
So there was another Nepalese Festival today - I was totally unaware of it until I arrived at the factory. Some places have a day off so that must have been why the roads were so quiet on my cycle to work! In the morning, Man Bahadur presented me with the lump of what...
Cor blimey, its cold here in Nepal - I am missing central heating UK style!! Anyway, the AURA QUE production is coming to an end and the new samples for next season are also nearly there - its been busy! Random, but on a visit to my local nepalese corner shop to get...
So after the Christmas Day church service with Surya Kala, as I was away from home, and had the day off, my friend and I set about constructing and decorating a gingerbread house that my family had given me.....ok, a bit of a random activity but it felt very festive...
So with how the production schedule has worked out this year, I am in Nepal for Christmas for the first time. Its not my favourite time to be here mainly because of the cold weather, which is accentuated by the lack of central heating everywhere, so i am permanently...
So the first week of December saw AURA QUE at the Art Market at the Huddersfield Art Gallery during the weekend Festival of Light. It was such a fantastic event, with lots of great events around the town - including the Illuminated Light Garden, Aerial Ballet...
Last Saturday, AURA QUE was part of the Leeds SUMMAT Gathering 2011 at the Leeds University Union. The event was an all-age gathering for 1000+ people from all walks of life across Leeds and the north to explore the big issues of our time. There were workshops about...
Every Tuesday at the Ganesh Mandir in Kathmandu, various business owners, individuals and locals, come to the temple as a tradition on this day of good luck for Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu God of good fortune. I have been around to the temple with...
With the festivities over, its good to see that Nepali politicians are back at work, with intensive talks towards a peace deal secured yesterday. Its been five years since the end of the Maoist civil war here, the subsequent 'peace process' and various prime ministers...
Today I went to Kumar's house (my leather sample maker), he had invited me to his daughter Alisha's Bhai Tika ceremony with her younger brother and cousin. Alisha performed this ceremony to her two 'brothers' including putting dots of the brightly coloured powder...
Its festival season here in Nepal at the moment! Great atmosphere but hard to get work done as there are endless holidays and festivities during October. Tihar is a five day Nepali festival incorporating the Hindu Festival of Divali. Lots of houses and business premises...
AURA QUE has recently worked with Jobs Australia, creating gift products with their logo for their National Conference in Brisbane: 12-14th October 2011. "Jobs Australia supports and represents the interests of non-profit employment and related service organisations...
With the festival of Dashain in full flow, I decided to make the most of the week holiday and escape to the mountains to trek to the Annapurna Base Camp with friends that were visiting me in Nepal. I had done the trek nearly 9 years before on my first visit to Nepal...
Last week, AURA QUE took part in the Kathmandu Fashion Parade to promote fashion products made in Nepal. It was a good opportunity to promote our products to a local audience, along side other Nepalese designers! Though there were techincal glitches and a power cut, Nepali...
So I arrived back in Kathmandu on Friday morning, straight to the factories to sort out some stock with my producers and working out the logistics of the Kathmandu Fashion Parade that AURA QUE was part of on Saturday night in the capital. It was great to show our products...
After months of preparation in Nepal, the AURA QUE Autumn/Winter Collection is now in the UK and available to purchase! We have our classic bag range which now combines our soft buffalo leather with handknitted banana yarn in tonal colours of black, brown and grey. The...
So its been a hectic few weeks before I left Nepal - getting the new samples finished to show buyers, as well our Autumn/Winter production that wiill be available shortly! It is always a mad rush before I come back to the UK, and it is stressful to try and do things fast...
Sana Hastakala, the fair trade producer group that makes our Jogi Bag Range, are having a refurbishment in their showroom and shop in Kathmandu. Over the last week when I have been popping in about my new samples, Nepali women from Janakpur have been painting these amazing...
So of course you see elephants in Chitwan in the National Park in the South of Nepal, but I didnt expect to see an elephant on my cycle to the factory this morning!! That was a first for me - only in Kathmandu.... Good thing, cos it definitely made me smile!
I have been trying my hardest to get our new Spring/Summer 2012 samples finished for upcoming viewings with our lovely stockists, and hopefully new wholesale buyers also!! As the leather factory does not have a seperate sampling department, I have been working around...
The paper making process in Bhaktapur is all done by hand, each sheet individually - from the Lokta bark found in the Himalayas. Though I went to see Ram & Aparna to collect my swing tickets and other stationary in Natural Lokta Paper, I took some pictures of the paper...