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 love bamboo. All our products are flat-packed and come with easy-to-follow assembly instructions, which means minimal packaging and a lower carbon footprint. Our products celebrate Africa's wild animals without harming a single one.

Head On Design actively supports wildlife conservation. We donate to organisations doing vital work to protect our precious natural heritage, including the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Blood Lions.

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 — wearable decor that tells a story about our natural heritage.

More recently I've been exploring my love of the great art Masters — you'll find Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone and Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer reimagined on our animal sculptures. 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