JUST THE TOUCH… THE STYLING OF THE AFRICAN TOUCH
Africa moves and inspires us. Our styling proposal is not, however, to universalise African popular culture but, humbly, to put natural materials, deconstructed shapes, superimposed motifs… a really different and modern ethnic touch, valid for any individual style, into western styling.
That’s why we scour Africa in search of a handcrafted and daring selection. But also proportionate and elegant. A timeless elegance, a simple spirit and a chic attitude with a slightly natural and wild touch. The African touch.
Behind this firm there is a great professional team. At the head of it is Rafael Martinez Urrutia, Decoexplorer. Passionate about travel and design, after many years travelling around Africa and studying the influence of traditional art on European art and design, he had an experience to offer and founded The African Touch in November 2014.
FROM GRANADA TO THE WORLD
The African Touch is based in the capital of the ancient kingdom of Al-Andalus: Granada. A city that still maintains with Africa the ties that have always united it throughout its history. It is the ideal place to extract the best commercial opportunities from Africa while taking advantage of its excellent craftsmanship tradition to tailor the condition of items for customers from all over the world.
Our offices and warehouses are located in the same place, allowing us to process orders immediately.
The direct and personal contact with the craftsmen commits us to their development and is a central aspect in the selection of our collections. In addition, many of our suppliers are members of collaborative communities or development projects such as the Community Resource for the Disabled and Disadvantaged, crcdd, in Bamenda (Cameroon).
PROCUREMENT TEAM
The African Touch has several expert buyers who travel and personally visit the markets and workshops of most African countries on a continuous, one by one basis. Tireless travellers who choose, negotiate and import to Europe the exclusive selection of small artisan productions with the colourful, proportionate and elegant touch that characterises The African Touch.
We monitor the condition of each article at source, discarding defective or dirty materials which we treat in our warehouses (purification, fumigation, freezing, etc.).
ARTICLES WITH HISTORY
We also love each and every item in The African Touch catalogue. Each one carries with it an intimate history (vicissitudes suffered to reach the remote corners where they were found, personal traits of the craftsman, anecdotes of the negotiation…) but above all an ancestral history: that of the ethnic groups and tribes of which they are characteristic, that of the ritual and ceremonial uses, that of the centuries of legends that have been attributed to them.
We always take the opportunity to remember that hand-finished articles, informal aspects or insignificant imperfections, something that is part of their essence and makes them truly unique and exclusive, may be observed in the hand-finished articles.
We try to set affordable prices in order to occupy the mid-price range of the market.
We currently ship our items to hundreds of customers and retailers across five continents.
