Our Story

The story of Ben's Originals starts
in a small market stall in Nairobi, Kenya, where I (Ben) came across a bucket hat that had been made from a traditional African material, known in Kenya as Kitenge. Kitenge materials are usually used for making bright colourful clothes and head garments. The colours and symbols used in each design can often have a subtle symbolic meaning, symbolising a tribe, marriage, and social status of the wearer.

I went on to buy two of these Kitenge bucket hats and brought them to the UK as presents for my 2 university house mates.

A few months later I returned to Kenya, having seen the reaction and impression that the bucket hats had made on people and decided to return to the small stall to see if they would be willing to partner up to produce and sell bucket hats with the traditional Kitenge patterns in the UK. All bucket hats shown on this site are now produced by this small shop in Nairobi, where they have employed a team of tailors.

Fast forward from there, things have got a lot bigger round here, we have joined forces with a few other suppliers in Kenya to help us release new products!

Sustainability has become a real calling for me, and so everything we do is now focused on providing the best outcomes for people and planet.