People often ask me why I started Huema Design.

The answer lies in both memory and vision. My name is Kenneth Kanaabi, founder and chief designer at Huema. I was born in Kampala to a father from the Musu clan of Buganda and a mother of Kinyarwanda origin. From them, I inherited more than traditions, I inherited a belief that making is an act of meaning.

My father, a gifted handsman, could turn raw wood or steel into objects of survival and dignity. My mother, a beautician, transformed her home salon into a space of care, belonging, and confidence. From them I learned that creativity is not abstract, it is how we protect, uplift, and celebrate life. In our home, making was survival, but it was also joy.

As I grew, I discovered that design; whether a chair, a room, or a hairstyle, was never just about how things looked. It was about who we are, what we value, and how we connect. Design carried identity, memory, and dignity. It shaped belonging. It gave freedom to express oneself.

Later, while studying architecture and spending time at the University of Las Palmas in Spain, my perspective expanded. Spain’s bold colors, expressive buildings, and deep relationship between people and place showed me that design could be a universal language, one that speaks across history, emotion, and imagination. I saw that design can help us grow, learn, and dream, while holding onto what makes us human.

When I returned home to Uganda, I faced a challenge: how could I honor my heritage while embracing global ideas? Too often, African traditions are frozen behind museum glass or dismissed as relics, while modern design chases trends with no roots. I refused to choose between the two. I wanted to build a bridge, a design language that carries heritage forward, speaks to global audiences, and leaves a legacy for the next generation.

That is why I founded Huema Design Studio.

At Huema, we believe design can solve one of the world’s quiet problems: the growing disconnect between culture and modern life. By reinterpreting traditions through contemporary design, we restore meaning to everyday spaces and objects. We create work that is not only functional, but soulful—rooted in place, responsive to environment, and alive with story.

Even our name reflects this mission. Hue speaks to color, vitality, and emotion, the joy of life. Ma honors material, making, and the craftsman’s hand; the dignity of work. Together, Huema means design that is expressive yet grounded, timeless yet free, alive with culture but open to new possibilities.

Huema is more than a studio. It is a philosophy, a way of thinking that respects the past, shapes the present, and inspires the future. Through our products, interiors, and installations, we help people reconnect with the deeper stories behind the objects they use and the spaces they inhabit.

Because when design carries meaning, it doesn’t just decorate life; it protects it, connects it, uplifts it, and transforms it.