AURA QUE is not just about the finished products; its about the fair trade producers and their families that I work directly with, the constant challenges working in Nepal, as well as all the people I meet on my travels....

31 August 2011

The new AURA QUE Autumn/Winter 2011 Collection is available now!

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 popular neck scarves with leather tabs are available in plain coloured cable or a variety of stripes, and the Jogi Shopper has been made in a thick cotton drill, with matching purses. Take a look!

We are excited to show our new collection and hope you all like it! Until 15th September, we are offering all customers a 10% discount - enter the code HIMALAYA into the online checkout to receive your discount.

Until stocks last, we are also offering a free matching purse for all jogi bag orders, or a free small leather goods item for all leather bags orders (over £70).

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Posted via email from AURA QUE

11 August 2011

Winding up to leave Nepal, but still had time for a visit to Kumar's house!

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 in Nepal for sure!

But I had promised Kumar, the sample maker at NLT Leather factory, that I would meet his family again before I left.  So on the Saturday before I left, I went to visit them at their house down near the river in Tripureshwor. Cor blimey his kids seemed to have grown up since I last saw them in December. 

Alina has just finished college and joined an adminstrative training course, hoping to get a job at the end of it, and Alish seems to have grown a couple of extra foot, but is still as shy as before! As it is the beginning of the festival season, Alina had a go at the mendhi on the palm of my hand - all the women have these beautiful designs in henna on their hands and feet - she drew a beautiful design so fast, it was impressive!

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I had a random meal that Kumar had asked his wife Usha to make for me - a weird mixture of all the different food he knows i like - roti, vegetables, coconut rice pudding and yoghurt curd, washed down with some bright orange Fanta (hey, I know it is so wrong, but when you are hot and sweaty, a bit of sugary fizz is the best 'pick me up'!).  Also, Kumar still can't get his head round the fact that I don't eat meat....

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I had got Alish a stunt kite thing from UK, as I had heard that last Dashain (festival in Sept/October) he was obsessed with kite flying. I was worried that maybe at 14 yrs old he had grown out of it, but Kumar said the next day at work, that his son was so excited about the kite - so I am well happy! Looking forward to see it in action when I am back in October.  For Alina, I gave her one of the bag samples me and Kumar had been working on - last time I was there, I saw that she was using one of my very old first samples that Kumar had repaired and fixed for her (it looked a sorry state!), so I wanted her to have a good sample that her father had made!

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Lovely people, I am glad I went before I left Nepal!

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