Amélie Dubois

I ordered an imigongo panel after seeing it on the site and I was nervous about buying art I had never touched. The photographs turned out to be honest, which is rare. It arrived in Lyon eleven days later, packed better than anything I have received from a gallery, and the artist had written a short note explaining the pattern and what the colours mean where he lives. It is the first thing people ask about when they walk into my flat.

James Mwangi

We visited the Kigali space on a Saturday afternoon and ended up staying nearly three hours. What I did not expect was being taken to the studio behind it, where two women were finishing a set of baskets that were going out that week. Being able to watch the work and then buy directly from the person doing it changes how you feel about the object. We left with two pieces and a standing plan to come back.

Sofia Lindqvist

I commissioned a wall hanging for a room with difficult light and sent photographs of the space. The artist came back with two options and a price, and did not push me toward the more expensive one. Progress pictures arrived every week or so without me having to ask. Shipping to Sweden took longer than I expected, which is the only reason this is not five stars, but the piece itself is exactly what I described and somehow better.

Daniel Okoro

I have bought African art from dealers in London for years and never once known who made any of it. Here the maker has a name, a shop and a face, and the money goes to them. That alone is worth the price difference. The ceramic bowls I ordered came through customs with no fuss and no surprise charges at the door, which has never happened to me before with a parcel from the continent.