Opening of the Fair Trade Cooperative in Holmfirth..

So I have been getting used to being back in the UK after my last trip to Nepal and India.  This is the first time I have been back in the UK for June for at least 5 years, and I have to say I am loving it!! The beautiful weather is making me appreciate the british countryside all around where I am based in Yorkshire - fantastic!

Anyway, when I first got back, I went to the opening of a new Co-operative project in Holmfirth - http://www.thefairtraderscooperative.co.uk/ - founded and invested in by the local community, the new shop sells a range of fair trade and ethical products and gifts.  As well as the shop, there is also a community room where customers can relax and learn more about how the Fair Traders Co-operative works. 

At the opening, I was introduced to the new local MP for Colne Valley, Jason McCartney, who took an interest in the AURA QUE leathergoods that are for sale at the new store...

Photo by Ciaran Bodenham

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SUMMER SALE - 20% DISCOUNT ON ALL AURA QUE STOCK until 30th June 2010

AURA QUE is offering you 20% off ALL products in our Online Boutique until the end of June - including all sale items and our Spring/Summer 2010 stock. Just use the following discount code "SURYA2010" at the check out - and remember we provide free postage and packing!

 

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I dont think that bright pink leather with zebra print is really my style?!

So I got to Delhi, had a couple of meetings, and got to catch up with Kirat, a good university friend from LCF Cordwainers College, before heading on the 14 hr round trip by train to visit the leather tannery I am working with.  I had to check my leather production before it was to be road freighted up to Kathmandu.  But I had to put this picture into the blog - of Faiz, the leather technician, who I was talking to while waiting for the leather pieces.  I asked him what his favourite leather was, and I am not sure if it was lost in translation, as he came running back holding up a bright pink hair-on cow leather with a black zebra print on top.   It was very funny, I was in shock! But I dont think this leather is suitable for the next AURA QUE collection...

With my train back booked for 7pm, to take 7 hrs back to Delhi, just in time for my flight back to London in the morning (yes, all abit hectic), the tannery director wanted to check if my train was running on time, and with a bit of a gasp, we found out it was running 5hrs late.....PANIC!  With Indian trains booking up like crazy in advance, my only option was to take the 8pm bus that got me into Delhi at 8am.  Just in time for breakfast and straight to the airport! Pooooped!

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Leaving Nepal - until next time...

So after a whirlwind three and a half week trip to Kathmandu, I have gone back to Delhi for several meetings, and to view my leather production.  With a severe shortage of time, due to all the delays at the beginning of my trip, I had to fly back to Delhi from Kathmandu, making sure that I got a window seat on the right side of the plane, to get the Himalayan views of the mountains peaking through the clouds - I love it!

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Nearly finished working on my Spring/Summer 2011 samples!

Whilst in Nepal this time, I have been working on my designs and collection for Spring/Summer 2011 to show to buyers over the next few months. I have been working with some of the sample makers at a leather workshop in South Kathmandu, set up by the Nepal Leprosy Trust.

For the summer collection, I have been working with buffalo leathers, allo nettle material with printed AURA QUE logo and jute braiding. I am really pleased with how hard all the producers worked with me, and pleased with the samples we made together!! Have put some pics of me and the lovely Bharat, Kumar, Shyam, Surya, Ram, and all the others who helped here and there...

So i think I am a bit of a giant here in Nepal...

Well I am 5 ft 10 inches, tall but not that tall in the UK - but in Nepal, I definately feel like a giant! I still remember my first time living in Nepal in 2003, when I was teaching English in a rural village, and how all the local families were laughing when they put me on one side of the metal scales (used for weighing bags of rice) and then two local girls (same age as me) on the other side - yep, I was the same weight as 2 Nepali girls!

Around the producers, I also seem to be huge in comparison - Nepalese are generally very small and slight people! So I thought I would take two pics of two women I work with. On the left, is Meera, the production director at Sana Hastakala - a force to be reckoned with!

The picture to the right is with Manju, who works at the Nepal Leprosy Trust - I still remember my total surprise when she stood up from her desk, first time I visited - all the the other producers find it hilarious if we walk to the local cafe at lunch together!!

Cycling around Kathmandu

Kathmandu is chaotic, there is no doubt about it. The mass sprawl, the crowds, the mental traffic of motorbikes, tuktuks, cars, rickshaws, and cows! Its not a huge city, but its pretty packed with people! With over 2000 years of cultural heritage, you catch glimpses of the buddhist stupas or hindu temples next to modern buildings and rickety huts.

I bicycle around the city as its quick to get around, and you can weave around the traffic and take the bumpy scenic back roads! Weirdly I am so comfortable cycling around Kathmandu, but have only tried it once in London - all those cycle lanes coming and going, with all drivers on autopilot, made me nervous! At least in Kathmandu, it is organised chaos - despite the traffic weaving around, moving everywhere, squeezing everywhere, they are all very aware of the road. You even get used to the customary horn 'beep' everytime a car passes any other moving object!

Its a lot of fun too; I have had plenty of random chats with taxi drivers or tuktuk passengers whilst at traffic lights, even lost a flipflop or two mid-cycle during monsoon. Its also a great way to learn about the city, find your way around - and sometimes you find the best places when you get lost!

Going for lunch with my producers

Ok so from this photo, i seem a little over excited about lunch with the producers at my leather factory - but you cant beat a lunch break for veg chowmein and good company!!

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Spring/Summer 2010 - Screenprinting AURA QUE Logo

For our Allo hemp products, the AURA QUE logo is screenprinted by hand onto each piece - see pictures below from the manufacturer that I visited this week, whilst developing new samples for our next collection!

Visit to Tannery in India

On my road trip from Delhi to Kathmandu, I visited the tannery that produces buffalo leather for AURA QUE's leather collection. I have visited many tanneries in various parts of India over the last few years, and am pleased to be working this well established tannery. They have a strong social responsibility policy and work to European regulations for Health & Safety and their treatment process, which I have seen first hand during my visits.

From Autumn/Winter 2010, AURA QUE will be working with leather made from high grade buffalo hides, that is a by-product of the local food industry. To create the colours and finish required, the tanning process uses some chemicals and waxes which are processed through the tannery's primary and secondary effluent treatment plants that extracts, contains and reuses any chemicals, and purifies water to be used for irrigation.

The tannery process the leather from raw hide to finished product. Once the raw leather hide has been processed, the leather is dyed in a large drum, dried, wax added, and then tumbled by a milling process to soften it.

I think its important to know how my materials are made, and having seen the whole tanning process from start to finish, its definately not for the faint hearted! But personally, I really think it is a necessary industry - realistically when is the world going to stop eating meat? Surely it is important to use all by-products to minimise waste?