15% Discount for Blog Readers

As a thank you for being a supporter of The Aura Collective, we would like to offer readers a 15% discount on the purchase of any item(s) from the Aura Collective website. This discount is offered in limited numbers, so be sure to make your purchase soon before the number of coupons is taken up.

As Canada's trusted seller of fine craft and original art, remember that Aura Collective also donates 15% of the purchase price to your charity of choice. What an senasation wedding gift! Original art or fine craft from one of Canada's finest artists plus you support the bride's favorite charity!

Simply choose your preferred charity from any of Canada's 85,000 registered charities during the checkout process. What an awesome shopping experience when you know you are supporting your favorite charity!

To redeem your discount, simply enter the code AUBL10 in the coupon box during checkout. The 15% discount will be applied to your entire order.

Together with Aura's policy of free shipping in Canada, this has to be one of the best deals going.

A Beach State Of Mind

Your faithful correspondent finds himself in beautiful Northern Nova Scotia - specifically in Black Point, Pictou County. We do go to great lengths for our readers.

I sit here looking out over a lovely garden with the deep blue waters of the Northumberland Strait providing a background that rivals any spot on earth in terms of beauty and serenity. The trees here are mainly spruce and the beach is sandy and littered with sea shells. The area is unspeakably beautiful with magnificent beaches (check out Melmerby Beach), and remains a hidden gem in Canada.

The shore floods my current state of mind.

So it is of no great surprise that the beauty of this rugged region infuses the work a number of Aura artists including Don Beamish, Sharon McNamara, and Laurie Boisvert.

But in particular, this shoreline is the inspiration of a wonderful artist named Christie Chaplin-Saunders from Chester, Nova Scotia. Twice this week I have been pleasantly surprised by people close to me displaying her beautiful ceramic work - a ceramic urchin bowl owned by my mother, and a gorgeous mussel bowl in the kitchen of my cottage neighbour. Both pieces are shown to the left.

Now, I know I'm a biased commentator but Christie's work really captures the essence of the shore, don't you agree? If you live in a large urban centre like me, these pieces can serve as a constant reminder of places close to one's heart.

The Aura Family

Since launching our website in late April, we have added exceptionally talented new artists at a healthy clip. These wonderful people are the salt of the earth.

For the record, no one is more entrepreneurial than an artist. For each piece you lovingly admire in your home or office or garden, an artist gave up their heart and soul to you. Often for little monetary reward.

First off, each piece requires exceptional skill - honed through years of constant trying, failing and sometimes succeeding.

Then there is the process of making the piece in question and getting it into your hands - design, materials (procurement), production, marketing, sales, etc, etc, etc. I am amazed every time I meet a new artist. No one puts themselves "out there" like an artist.

As of today, our family of exceptional artists is growing fast and includes (in no particular order):

Lisa Ridout, Ontario - Handcrafted chain jewellery
Virginia Wilson Toccalino, Ontario - Filigree glass
Sylvain Tremblay, Quebec - Pepper mills
Don Beamish, Nova Scotia - Cutting boards
Ken Toldnes, Ontario - Walking sticks
Sharon McNamara, Nova Scotia - Glass serveware
Alan McIntosh, Ontario - Stainless steel utensils
Mandy Deskur, Ontario - Handcrafted jewellery
Christie Chaplin-Saunders, Nova Scotia - Ceramics
Jean Pierre Schoss, Ontario - Steel sculptures
Laurie Boisvert, Nova Scotia - Handcrafted jewellery
Kimberley Price, Ontario - Handcrafted beaded jewellery

To each of these magnificent artists, welcome to the Aura family!

Why "The Aura Collective"?

When told of the name of our new company - Aura Collective - people give some interesting responses:

"Granola", "Weird", "Communist", "Odd", "Excuse Me?" and "You're kidding, right?".

Those are the people we know.

Aura Collective is Canada's trusted seller of Canadian fine craft and original art. The Aura bit relates to the company's mission to donate at least 15% of the retail price of any piece sold to the purchaser's charity of choice. The Collective bit is the meeting of like-minded people in the merging of beauty with good deed. Hence, Aura Collective.

People who don't know us are stunned to find out the company was started by a couple of technology entrepreneurs who (shock, gasp!) came from the commercial side of the business. Excuse me? You guys weren't even the ever-so-artistic tech guys?

Well, no. But we did have a view of business that was different from most. Having sold our company to Thomson Reuters in 2007, we did our time in the company before moving on to greener pastures. Those greener pastures included a commitment to doing business in a different industry (less tech please) and giving back in some capacity. So we started Aura Collective.

Our blog "The Aura Collective" is designed to appeal to those of us who appreciate beauty in art and support Canadian artists while encouraging people to look around them as an alternative to the pervasive "outsourcing" ethos pervading business these days. Beauty is everywhere, particularly in your own community.

"The Aura Collective" will discuss relevant issues on the minds of artists as well as informing on news and events in the fine craft scene. We will also discuss some of our experiences in managing Aura Collective, the company.

We hope you enjoy taking the ride with us.

Welcome to Aura's New Blog

Onward and upward, our friends!!