LOS ANGELES, CA (December 28, 2001) Los Angeles-based furniture and interior designer, Carol Kipling, has joined forces with Julie Walker, formerly of Microsoft and Drugstore.com, to create several unique lines of high-end home fashions through their new company, Ajula, Inc. Ajula separates its lines into traditional and contemporary, and the first to launch in January, 2002 — a collection of pillows — has already been picked up by several luxury home stores in Los Angeles and Phoenix, including Maison Luxe, Belle Maison and Belle Dimora.
Kipling and Walker are committed to promoting American artisans and ensuring that their factory workers operate in clean, safe conditions; all of their products are made in the U.S.A. of the finest natural materials. Elegance, beauty, luxury and comfort are the defining qualities of each Ajula pillow. The company eschews leather and manmade materials in favor of feathers, linen, silk fibers and other high quality natural fabrics and fillers. As their signature tag reads on each pillow, “Ajula is dedicated to reintroducing the beauty and enchantment of ancient, homemade crafts into contemporary life.”
Designer Kipling is a fine artist and recognized expert on the psychology of color, as well as a longtime student of ancient design crafts and textiles. She has been mentioned as one of the “hottest designers” in the country by Harper’s Bazaar for her distinctive line of furnishings and accessories, and was singled out by English design writer, Dinah Hall, as the Los Angeles source for modern furniture in her book, Modern and Country. Kipling has earned wide praise in the design community, and her furniture and home fashions have been integrated with the work of leading architects and designers. She has gained loyal fans among her clientele, including well-known celebrities Gary Oldman, Sharon Lawrence, Benecio Del Toro, and Kim Cattrall; her pillows can be found at home with Charlton Heston and Anne Heche.
Every Ajula creation is characterized by subtleties in color, texture, and detail reflecting Kipling’s devotion to a harmony of design, function, beauty and meaning. Each Ajula pillow design is based on centuries-old traditions of civilizations whose arts and crafts were designed to communicate spiritual, tribal and cultural ideals. As well as providing luxury, comfort and beauty, Ajula creations are meant to convey a message of tranquility, mystery and a sense of belonging. Specifically, the Sierra Leone pillows are inspired by the African country’s woven tribal “logo” patterns; the Kamon is based on the traditional Japanese embroidered family crest; and Mandala on a symbolic religious motif from the middle ages. Origami pillows are linen embedded with folded silk, a tribute to Sashiko, an ancient art which grew among Japanese peasantry who only had scraps of material to construct their crafts. The Alchemy pillow is overlaid with an intricate molecular design woven in antique silver thread over silk organza. There is also a classic velvet-on-silk pillow, the Paradise Puff, hand woven with a hummingbird motif in the style of 17th century European ”Chinoiserie” embroidery.
Ajula, which is launching a full range of bedding accessories, tabletop linens and chenille-covered ottomans in lush, earth tones, will also be creating a special line for Only Natural, a new company debuting in March, 2002 and specializing in all-natural, ecologically wholesome home fashions.