Craft It · 2013–2023
Archived stories
Ten years of Kenyans and the things they make by hand: makers, Nairobi and Kampala, motherhood, dusty rugs and the conversations in between. 300 stories, brought back online.
2017Dusty RugsDusty RugsA Bike, a Sack and an Ugly leather jacketBY MIKE MUTHAKA By and by, I’m beginning to notice the tinge of yearning I get whenever I see someone on a…
Made By HandNyambura and FunPatch ShoesBY FLORENCE BETT I thought about Nyambura Thuo for several moments of several days before we met. About why she chose to…2017Dusty RugsDusty RugsThe Ghost of Facebook GirlBY MIKE MUTHAKA Back in high school, you simply didn’t live until you went for an inter-school competition. A funky, they called…2017Craft ItCraft ItConversation with: A Street-smart Cab DriverOut of the entr’acte between sunset and darkness, when most of Nairobi is hunkered between the inevitable mature of what-now to what-next,…2017Craft ItCraft ItThe Red StereoBY MIKE MUTHAKA Growing up, we had a small red Fiat. It fit perfectly in our stonewalled compound, and whenever I wasn’t…2017Craft ItCraft ItMohawks and ManesBY FLORENCE BETT The plan for Muna’s hair was to have no plan, really. I simply wanted to maintain the mohawk she…2017Dusty RugsDusty RugsDusty RugBY MIKE MUTHAKA I have a rug in my room. It’s a dusty old thing that makes me sneeze every time I…
Made By HandWallace and Eden LeatherBY FLORENCE BETT MARCH ‘17 Wallace asked me to meet him at the gate of Toyota, the one on Church Road in…2017Craft ItCraft ItLaunch of Craft It :: Website and BrandBY FLORENCE BETT Heiya. Sorry but there’s little pomp and fanfare to go with this launch. I’d also expected more pizzazz —…
Old BlogLaw #35: Master the Art of TimingI joined a pyramid scheme in August 2013. I didn’t know it was a pyramid scheme at the time. When my big…2016Old BlogOld BlogCulture ClubI realized that GB was starting something when, on Friday, he told me that he would be attending a meeting at church…
Old BlogGood cop, bad copTamara Nerima wishes she would live in her son’s head for just a day. Just one. Nate is three. Tamara, every so…
Old BlogA few wordsUltimately, there are only two things your Mother wants you to give her: She wants a hug. A sincere hug. A tight…
Old BlogMuna is bornLast October, a month before my daughter was born, I bought a watch from the kiddies section of the jeweller’s store on…2016Old BlogOld BlogIn pursuit of happynessJoy D’Souza kicks off our Parenting mini-series with a story about her daughter Xena and their blog. Lilmissbelle.com. I am already subscribed…
Old BlogSons and DaughtersThe most tiresome bunch of people you can ever hang with is new parents. Take my word for it, we are a…2016Old BlogOld BlogRoll the diceMy daughter turned four months last Saturday. (Muna, by the way. Her name is Muna.) Four months ago is just about the…2015Old BlogOld BlogMad MenMarket days at Kawangware were on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was the closest market to our digs. My Mum made the trip…2015Old BlogOld BlogCare to shut it?The folly with running a column as intimate as ‘My Mother and I’ is that you start to let out the family…2015Old BlogOld BlogLighted laughIt wasn’t like she was never dramatic, Mama Kananu. She wasn’t the type of woman who understood what subtlety or courtly behaviour…2015Old BlogOld BlogRetire alreadyMy folks are settled in shagz. Finally. Can you hear the vuvuzela and the song and dance that festoon that word ‘finally’?…2015Old BlogOld BlogAt 33 weeksI am not a mother. Yet. I am on the homestretch to being one. I am 8 months pregnant when I write…2015Old BlogOld BlogShow me the moneyIt started with a question over a cup of tea. It always starts with a question over a cup of tea, doesn’t…2015Old BlogOld BlogMister SingerThere’s a sewing machine we’ve been moving house with ever since I first saw it creep up into our living room in…
Made By HandNyambura and FunPatch ShoesBY FLORENCE BETT I thought about Nyambura Thuo for several moments of several days before we met. About why she chose to…2017Dusty RugsDusty RugsThe Ghost of Facebook GirlBY MIKE MUTHAKA Back in high school, you simply didn’t live until you went for an inter-school competition. A funky, they called…2017Craft ItCraft ItConversation with: A Street-smart Cab DriverOut of the entr’acte between sunset and darkness, when most of Nairobi is hunkered between the inevitable mature of what-now to what-next,…2017Craft ItCraft ItThe Red StereoBY MIKE MUTHAKA Growing up, we had a small red Fiat. It fit perfectly in our stonewalled compound, and whenever I wasn’t…2017Craft ItCraft ItMohawks and ManesBY FLORENCE BETT The plan for Muna’s hair was to have no plan, really. I simply wanted to maintain the mohawk she…2017Dusty RugsDusty RugsDusty RugBY MIKE MUTHAKA I have a rug in my room. It’s a dusty old thing that makes me sneeze every time I…Made By HandWallace and Eden LeatherBY FLORENCE BETT MARCH ‘17 Wallace asked me to meet him at the gate of Toyota, the one on Church Road in…2017Craft ItCraft ItLaunch of Craft It :: Website and BrandBY FLORENCE BETT Heiya. Sorry but there’s little pomp and fanfare to go with this launch. I’d also expected more pizzazz —…Old BlogLaw #35: Master the Art of TimingI joined a pyramid scheme in August 2013. I didn’t know it was a pyramid scheme at the time. When my big…2016Old BlogOld BlogCulture ClubI realized that GB was starting something when, on Friday, he told me that he would be attending a meeting at church…Old BlogGood cop, bad copTamara Nerima wishes she would live in her son’s head for just a day. Just one. Nate is three. Tamara, every so…Old BlogA few wordsUltimately, there are only two things your Mother wants you to give her: She wants a hug. A sincere hug. A tight…Old BlogMuna is bornLast October, a month before my daughter was born, I bought a watch from the kiddies section of the jeweller’s store on…2016Old BlogOld BlogIn pursuit of happynessJoy D’Souza kicks off our Parenting mini-series with a story about her daughter Xena and their blog. Lilmissbelle.com. I am already subscribed…Old BlogSons and DaughtersThe most tiresome bunch of people you can ever hang with is new parents. Take my word for it, we are a…2016Old BlogOld BlogRoll the diceMy daughter turned four months last Saturday. (Muna, by the way. Her name is Muna.) Four months ago is just about the…2015Old BlogOld BlogMad MenMarket days at Kawangware were on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was the closest market to our digs. My Mum made the trip…2015Old BlogOld BlogCare to shut it?The folly with running a column as intimate as ‘My Mother and I’ is that you start to let out the family…2015Old BlogOld BlogLighted laughIt wasn’t like she was never dramatic, Mama Kananu. She wasn’t the type of woman who understood what subtlety or courtly behaviour…2015Old BlogOld BlogRetire alreadyMy folks are settled in shagz. Finally. Can you hear the vuvuzela and the song and dance that festoon that word ‘finally’?…2015Old BlogOld BlogAt 33 weeksI am not a mother. Yet. I am on the homestretch to being one. I am 8 months pregnant when I write…2015Old BlogOld BlogShow me the moneyIt started with a question over a cup of tea. It always starts with a question over a cup of tea, doesn’t…2015Old BlogOld BlogMister SingerThere’s a sewing machine we’ve been moving house with ever since I first saw it creep up into our living room in…