As the new owners we would like to introduce ourselves. John Russell has worked in the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East. Helen Hart was born in Kenya and her sister has spent many years in Africa as an ecologist. Both of us are committed to continuing the ethical trading policy of the company.

Craft Zoo™ is a wholesale and retail supplier specialising in the supply of Handmade Giftware of the highest quality at competitive prices. We are NOTsimply Internet Based - we have a showroom and warehousing operations in the United Kingdom. In addition we have a base in Africa for over 50 years! Our products are hot sellers and our customer testimonials say a lot more about our business then we could.

Our supply chain has strengthened over the years and we believe that 'TRUST' forms the basis of any mutually beneficial business partnership. We are committed to building a strong relationship with our customers - based on the basic principles of Honesty, Integrity, Respect and Trust.

Business Ethos

Our mission is to supply a large range of Handmade Giftware which is unique, functional and of course - beautiful!. We purchase our crafts directly from the crafts-people, artisans or tribesmen. We DO NOT purchase from 'middle men' or brokers. This ensures that the crafts-people who actually undertake the hard work are paid a fair price for their products, without giving away part of their hard earned money to 'middle men'.

We also have a strong 'ethical code'. We do not pay our artisans and crafts-people after we have sold the products. We pay them at the time of placing our order with them. This ensures regular supply, happy artisans and reasonable prices.

Our Products

The majority of our products are individually hand crafted and unique. They are made by master crafts-people whose skills have been passed from generation to generation. The men normally source the wood or stone and carve the artefact. The women usually prepare the stone or wood, mix the pigments, and also paint and polish the artefact.

Product Materials

Where possible, we endeavour to buy wood products made from renewable resources, and encourage the tribesmen to use 'waste' wood from various sources. In the past, this has included old telephone poles, railway sleepers or even damaged non-repairable furniture. Some products may also be coloured by natural inks attained from a mixture of plants and flowers.

Product Uniqueness

Certain carvings are only made by particular tribes and only by specific crafts-men within the tribe. The shape of the stone or piece of wood plays an important part in determining how the object may be carved. For example, out of 2 hippos, only one may be looking into the sky. This is simply because the stone or wood determines the direction it looks, the way it stands or sits and its actual size. This makes each item unique - an "Individual Masterpiece."

Due to the large number of designs and colours, we cannot supply hundreds of the same design and colour. Please remember that these crafts are not 'moulded' in a factory - they are handmade and it is unusual to have two pieces, which are exactly the same.

This continual development of colours and designs is why African art is unique. The colours of the landscape, the scent of the red dust in the air, the sound of the thunder in the skies and the emotions of the people is all displayed in the art. The animals look ready to walk out of your door and the statues tell a story.

Delivery Details For United Kingdom Customers (Wholesale only)

Artefacts are despatched as soon as possible, after our acceptance of your order and clearance of your payment. We would then expect them to arrive at their UK mainland destinations between 7 Business Days of despatch, though in any event within 30 days of your order.

If you are a wholesale buyer please register with us to access our full Delivery details and charges. If you are purchasing via Craft Zoo retail you can buy a single product right up to a combination of products from us. You do not have to purchase complete packs if you purchase via Craft Zoo retail.

Delivery Details For Goods Supplied Directly From Africa (applicable to wholesale customers only)

All goods being supplied from Africa will take about 6 weeks to be made ready. However, it depends on the order size and the products ordered.
If you are a buying via our wholesale section please register with us to access our full Delivery details and charges.

Security Policy for Craft Zoo wholesale section only

As we are not using a payment gateway, we do not need your credit or debit card numbers for any processing. This means that we do not have the need for secure servers at present. If you would like to make a payment via credit or debit card, we can also accept your payments by phone or fax.

Security Policy for Craft Zoo retail section only

Please see the relevant section accessible via the Craft Zoo Retail section

Privacy Policy

We are committed to keeping your details private and only using information in accordance with our Data Protection Licence. We do not release your details to third parties save as required by law.

The information that you provide may be used for the following:

1. For processing your order, contacting you (by e-mail or otherwise) in that connection; and
2. To provide you with other relevant information from time to time.
3. We also require your details including country to enable us to calculate shipping charges. Other details such as VAT number are required for processing your order and seeing if we should add VAT to your orders OR if you are VAT exempt. If any of your details change please update us.

If you do not mind receiving marketing and other information but change your mind at any time please e-mail us.

From time to time we may use technology to track the patterns of behaviour of visitors to our site. This may be by using a "cookie" " which would be stored in your browser. You can modify your browser to reject these or to inform you before this happens and give the opportunity to accept the cookie. Information that is collected through a cookie will be held by us, for monitoring and research purposes but it will not be able to identify you by name or address.

If you have any questions about privacy please e-mail our Customer Services Manager using the details on our contact page.

Terms and Conditions for Craft Zoo Wholesale

Please ensure that you have read our "how to buy" summary before proceeding. This is accessible from the Main Options menu. By placing an order with us you will be taken to have accepted our Conditions of Sale and these contain important details about our site, the goods and what happens in the unlikely event of a problem.

You will also be taken to have accepted our Privacy Policy and Security Policy so please check that now to make sure that you are comfortable with them. Links to other sites From time to time we may offer links to other sites where we consider they share our values and may be of interest to you. Given that it is a separate site we are not responsible for the content or information collecting policies of other sites. You should therefore visit the other site's privacy, terms and conditions and relevant disclaimers.

If you have any questions about privacy please e-mail our Customer Services Manager using the details on our contact page.

Terms and Conditions for Craft Zoo Retail

Please see the Terms and Conditions applicable to Craft Zoo retail via the retail section of the website