When we say 'not all bags are created equal', this can be taken to mean many things. However, the most important element (we believe) are the people, the makers, who are ultimately responsible for crafting your bag into life. Never before has this story meant more than with our latest Basket Collection crafted in partnership with the Kenyan cooperative, Hadithi Crafts. From the design and sourcing, to the weaving and leather working, every basket bag has been crafted by a team of talented, passionate and hard-working female artisans.
The word ‘Hadithi’ means ‘story’ in Swahili.
This is their story.
You can play a part in it too.
Meet the women of the Jora Womens Basket Weavers Group in Tsavo, Kenya.
These amazing women live and work in an agricultural region of South-Eastern Kenya. Supported by Hadithi Crafts – a not-for-profit organisation – local women are encouraged to nourish their craft skills and then empowered to use them as a creative and environmentally sustainable way to make a living. The Hadithi team are responsible for weaving sisal baskets by hand, using time-honoured skills taught to them by generations of Kenyan basket weavers. Today, they are keeping these important traditions alive. We are so privileged and incredibly thankful to work with every one of them on this project.
Meet Candy, leather atelier and designer based in Kent, England.
Candy has worked as a leather worker and designer since 2012. Working with a huge range of clients such as boutique brands, museums, west end musicals, hotels and many others, she has curated a breadth of knowledge and inspiration, and in 2023 she proudly opened the doors to her very own leather goods manufacturing business. Candy reached out to us in 2023, and we've been working together ever since. On this project, once the sisal baskets are finished in Kenya and shipped to us, Candy is then responsible for adorning each bag with the leather features that frame and give structure and usability to each and every basket. We're so grateful for her exceptional work on the Basket Collection.
Meet Katy, Founder and Creative Director of LPOL.
Katy started Lost Property of London in 2009, with a passion and drive to design and make responsibly sourced and crafted accessories that tell celebratory stories about the materials and people that make them. This project is one of best examples of her vision. One of Katy's original designs was a jute shopper basket made from salvaged coffee bean sacks, and she planned to revisit that concept with a new material story at its heart. Katy started by researching basket weavers and eventually her search lead her to Hadithi Crafts in Kenya, and very quickly their story and ethos just captured Katy's heart and imagination. It aligned so beautifully with Katy's brief to find a cooperative craft group, that it was surely meant to be. From the first Zoom call with Hadithi's production manager, Katy instinctively knew it could prove to be a blossoming partnership. She briefed them on designs and together they developed the perfect basket shapes, sizes and colours - a careful and considered process of relationship building and fine-tuning that took just over a year. Katy is so proud and excited to be able to share this very special collection with you!
Discover the Basket Collection
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