our story...

hi, lovely to meet you...⋆⊹

Ailun Studios is run by a small family of creatives - a mother and two daughters based in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand. Ailun (the mother) is an artist who loves colour, textiles, and all things that make your eyes sparkle. She has fuelled her passion and dedicated her time to creating a collection of unique statement handbags, soaps, and candles.

What you see on this site is built by the daughters in a passionate effort in bringing these pieces to the eyes of more people in the world because they believe more people will enjoy them as much as we do.

We created this studio and online space as an archive and invitation for anyone who would like to connect and bring home one of these handcrafted pieces for themselves! So think of browsing this virtual space as visiting our studio and exploring our one-of-one pieces, documented for your enjoyment.

designed and handcrafted locally in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand ⋆⊹

As a lover of nature, living in the Garden City of Aoteaora - Ōtautahi Christchurch - is a dream for Ailun. With its rich array of stunning botanic gardens, beautiful parks, and new delights that come with every change of season, there is no shortage of inspiration in the natural landscapes the city has to offer. Our handbags are designed here with this wealth of inspiration, then handcrafted in Taiwan with traditional methods passed down over generations. All of our soaps and candles are handmade right here in our NZ studio.

giving back ⋆⊹

Ailun has worked in non-profits and social work her whole life, and as a family it’s really important to us to give back to the community whenever we can. We always give back a portion of our earnings to local/national organisations every month. Currently, we donate to Blind Low Vision NZ and IHC.

When you support our art you not only support our creative dreams but also the disadvantaged members of our communities, so thank you!

artistic values ⋆⊹

We value diverse art pieces that celebrate the abundance of nature imbued with boundless imagination, magic, and wonder. Each piece is a story told through rich colour, composition, and texture combinations in high quality mediums. We want to make little bursts of joy accessible - dwelling comfortably in your home, or floating gracefully alongside you wherever you go.

materials and ingredients ⋆⊹

We regard every item as a piece of art, and quality is important to us.

Our handbags are made from hand-picked top quality fabrics from all over the world including Japan, Italy, USA, and across Europe. All of our straps/chains are also sourced from Italy and Japan.

The leather we use is first class - top grain Italian leather. After sourcing fabrics, Ailun designs every piece before it gets hand-crafted beautifully using traditional methods.

Our candles are made from all-natural soy wax which is a renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic resource. It burns around 30-50% slower than paraffin candles and does not release toxic carcinogens/petrochemicals. The type of natural soy wax we use is resistant to frosting and white spots. Apart from high quality essential oils, we also use premium grade real dried flowers and candle dyes to create each imagined scene.

Our soaps are made from high quality fragrance/essential oils, coconut oil, safflower oil, mica, glycerin, organic shea butter, and olive oil.

studio showroom ⋆⊹

Currently, all of our pieces are one-of-one, and pictures don’t do them justice! Everyone is welcome to visit our studio showroom located in Merivale, Christchurch (New Zealand) to see/purchase the items in person. We are a working studio - you will even see the large array of gorgeous soaps and candles displayed in the space hand-made locally by Ailun. Like our handbags, these delightful pieces are also bursting with colour, full of personality.

If you would like to book a visit to our studio showroom or have questions about any of our pieces, please do not hesitate to email us at ailunstudios@gmail.com, or send us a DM on Instagram @ailun.studios. We would love to hear from you!