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Philosophy, Values, Journal

Philosophy, Values, Journal

 

Our Philosophy

We value a slower, more thoughtful approach to homemaking.

Inspired by visionary architects and designers such as Christopher Alexander and Ilse Crawford, for whom the lived human experience lies at the centre of all good design, our approach to homemaking is considered and intentional.

Good design addresses functional, emotional and aesthetic needs all at once. We feel that function, feeling and beauty should never be trade-offs. Design processes that are mindful of positive human experience strive to incorporate all three elements in a way that allows each to contribute to and enhance the other.

We believe that good design is created through a slow and thoughtful, iterative process. Each new element is added slowly and assessed in terms of how it contributes to and enhances the whole. We apply this approach to our product selection, the way we designed our studio, as well as the way we run our business.

The objects in our homes will serve us best when they are at once functional, beautiful, and make a contribution to enriching our emotional experience. With this understanding, the items we offer in our store are both practical objects for daily use as well as beautiful decorative pieces that contribute to creating a comforting and warming atmosphere in your home.   

You can discover more about our slow, intentional approach to design in our journal.

Our Values

Our philosophy is woven through everything that we do, from the way we approach our curation to the way we run our store. We believe that the slow and mindful investment of care and attention, over time, add up to create something worthwhile that has a value that is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

“Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place”

The Builders by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Rather than using terms like ethical or sustainable, we strive to incorporate our values for a considered approach to life into all aspects of how we run our business. Below are a few examples of the way we use our values to guide the decisions we make for our business behind the scenes:

 

Thoughtful Partnerships

We source products made with thought and care. Most of our items are handmade in small artisanal craft production. Where we do work with larger companies, we take great care to ensure that their values are aligned with ours and look for considered production with attention to materials and ecological impact.

 

Natural Materials

Our products are made from natural rather than synthetic materials. Rich in texture and warmth, natural materials age beautifully acquiring a unique character with time and use. When they are no longer needed, natural materials can decompose leaving no harmful traces for future generations to deal with. 

 

The Test of Time

We avoid seasonal trends and carefully select items crafted to last by focusing on skilful production and quality materials such as durable flax linen and organic cotton. Rather than launching seasonal collections we select timeless pieces that will look as good in years to come as they do today.

 

Mono-materials

We prefer to source products made from mono-materials. Inspired by the Cradle-to-Cradle vision for design, we focus on products made from single materials that are easier to reuse, recycle and decompose.

 

Environmental Impact

Our studio is powered by 100% renewable energy. We try to reuse whatever we can from the packaging we receive from our suppliers and recycle what we cannot wherever this is possible.

 

Conscious Shipping

We use carbon neutral shipping methods for all of our UK and EU orders and wherever possible for international deliveries. We do not use any plastic packaging. If you ever receive any plastic packaging in your order, it will be packing we are passing on from our suppliers. 

 

Recycled Paper

Our print materials are printed on soft, textured, British made paper using low environmental impact manufacturing and are made entirely from recycled post consumer waste.  The corrugated cardboard boxes we use are made from at least 75% recycled fibres. Of course, all of our packaging is completely recyclable.

Compostable Packaging

Our delicate items are safely packed using a lightweight product that looks like synthetic loose fill but is in fact a compostable starch-based product that dissolves under running water.

 

 



We donate a minimum of 1% of our annual revenue to both local and global causes we care about such as:



    Our Journal


    We put a great deal of thought and care into what we do and our journal is where you can read about our design philosophy as well as the values and ideas that fuel Ellei Home.

    We invest time and effort into continuously creating new images that showcase our products in use. We believe that one of the main ways that we can help you to decide whether a product is right for you is by providing as much information about it as possible, both visual and in the form of detailed product descriptions and care sheets. Our photos show our products in use offering both visual information, such as the size of a product in context, as well as inspiration on how to style and use these pieces.

    You can search for images of particular products featured in our blog posts by using the search bar in the top right-hand corner of our website and typing in the product name. You will also find a list of all of the products featured in each photo shoot at the bottom of each blog post as well as in all of our Instagram captions.

    Each one of the styled photoshoots in the Ellei Journal is accompanied by thoughtful text. Our writing aims to inspire a more considered approach to daily life and homemaking, as well as offer our readers a sense for the values we cultivate that fuel Ellei Home.

    All of the articles in our journal fall under one of five of the following categories. You can filter our blog posts according to each category using the sidebar on the right-hand side of the journal page:

    • Design Philosophy, insights into our views on design.
    • Thoughtful Living, our thoughts on living with intention.
    • 'How-To', useful guides for how to implement our design philosophy. 
    • Our Products, deeper insights into our product curation, how and why we select the products that we offer.
    • Studio Updates, a behind-the-scenes look at the goings-on in our studio.