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.
2021Urban GuideUrban GuideDotted linesBY BETT Folk get into romantic relationships not knowing how to read their partners. This wouldn’t be a pain if we all…2021MotherhoodMotherhoodLessons from the pumpBY BETT One of the things they don’t tell you you will be doing a great deal of as a new mum…
MotherhoodEarly days: a DiaryBY BETT Sunday 6 September 2020. 2147hours Muna came to the hospital earlier this afternoon. She came to see me and to…2021MotherhoodMotherhoodHe cameBY BETT Well, he came. Our son came. I am writing this from my bed, my back propped against pillows on the…
Urban GuidePost MaloneBY BETT KINYATTI Muna started school last January. On the morning of her first day, GB, Nanny Viv and I packed ourselves…
Dusty RugsAt 24BY MIKE MUTHAKA Twenty-four feels like a cocktail of exhaustion and excitement. Twenty-four has less moral guilt about sex. It has more…
Urban GuideThe HuntBY BETT KINYATTI I am at Toi Market hunting for a bedside rug. (Can I still refer to it as a bedside…
Personal FinanceOversized DiorsBY BETT KINYATTI My shrink told me I must create time to play. “What do you mean ‘time to play’?” I asked.…
Urban GuideWhat the monks sayBY BETT KINYATTI Many harvests ago, I interviewed a craftsman for a magazine column. She back then handmade children’s furniture from her…
Dusty RugsThe Fun PlaceBY MIKE MUTHAKA I broke a glass tumbler last week. At a family gathering. Muratina was in plenty. I helped myself to…
Urban GuideBreaking badBY BETT KINYATTI Imagine you’re 25. You live in South B with your aunt because your folks retired to Naks and someone…
Urban GuideDrownBY BETT KINYATTI I wouldn’t be writing this story if I hadn’t been so gullible to the facades of social media. Scrolling…
Dusty RugsThe price tag of loveBY MIKE MUTHAKA Get this. A 28 year-old Miss Savage has set up an online campaign to raise 90 pounds she lost…
Urban GuideWakanda foreverBY BETT KINYATTI I don’t own any piece of furniture upholstered in Ankara. Not in my home, studio or Pinterest idea boards.…
Dusty RugsOffice folksBY MIKE MUTHAKA Most days I’m in the office by 7 a.m. Old Man drops me off then I climb a flight…
Urban GuideCrave Kitchen: a story in PhotosBY BETT KINYATTI To comprehend the unusualness of Crave Kitchen, you must first comprehend the unusualness of the man who created the…
Dusty RugsWhile I was awayBY MIKE MUTHAKA I lost my ass. Obviously. In February this year I started walking through a glass door five days a…2019Personal FinancePersonal FinanceThe power of brokeBY BETT KINYATTI I’m in Ruiru with my pal, Joan. It’s a Thursday. She and I are down here looking at houses…
Urban GuideForeplay is overratedBY BETT KINYATTI Life’s best moments happen off of social media. Forget the dangling carrots they tease you with. Big-budget box office…
Urban GuideKeep the lights lowBY BETT KINYATTI I’m beginning to think we made a mistake in how we’re raising Muna. Of course there are several mistakes…
Urban GuideAnatomy of a deskBY BETT KINYATTI I’m writing this from Explorer, the bar in Kilimani. I’m seated in a corner – the only corner, it…2019Urban GuideUrban GuideThat Kale chickBY BETT KINYATTI I’m running in the mornings again. I’d forgotten how good I feel after an hour of a brisk run…2019Urban GuideUrban GuideBack to basicsBY BETT KINYATTI I’ve been really struggling to write here. It isn’t a situation of a creative slump more than it is…
Urban GuideNewton’s LawBY BETT KINYATTI Whenever someone on the street stops me and asks me that elusive question about passion, about whether it pays,…
MotherhoodEarly days: a DiaryBY BETT Sunday 6 September 2020. 2147hours Muna came to the hospital earlier this afternoon. She came to see me and to…2021MotherhoodMotherhoodHe cameBY BETT Well, he came. Our son came. I am writing this from my bed, my back propped against pillows on the…Urban GuidePost MaloneBY BETT KINYATTI Muna started school last January. On the morning of her first day, GB, Nanny Viv and I packed ourselves…Dusty RugsAt 24BY MIKE MUTHAKA Twenty-four feels like a cocktail of exhaustion and excitement. Twenty-four has less moral guilt about sex. It has more…Urban GuideThe HuntBY BETT KINYATTI I am at Toi Market hunting for a bedside rug. (Can I still refer to it as a bedside…Personal FinanceOversized DiorsBY BETT KINYATTI My shrink told me I must create time to play. “What do you mean ‘time to play’?” I asked.…Urban GuideWhat the monks sayBY BETT KINYATTI Many harvests ago, I interviewed a craftsman for a magazine column. She back then handmade children’s furniture from her…Dusty RugsThe Fun PlaceBY MIKE MUTHAKA I broke a glass tumbler last week. At a family gathering. Muratina was in plenty. I helped myself to…Urban GuideBreaking badBY BETT KINYATTI Imagine you’re 25. You live in South B with your aunt because your folks retired to Naks and someone…Urban GuideDrownBY BETT KINYATTI I wouldn’t be writing this story if I hadn’t been so gullible to the facades of social media. Scrolling…Dusty RugsThe price tag of loveBY MIKE MUTHAKA Get this. A 28 year-old Miss Savage has set up an online campaign to raise 90 pounds she lost…Urban GuideWakanda foreverBY BETT KINYATTI I don’t own any piece of furniture upholstered in Ankara. Not in my home, studio or Pinterest idea boards.…Dusty RugsOffice folksBY MIKE MUTHAKA Most days I’m in the office by 7 a.m. Old Man drops me off then I climb a flight…Urban GuideCrave Kitchen: a story in PhotosBY BETT KINYATTI To comprehend the unusualness of Crave Kitchen, you must first comprehend the unusualness of the man who created the…Dusty RugsWhile I was awayBY MIKE MUTHAKA I lost my ass. Obviously. In February this year I started walking through a glass door five days a…2019Personal FinancePersonal FinanceThe power of brokeBY BETT KINYATTI I’m in Ruiru with my pal, Joan. It’s a Thursday. She and I are down here looking at houses…Urban GuideForeplay is overratedBY BETT KINYATTI Life’s best moments happen off of social media. Forget the dangling carrots they tease you with. Big-budget box office…Urban GuideKeep the lights lowBY BETT KINYATTI I’m beginning to think we made a mistake in how we’re raising Muna. Of course there are several mistakes…Urban GuideAnatomy of a deskBY BETT KINYATTI I’m writing this from Explorer, the bar in Kilimani. I’m seated in a corner – the only corner, it…2019Urban GuideUrban GuideThat Kale chickBY BETT KINYATTI I’m running in the mornings again. I’d forgotten how good I feel after an hour of a brisk run…2019Urban GuideUrban GuideBack to basicsBY BETT KINYATTI I’ve been really struggling to write here. It isn’t a situation of a creative slump more than it is…Urban GuideNewton’s LawBY BETT KINYATTI Whenever someone on the street stops me and asks me that elusive question about passion, about whether it pays,…