Totem is a Nairobi-based sourcing and curatorial studio working across furniture, lighting, art, textiles, objects and scent for hospitality projects and private clients.

The sourcing experience behind Totem began in 2017 with Mopti Living, our Nairobi retail store, where years of direct buying from makers, workshops and suppliers across Kenya, the wider continent and beyond built the relationships and supplier knowledge that Totem draws on today.

Retail gave us the opportunity to understand products beyond the buying stage. We saw what sold, what lasted, what customers came back for and which suppliers delivered consistently. Over time, that built the judgement to distinguish between something that photographs well and something that performs well once it is actually in use.

Totem brings that experience into project sourcing, searching beyond the usual showroom and supplier circuit and working within the requirements of each brief. Because we have worked across different markets, makers and methods of production, we are not tied to one catalogue or one way of buying.

A client may come to us with an exact specification, a reference image, a material they want to work with, a budget, or a broader direction for the project. We use that brief to search across the sources available to us, develop relevant options and bring together pieces that respond to the project as a whole.