DESIGNA MAGAZINE DESIGNA ISSUE III 2019 2 | Page 65

THE
LOVEARTISAN
STORY
By Sara Reeves
�e story
behind a
contemporary,
original and
environmentally
sustainable
artisan-made
furniture
business in
Nairobi
Love Artisan is a social enterprise which harnesses the potential
of Nairobi's informal sector workforce to create contemporary,
original and environmentally sustainable artisan-made
furniture. An integral part of Love Artisan's identity is for our
customers to get to know the artisans who make their furniture.
Both the creation and the purchase of hand-crafted work is an
intensely personal exchange and forms an important part of our
story. If you follow us on social media, you'll know that we often
share the stories of our artisan team.
As it came time recently to introduce our original team
member, Evans Onsongo, it occurred to me that it's impossible
to tell Evan's story without telling the journey of how Love
Artisan ultimately came to be. And so here it is.
I have lived in Nairobi for almost 6 years, primarily working in
the tourism industry and occasionally dabbling in other
entrepreneurial ventures such as event management and organic
bee-keeping in Masai Mara. In June of 2015, I had just moved
into an unfurnished �at and needed to �nd an inexpensive way
to furnish it. 'How hard can it be to make furniture?' I
wondered. Little did I know! So I watched some YouTube
videos and bought some old shipping pallets. I also gathered the
spare parts of my safari truck and thought, 'I must be able to
make something from this.'
Evans, at the time was working as the day watchman in my
compound. He had learned some carpentry skills from his uncle
as a teenager, but did not have the means to continue learning
the trade after he �nished school and so started working in
security. At the time we met, Evans was being paid a criminally
low wage of 6,000kes a month for his work as a watchman.
We gathered the pallets and the spare parts and together Evans
and I set about making some furniture for my house. Our very
�rst design was a bouncy little stool made out of the old coil
springs from my safari truck. Despite having no plans to go into
furniture making, the design was a hit amongst friends and very
soon we stopped making furniture for my �at, and started
making it for other people. (Note: I still sleep on a bed made
from old tomato crates made by Evans back in those early
May
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June 2019 | D E S I G N A