Thrifty Thursday • Nupe Stools
Last week, my boo and I drove to Houston for a quick getaway. It's about a five hour drive from New Orleans. We just wanted an excuse to visit our favorite restaurant there called, Oporto Fooding House so I can inhale their seafood paella and lemon egg tarts. I could eat that yumminess all day, everyday.
While we were in H-town, we cruised down Westheimer Road and I saw a huge sign that read BJ's Antiques. Questionable name, for sure, but I spotted a few African stools sitting outside their shop. I've seen these go for hundreds at the Rose Bowl flea market so I wasn't holding my breath when we pulled in. The guy who worked there was a hoot. He was telling me how these stools were over 200 years old and that they should be in a museum. I was like, great, they're gonna be $$$. But to my surprise, they were $75 each! YAAAS! I took two and boom, now we got some Nupe stools in the house! They work great as plant stands or just by itself.
These African stools are hand carved by the Nupe tribe in Nigera. They feature really simple yet beautiful geometric patterns. Some even have hand-painted surfaces. They date back to the 19th century, so maybe the guy from flea market knew what he was talking about. The usage of the stools represented status in the Nupe society. Bow down, b*tches! Ha!