where modern design, artisan culture and ethical business unite.
FLOC was founded by Australian designer Nina Howard. Before founding FLOC, Nina built up over 12 years’ experience as a design and market access consultant for major international organizations including UNESCO, Traidcraft and AusAID. She has worked closely with many artisan communities around the world including in Benin, Cambodia, New York, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Vietnam.
in Kenya Nina partners with specialized artisans to design grounded creations from locally-sourced natural materials curated into original, delicate, moving art pieces.
“At FLOC we aim to release the creativity and traditional skills of local producers by opening doors to global markets.
Every mobile you buy brings that creativity and tradition home.”
Nina Howard, FLOC Founder and Owner.
PARTNERSHIPS
SMOLart Self Help Group
SMOLArt Self Help Group is a member of the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) and was established in 1990 in the Western Kenyan community of Kisii, near Lake Victoria.
They work hard to eradicate poverty. Their artisans are paid a fair price for their work. And they activity oppose discrimination, support community development and manage resources sustainably.
SMOLart works with 200 producer members, each of whom is a stakeholder. All of the soapstone products crafted in collaboration with FLOC are completely handmade.
Victorious Crafts Group
Victorious Crafts Group was formed in 2006 as a daring artistic solution to the ingrained problem of youth unemployment in the Kibera slum.
Their courageous risk was to transform waste materials found in their neighbourhood – like wood, brass, bones and horn from the meat industry – into art.
Driven by vision and determination, the group now makes a wide range of remarkable and exceptional products from necklaces, to bracelets, earrings, hair clips, bowls and cutlery. The group trains its artisans free of charge and deliberately gathers a diverse workforce underpinned by an unshakable commitment to responsible waste management and environmental sustainability coupled with human dignity and pride
‘Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.’
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel