on the streets of Cape Town. I wanted to take that idea further — to create something beautiful, modern, and rooted in a real love for Africa and its wildlife.

My technique involves precision-cut pieces that slot together to form stunning 3D animal head sculptures. From bamboo elephant heads to printed kudu heads featuring the work of Cape Town artists, every piece is carefully designed by me and machine cut to achieve a realistic, sculptural form. I describe my style as "Afro-chic with an ironic twist" — I rarely create anything without some kind of social or environmental commentary. If it were just about aesthetics, what I do would feel meaningless to me.

We Love Our Earth

The materials I use are either recycled or sourced from sustainable origins — and I absolutely our local recycled board called Xanita as well as our paperboard, both light weight yet strong. Our products celebrate Africa's wild animals without harming a single one.

Head On Design actively supports wildlife conservation. Over the years we have donated to organisations such as the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), who do vital work to protect our precious wildlife, especially our rhinos.

Flat-packed

All our products are flat-packed and come with easy-to-follow assembly instructions, which means they’re easy to take home.

Collaborating with Cape Town Artists

One of the things I'm most proud of is our ongoing collaboration with Cape Town artist Sharon Boonzaier. Together we've created a range of hand-illustrated and painted animal heads that carry her extraordinary botanical and wildlife prints. Each piece in this range is a one-of-a-kind work of art — home decor that tells a story about our natural heritage.

Head On Design also uses Sharon’s beautiful prints, so you can enjoy a ‘Sharon Boonzaier’ in every range of sculptures, big or small.

More recently I've been exploring my love of the great art Masters — you'll find an elephant with Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone print and a lion with Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer reimagined. It's a way of bringing the world's great art into your home in a uniquely African form.

Thank you for supporting local, sustainable, cruelty-free design.

— Joanna