Our Story

…this is kanju.

kanju is more than a collection of beautiful things; kanju is a journey, a series of links, a constellation of moments— moments that connect things to places and places to people. From small villages across the African continent to intimate and eclectic interior spaces around the world, kanju is a bridge between cultures.

kanju is big planes crossing oceans and small planes hopping lakes and rickety 4×4 vehicles bumping along dusty roads. kanju is the ochre mud that cakes our shoes as we visit market stalls and remote artist studios; mud that is rolled into beads, sunbaked for days, and strung in rhythmic patterns along the edges of a lampshade or wall sconce. It is the disused milk bottle and window pane that find renewal as elements of a rain chain or decorative screen. kanju is copper languishing within the belly of an old water heater, melted and cut into a polished bead or disc in a chandelier. It is the skin of the life-giving baobab tree spun into a textured rug that crinkles softly beneath your feet.

kanju is the artist who notices a rusting bicycle cog and sees a kinetic history spin out from its sprockets; a new view of an old building from behind a camera lens. It is a perspective and a story and it is our honor to share these stories with you, to share this roadmap as we draw it— journey by journey, artwork by artwork. A kanju piece is an expression of the inspiration we find all across Africa and in this moment you, too, are part of our story.