Elysian Collective embraces sustainable practices within the brand and our partnerships.
For founders Jamie and Michael, it is a core tenet of their mission to create positive impact through design.
A rare and beautiful object has the power to change the energy in a room. To evoke emotion and memory. To stimulate the senses. Surrounding oneself with a collection of meaningful objects that were crafted with intention, with responsible stewardship of the earth in mind, is a sustainable way to elevate our environment. Valuing a slower approach to consumption is a holistic, all-encompassing lifestyle to adopt; one that adds not just aesthetic and emotional value, but spiritual as well. Elysian Collective strives to provide carefully selected objects with both the beauty of our personal and natural environment in mind. Founders Jamie and Michael operate on a system of values that lives at the core of the brand, where human design and ethics are paramount.
Shopping Thoughtfully and Buying What You Love
As consumers, many of us may wonder how our shopping habits have an impact on the world around us. In an Architectural Digest article titled "The Fast Furniture Problem" by Bailey Berg, Berg highlights a fairly new phenomenon the home décor industry is facing: fast-fashion levels of overconsumption. "The EPA estimates that 9 million tons of furniture are tossed every single year," writes Berg, later stating that a large amount of this waste was produced within the last 10 to 15 years. According to sustainability researcher Ashley Piper, "'it’s usually new furniture that’s being tossed," largely due to the fact "it’s just not built to last and there aren’t repair programs for it. It was intended to have a short lifespan.”
The home décor industry is projected to be worth $202 billion by 2024, which invites a world of mass production to meet the demands of consumers. For those who wish to do their part in reducing environmental and social impact while still surrounding themselves with the unique, exciting and beautiful, high-minded shopping is a conscious way to do so. When choosing to buy from independent brands (and in the world of art and décor , independent designers), you are helping to support local economies through the mindful curation of your collections.
We Value the Stories our Objects Tell Intrinsically
At Elysian Collective, we are captivated by the power of design and the stories an object can tell, and we express this reverence by analyzing the impact of our suppliers, affiliates, and partners. Both human and environmental aspects of each step of production are considered, from cultural practices to work environments to the raw materials used. The impact of many mass-produced products often wreak havoc on natural environments, which disrupts not only ecosystems but damages communities as well. When shopping at Elysian Collective, a detailed exploration of each product's provenance is provided: its designer origin, material makeup, and an overall breakdown of the process for full transparency. We do this to promote consumer awareness of where our belongings come from, and the importance of their origins from a cultural and environmental standpoint.
It is our mission to discover and celebrate a variety of artists that uniquely uphold and align with our values. For example, our textile partner in Spain, Teixidors, pours their heart and soul into weaving ecological merino wool, premium cashmere, and Masters of Linen® certified, 100% organic European linen into stunning artisanal pieces. We proudly partner with Teixidors not only for their mastery of weaving and use of exquisite natural materials, but for their social mission as well. We admire that their company makes it a point to not only work with sustainably-sourced organic materials, but also employs individuals with intellectual disabilities as a part of their mission. Each extraordinay creation evokes the hands of the weavers, as the technical sequence of weaving becomes their language and stimulus. Teixidors’ luxurious wool can be found at Elysian Collective with our Time throw and pillows, and Temps pillows which make for a lush, sensual experience. We also offer the highest grade European linen Abans throw, a lightweight covering that feels delicate on the skin and soothing to the soul.
Honoring the People and Processes Behind the Offerings
We value building cooperative relationships with rural communities to source exquisite creations from the designers and artisans of those regions; many of which have a long perfected practice in their art. Mexico-based rrres estudio honors its Latin American roots in everything they do, from design references to community craft. Truly connected with the landscape around them, the studio works with locally sourced wool, cotton, clay and palm by hand. Using natural dyes from indigo, flowers, and tree bark, rrres' pieces are infused with vivid color and pattern.
Rrres estudio's designer, Javier Reyes, spoke with Elysian Collective about his artistic vision and how that is expressed through a community mindset. "The idea is to work with artisans directly...[we have] four people in the studio so we try to do everything as personal as possible. The kind of production we want to pursue gives us the opportunity to distribute more money equally to everyone," says Reyes. "The question is what can I return to the community that’s not in the form of [payment]? It’s an interchange…the idea is to move more toward leaving something behind in the places that we work that leave some kind of an impact. How can we return some of the things that have been given to us?"
Allowing the Objects to Speak for Themselves
One of the most central pillars of the Elysian Collective brand is our appreciation for the objects themselves. We believe that the pieces we bring into our spaces should be revered for their beauty - whether it’s understatedly quiet or boldly brazen - treasured for its functionality, and admired for the stories it represents from the origins of its maker to the sources of its materiality. There is much power an object can hold, and honoring that power makes for a truly sensual space.
Incorporating Vintage Discoveries
Making space for vintage works can tell even more complex stories than those of new belongings. We currently offer vintage homewares from various parts of the world that represent different eras in art and design. Our love for and fascination with works from the past leads us to the process of expanding our vintage findings. Secondhand shopping for one-of-a-kind vintage pieces is an exciting way to shop that promotes circulation, where one item is given a new life without the production of something new.
In our company philosophy and daily operations, sustainability and ethics are the pillars that we stand on. As a brand, we take steps to ensure that eco-conscious high-mindedness is at the center of all our practices: from the designers we work with to the raw materials we select. We aim to bring objects with permanence into the lives of our shoppers. We honor the people that create our products and the intricate processes that it takes to produce them – a factor that adds to each item’s significance as much as its aesthetic beauty. Though we are constantly finding newly inspiring pieces to bring into our Elysian Collective world, our high-minded principles remain the same.
