We are the bridge between African hands and British homes.
UKEN is the trusted middle between authentic creators across the African cradle — beginning in Kenya — and the UK buyers who love, remember, and want to live with their work. We exist so that fair value reaches the maker and honest provenance reaches the buyer.
A small team holding the line between two continents.
UKEN is the partnership between creators in the African cradle — and specifically Kenya, where we began — and buyers across the United Kingdom. We are based in Nottingham, with a working office in Nairobi, and we move daily between both. Our job is to find the real makers, tell their work honestly, and deliver it intact.
Deliver value both ways — and refuse to lose either.
We bring UK buyers the arts and crafts of the African cradle — the pieces that carry memory, skill, and quiet beauty — and we return real income, recognition, and motivation to the creators who made them. Every sale is structured so the larger share of value stays in Kenya, with the maker. We don't broker the work, we walk alongside it.
Real hands. Real fibre. Real photographs.
Every image below was taken in Machakos, Kenya — no stock, no stand-ins. This is the work, the colour, and the company that makes it.
Four parties. One exchange worth protecting.
Buyers & lovers of African craft
Collectors, gift-givers, and those carrying nostalgia for the continent — people who want pieces with a story, not a stock number.
Authentic creators in Kenya
Artisans, weavers, carvers, roasters, and farmers whose skill has, for too long, been priced by intermediaries instead of by the work itself.
UKEN — your trusted connector
We hold the middle: verifying makers, photographing the work honestly, handling logistics from workshop to UK doorstep, and protecting both sides of the exchange.
Partners — coming very soon
Galleries, cultural institutions, retailers and corporate gifting programmes that want a direct, transparent line to East African craft. Conversations are already underway.
How we trade
Three ways to work with Kenyan makers — one live now, two on the way.
The split is published and unchanged: 60% of every one-off sale goes directly to the creator. The remaining 40% pays for international shipping, customs, payments, the platform, and the people keeping it all running.
One-off orders
Browse, order, pay. The piece is dispatched from the creator in Kenya to the delivery address you choose in the UK. 60% of the sale goes directly to the maker; 40% covers shipping, customs, platform operations and the team keeping it all running.
Project-based collaboration
Commission a creator for bespoke work — a custom run for a shop, a one-of-a-kind piece for a home, a curated commission for a brand. Scoped, milestoned, and protected for both sides.
Recurring orders
Set up a regular rhythm — monthly coffee from a single Kenyan farm, quarterly textile drops for a boutique, scheduled artisan gifts for a team. Consistent income for the maker, dependable arrivals for you.
Cleanly made. Honestly sourced. Mutually valued.
Environmental care
We work with creators who use clean, low-impact methods — natural dyes, responsibly sourced materials, traditional techniques that respect soil and water. We consolidate shipping and avoid wasteful packaging wherever possible.
Authentic creators, authentic buyers
Every maker on UKEN is verified in person by our Nairobi team. We refuse mass-produced lookalikes and the resellers who trade in them. In return, we attract buyers who value the work — not the markdown.
A real partnership
UKEN exists to bind two communities together: the hands that make and the people who cherish. Both sides must value the art at hand — that is the entire premise of this company.
“Both the hands that make and the hands that hold must value the art between them. That is UKEN.”
The UKEN promise