ABOUT KULU
Kulu didn’t start in a boardroom. It started in our family garage — with Brian (son of Kulu) and Ross (grandson of Kulu) trying, for the hundredth time, to make a product that brought gemstones into everyday life.
Between the two of them, they’ve tested everything: gemstone bathroom plugs, gemstone water bottles, gemstone rings… if it could hold a crystal, they’ve tried it.
But this idea — this little light — finally got a unanimous thumbs-up from the rest of the family. That’s when excitement really took off. From that point, it became a full family project. Mom, Dad and the three siblings — Ross, Chelsea and Kelly — all around the kitchen table in the house we grew up in. Ideas flying, disagreements happening, prototypes everywhere, someone always making tea. Real start-up energy.
We built the first versions in the garage. Sanding, shaping, testing, arguing about silhouettes, scrapping failed designs and celebrating small wins. Every version made us clearer on what we wanted: a children’s light that felt calm, meaningful and proudly African — not mass-produced plastic.
The name Kulu honours our grandfather. In isiZulu, khulu means “great” or “important,” and for us it’s also the nickname of John Gordon Norton — the quiet giant who taught us t o love nature, treat people fairly and pay attention to the small things. His spirit sits in the background of what we do. But the business?The business is 100% Norton family start-up — built with our own hands, our own savings and plenty of honest, sometimes uncomfortable, but always important family conversations.
Today Kulu Precious Lights are handcrafted in South Africa from recycled African hardwood, laser-etched with the Acacia silhouette, and illuminated by a Girasol Quartz crystal sourced from Madagascar and cut by local artisans. They’re designed to bring a little calm, a little magic and a touch of Africa into the rooms of little dreamers.
Kulu Precious Lights is our family’s way of building something that lasts — simple, beautiful, meaningful, and made with love (and a lot of trial-and-error) in our garage.