Walking distance from the studio, you could combine your stay with one of our signature experiences, or just immerse yourself in our workshops to discover the process of art glass as it happens. Sip cappuccino at a funky, chunky mosaic table in the Glasstronomique café. Surround yourself in a secret garden of sculpture, glass and living designs that enchant and inspire.
For the perfect weekend getaway click the links above to get rates and availability from Airbnb.
As part of our global search for variety for our clients we happened on this rather funky Austrian collection.
Perfect for day to day coolness with the poppy duo tone tumblers, lovely heavy cocktail glasses and the vacuum sleeve coffee cups - which we use daily.
The classic bowl - a product with more uses throughout the home or restaurant than can be listed here. And ours are also elegant just by themselves.
Contact office@kitengela.com for more information or if you don't see something you like, or to check what's in stock at the studio.
Nairobi Flora
Designed and created by Chanyado’s Aleya Kassam
Signature beads made from recycled Kitengela Hot Glass, one by one
Concept and photography by Wambui Mwangi.
“In 2020, my mum and I walked a lot.
Through our masks we'd talk. And some days we wouldn’t.
At a time when many of us around the world were trying as much as possible to stay in one place, we were grateful for movement, and for an interruption in the sameness of each day.
Every day we'd notice the flora; the budding and blooming and drooping and withering and falling, the explosions of colour and intricacies of pattern, shapes, shades, unfurling and folding,
the surprise flowering and carpets of petals, the disease and blossoming,
the constant there-ness and so many ways of being.
Nairobi flora gave us respite.
It offered pause, presence gratitude...an invitation to come closer, inhale deeper, seek from a different angle, reach low, look high, close your eyes.
You are alive.
You are of this earth."
This collection is a praise song for nairobi flora.
So it starts with flora; a fern arched over brick, violet irises fluttering open at sunrise, raindrops on saffron sepals, the fragrance of raat ki rani streaming into the night.
Then, the sensory searches for form in a series of sketches - an idea begins to germinate.
Each unique beade, different shapes, colours, textures are like characters in a story, if you listen to them whisper, they reveal their journey, and the design emerges, (sometimes with difficulty) always beautifully.
For a moment, the piece rests.
The elements that are typically covered up in a piece of jewellery form part of the design, since the goal is not perfection but delight.
And the philosophy of chanyado is delight.
Because remember when you last sat under a tree, toes wriggling in the grass, watching the dust dance in the light?
That is chanyado.
This spirit of dancing glittery dust is in every creation.
As a writer, storyteller & performer, each piece starts with story & ends with drama, and my creations are often called performance jewellery...designed to stand out.
However, I insist on comfort and test each piece myself.
And only when I am delighted, is the piece declared ready, and sent off to the wearer with a hand-written love note.
Because the only thing I love more than delight, is love.
And I hope you love how delightful Nairobi Flora makes you feel.”
- Aleya Kassam, Chanyado
@aleyakassam
@bychanyado
Touching fire (one hours notice) - 15 minutes at a bench, shaping a paperweight. 2,500/-
Blown to life (two hours notice) - 30 minutes, making a glass from start to finish. 5,000/-
Catching light (two hours notice) - 60 minutes, two objects. Can be shared with up to two other people. 10,000/-
We make a lot of stuff, 1000's of different items. 90% of it we can't show here, as it would overwhelm you (& us). But what we can do is show you what's newly out of the oven, or things that may be out of our usual remit.
Contact office@kitengela.com for more information or if you don't see something you like, or to check what's in stock at the studio or our shops.
The now iconic 'garden jewellery' adorns discerning houses and gardens around the globe - bursts of coloured glass catching sunlight and giving glassy joy to many people. Works a bit like Lego - mix and match whatever combinations you want - up to 7 metres long.
Kitengela Hot Glass love the jua-kali (hot sun) ethos - and are used to keeping stuff outside, which has created an entire range of sculpture and adornment for exterior applications.
Contact office@kitengela.com for your custom needs or to see what's in stock at the studio.
There’s blowing, and there’s casting.
We make things like salt and butter dishes by dripping molten glass into molds on our steel table (marver). Also toothpick holders. Or wasabi or soap dishes.
Hand pressed to get a dimple or recess, and voila - a chunky piece for everyday use.
Also great for paperweights, trophies, giveaway slabs.
Our bedroom collection. Malazi is a derivative of "lala", the Swahili word for sleeping.
Because our glass works everywhere, in all walks of life. Its gentle ergonomics fit a sleeping chamber well. From a twinkling nightlight to the bedside table, the decanter on that table, or the water glass that finds your lips in the middle of the night.
Contact office@kitengela.com for more information, if you don't see something you like, or to check what's in stock at the studio or our shops, or if you have a dream you need us to make into reality.
The result of an exciting new collaboration between Simply Inspired woodworkers and Kitengela Hot Glass. We’ve been looking for a partner in carpentry for a while, and this is a very promising beginning.
Lovingly made from recycled Russian pine with hand made glass details from scrap windows..
All our products are individually hand made from recycled glass in small batches, and could differ slightly from the photo in colour.
