When your friends ask you along to a 5am beach shoot and say 'bring your swimwear' what do you do? If you're Aurai, a sustainable, New Zealand swimwear brand finding your feet in the big fashion world you set your alarm and pack bags full of your favourite swimwear pieces!
There's something so special waking up before the sun, on your own terms. Filling that coffee flask full of freshly filtered coffee (ground the night before as not to wake the house) and slipping out into the darkness.
It's all the more rewarding when, by the time 6am rolls around, there's not a cloud in the sky and the waves are just small enough for the horizon not to be busy with surfers. With the beach to ourselves Lilly, from @lillysmith.jpg and I set up an al fresco dining set, showcasing Author ceramics' much loved collection, to capture all of the beauty in their upcoming summer dining range. We played in the sand, the sea, with flowers, grapes and of course, swimwear.
I have always adored Author ceramics pieces, finding them such thoughtful and meaningful gifts, not only because of the time that goes into choosing a piece, each named after a special person (or dog) in Stephen's life but to consider the time and passion gone into creating each one. From the sand being hand collected along New Zealand coastlines, to the wet, messy creation on the wheel at home, all the way to the final product, set in stone yet still reminiscent of everything it's ever been.
A firm favourite of Aurai's has to be the pillow vase. Its soft, playful form adds so much to a space even when left empty. Playing around shooting, we paired these softly formed vases with Aurai's Navagio One Piece, an effortless, one shoulder style that equally aligned with and contrasted against Authors ceramics. It brought so much joy to see the correlation between the two products, both belonging at the beach and ultimately being taken home to become an intimate piece in your life.
Here's to creating ~ @authorceramics, and many more collaborations x
