The story behind Nkuku


The Nkuku Home and Lifestyle store sprung onto the south Devon landscape in back in October 2016, a derelict courtyard of barns was given new life and purpose with a store, filled to the brim with homewares, gifts, furniture and an atmospheric café serving delicious coffee and food. We spoke to Ali Cooke, one of the founders of Nkuku about the origins of the company.


“My now wife Alex and I set out on a round the world trip over ten years ago, we met incredible artisans along the way using traditional techniques and handmade skills to create great products. We came up with the idea that we could somehow create a business that could bring these artisan skills to the UK. We wrote a business plan on the back of a paper back on a beach and borrowed the name Nkuku (Nuh – Kuh –Kuh) from a village in Zambia and started bringing in products from around the world.”


“It was a large project that took over 8 months to complete but bringing our brand to life was an incredible opportunity and after years of hard work we can finally stand in a space that directly interprets everything we had envisaged – it is a great thing.”


In addition to the stylish homewares on the ground floor there is a mezzanine displaying the most luxurious and comfortable sofas. There’s a separate modern barn which is like an Aladdin’s’ cave, filled with reclaimed and Indian antiques that you will just fall in love with. This is a unique store with a great atmosphere offering delicious breakfasts, light lunches and that all important coffee. A great destination to while away an afternoon.


The couple started with markets Portobello in London and Totnes being some of their favourites followed by lots of county shows and eventually the business evolved into a wholesale business, supplying independent shops and department stores nationwide but the opportunity to develop into retail was too exciting to pass up.


HOMEWARES · SOFAS ·


VISIT Nkuku Home and Lifestyle Store Brockhills Barns Harbertonford Totnes TQ9 7PS Tel: 01803 866 847


SHOP ONLINE NKUKU.COM


INDIAN ANTIQUES · CAFÉ


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