Scout Finch

Founded in 2000, AURA by Tracie Ellis has always strived to create uninhibited, stylish bed linen, homewares and rugs.

And for probably the same amount, I’ve had a mad crush for their beautiful items. Our house is a walking Aura catalogue. With the release of their new stock, I though now would be a great time to speak to the marvellous woman behind the range – Tracie.

Tracie is a talented textile designer who created AURA. She designs every range with her small team of creatives from her office in Melbourne. She is a bit of a workaholic but has recently become the proud owner of a magnificent country home. She retreats there every weekend with her husband David and their dog Max. She loves to cook and garden and entertain friends who live in the same country town.

See below for our small chat and check out the photos of her new release!

Tell me about Aura

Although inspired by years of global meandering, we design all our products back home in Melbourne, and while we’ve seen many trends come and go, we believe it’s our forward-looking approach that sets us apart. We have had an evolution over those 14 years, from muted textures to extravagant colour, grand shapes and daring patterns. AURA is all about fashion in the home – we love the combination of amazing colour, bold prints & the unique hand–made. Yes, AURA is a little bit Scandinavian, a little bit Indian, but AURA is mainly a whole lot of Melbourne.

How big is the team?
The Aura team consists of seven very passionate & talented team members plus our dedicated warehouse staff.

Will aura ever open a store, or happy to continue online sales and being a stockist for larger stores?
Never say never, it would be fabulous to one day have an AURA concept store. Watch this space!

What is in store for 2015?
We will be 15 years old! 15 years of fabulous homewares being launched with a brand new range of bedding, accessories, rugs and towels, all at the Feb 2015 Life in Style fair in Sydney.

Your website says the inspiration is Scandinavian meet Indian? Why those two influences?
I travel a lot, for business and pleasure, and in my travels I love to visit Scandinavia and India in particular. I have been visiting India for over 20 years and working with the same suppliers, who are not just business partners but friends.

One thing I love the most about the Aura products is the beautiful materials – my red flower (light blue backing) doona (bought 2 years ago) has the most gorgeous material – where do the team source their material/fabrics from?

That particular “Peony” design is printed on a beautiful long staple pure cotton sateen. All of our fabrics are sourced from India, China and Thailand and we only use the highest quality fabrics to ensure softness and longevity. All of our bedlinen is woven from either Pure Cotton or Linen Cotton and we pride ourselves on giving the customer great quality fabric on the front and reverse of our products. We are also very proud of our hand-made products made in India, we have a very special supplier who hand screen-prints all of our AURA cushions.

I love how you partner with great names and brands – ie Jason Grant etc. Who else do you partner with and what are the benefits?
It is great to be able to collaborate with partners in our industry – it is as a way of working with other very talented people and companies and being able to make our loyal customers aware of other like-minded brands and people, and their fabulous products. As well as Jason we have also partnered with Ergoflex memory foam mattresses – an amazing range of memory foam mattress that have only been available in Australia for a few year. Good bed linen needs a superior mattress! And we have another great partnership coming up. Watch this space for more info.

To check out their website visit www.aurahome.com.au or click here