AOW INSIDER: An Interview with Maura Kroh Lall of Creative Women

This week, I am delighted to feature the second new collection conceived and brought to life by Maura Kroh Lall, the founder of Creative Women. Since 2007, she has been dedicated to cultivating sustainable partnerships with skilled artisans across Kenya. I consider her an invaluable resource for retail and wholesale buyers alike, particularly those interested in ethically sourced wooden home accents.

Jacaranda wood, distinct from olive wood, is characterized by its softer texture, making it ideal for crafting more detailed carvings and objects. This includes Creative Women's range of animal bowls, wall hooks, spoons, sitting animals, and more. These pieces are all-natural and finish-free making them a perfect choice for children's rooms. The wood used is procured from the local government and Creative Women supports a project committed to sustainability, wherein wood is only purchased if it has been cut specifically for a project. Efforts are also being made to replace the harvested trees with native species.

To learn more about Maura’s company and unique sourcing offering, read below:

Tell us a bit about this project – why Kenya, this artisan group, and wooden products, in general? 

Kenya has been my home for 17 years. Unlike most of our competitors, I have the great opportunity to work directly with our artisans daily. This gives me a unique ability to oversee sampling, production, and quality control.

I’ve worked with this group for over a decade and have watched them grow from 6 to 50 artisans. They are one of only a few in the region that now have the capacity to take on volume orders with the level of quality required for high-end buyers.  

The community has also benefitted from the employment provided by this work, and we’ve seen a younger generation with new interest in returning to traditional craftsmanship.

While these artisans aren’t employed directly by me, they aren’t export-ready on their own. They don’t have the capacity to attend trade shows or to market directly to buyers. Buyers would have a hard time accessing this group directly. 

What is unique to this line in your eyes?

To be honest, our current product line is not particularly unique. I’d like to think it’s our capacity that really sets us apart. We can accept orders with very low MOQs but are also able to meet quantities for large volume buyers. I oversee all the quality control to make sure orders are up to standard. We also have a US warehouse and can handle the import process for smaller buyers if needed. 

Where are both the olive wood and jacaranda wood sourced from?

The olive wood is sourced by permit and comes mostly from private land cleared for horticulture in Kenya. We are also working with artisan communities to assist with re-planting initiatives.  

Jacaranda trees are considered an invasive species and are often cleared to re-plant indigenous trees. We purchase this wood from the government and private individuals.

What are your best-selling items out of the collection? 

The collection is currently quite small. It includes only evergreen items that all sell well. The Spiral Salad servers, Coffee Spoon sets and Striped Bone servers are the top 3.

What are the terms and limitations for retailers looking to develop their custom line of wooden products with your producer?

For custom orders, we generally request a 50-piece minimum per design.

For stock designs, we have no minimums. Small orders are welcome and we also dropship in the US!

Unfortunately, items like bowls with a large diameter are difficult to source as larger trees are hard to find. Cutting boards, on the other hand, are not a problem. 

We have limited options for food-safe finishes here. We generally use olive, sunflower, or vegetable oils. If specific finishes are required, we would need to import them.

Our capacity is 10,000 small spoons per month, 1,500 twisted salad server pairs per month, 2,500 straight handle salad server pairs per month. Bowls would really depend on their size – for example, we can make 600 six-inch bowls monthly.  

Where are items shipped from? 

We can ship FOB Nairobi, Kenya or we can provide pricing from our warehouse in York, PA

For ordering details: maura@creativewomen.net

https://creativewomen.net/