Years in retail, travel and direct buying have built relationships with makers, workshops and suppliers across Kenya, the wider continent and beyond, giving us access to sources outside the usual showroom and catalogue circuit.

That retail background also shapes how we choose. We have spent years buying products, living with them, selling them and seeing how people respond to them, so we know what is worth bringing into a project and what is better left behind.

The scale can vary enormously. A project might need a single painting or sculpture, ten handwoven baskets, a small run of lighting or a container of furniture. Some pieces may already be available from Totem, while others are sourced or made for the project. We work with the quantity the brief actually requires rather than forcing every project into the same purchasing model.

Because Totem remains a small studio, the work stays close. The people who understand the brief are also involved in the sourcing, supplier conversations and approvals, with the level of involvement extending into sampling, production follow-up, quality checks and delivery where required.