Last year, I went to Marrakech with Rose (who stocks AURA QUE at her fantastic boutique Butlers Emporium in Hastings), who has worked with local artisans and craft workshops for the last ten years. It was a much-needed inspirational holiday full of gloriously colourful sights, and a wealth of craft, texture and pattern.
During the trip, we sourced these amazing vintage Berber blankets, finely woven by Berber women in their homes in Atlas Mountain region of Morocco. Each piece has a unique colour palette and the different colours in warp and weft to give two tone colour effect – I fell in love with them! So I decided to make a limited edition AURA QUE collection with a selection of these blankets to bring some more vibrant summer colour to my range.
Each blanket has been made into various practical bag styles from our MANOHA tote to small PRAKU purses, with minimal wastage of this precious cloth. We also have a new cross body style called YALI, perfect for hands-free summer adventures!
All bags are made with leather trim in a classic complimentary colour from taupe grey to brown to black leather. And I used our current AURA QUE handwoven cotton in mint, mustard and teal as the lining for each piece. As the blankets are so varied in colour, each product is unique and slightly different for this limited edition collection. I hope you like them as much as I do!
Laura Queening
Designer