Its our 5 Year Birthday!! Meet Emma the founder of YPC.
5 Year Birthday!! Woohoo we made it!!! It's so hard to believe that it is already the 5th anniversary of Yogi Peace Club. Although the time has flown, I feel like this is all I know. I am so proud to achieve this milestone. The brand has certainly grown, it has been an organic process with lots of pure dedication and hard work.
Firstly, I have to say thank you to my customers. I feel incredibly grateful to have so many loyal customers. Without this support the brand would not exist.
Secondly, I have to say how lucky I am to have three wonderful girls that work for YPC. The beautiful Tess has been working for me for three years, Sarah has been with the brand for over a year and Lulu is my latest employee to join the team. We all love yoga and Tess and I are both yoga teachers. Many of you think my business is much bigger, but it's just the four of us. So you can imagine how hard we have to work to deliver the products to you on time.
My goal is simple, I just want my products to make people happy. I have learnt so much about running a small business. And what keeps me going is my love of design, yoga and the beautiful customers. I look forward to share many new innovative designs and products with you over the years to come.
My brand is still small and local. We try our best to source products that are a better choice for the environment without sacrificing quality. I firmly believe if a product doesn't perform there is a far greater chance it will end up as land fill. We work so hard to make sure we test everything we produce to ensure it will be the right decision for the customer and the planet. And we want the product to be long lasting and value for money.
History of Yogi Peace Club
The brand commenced in 2014 and the first product we introduced was tropical incense. I had recently retuned from a holiday in Bali and wanted to manufacture incense in a more modern way, rather than the traditional heavy fragrances. So I started with a small order of hand rolled incense sticks that had tropical scents. It was the birth of Yogi Peace Club.
The next product we rolled out were cotton yoga tops. These were an instant hit on social media and we sold out very quickly. But the game changer came when we introduced yoga mats. I wanted something different and unique. I love colour and prints so it only made sense to source something that was colourful.
I love the below photo of my beautiful friend Yoga Patch laid out on the yoga mats. She was my first model and ambassador for the brand. Five years later we still practice yoga together and she still features in our photoshoots.
We now offer two styles of yoga mats and yoga accessories and a full range of yoga clothing and apparel. We now donate and plant a tree for every yoga mat sold and our printed yoga mats are made of recycled plastic bottles and natural tree rubber. We are so excited for the new range that lands next week "Good Vibrations" this would have to be the best collection to date! Sign up to our emails to be the first to know!
Here are some more photos of our first products back in 2014....
The girls thought it would be a good idea to tell you about myself and the business. So here goes....
Please tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
I live near Bells Beach with my husband and two gorgeous children.
I grew up by the beach in Barwon Heads and have always had an interest in the Yogic lifestyle and philosophies. I practice Yoga everyday and I am yoga instructor at Yoke Yoga in Torquay. I have a diploma of Hatha Yoga and a Diploma of Yin Yoga.
My loves in life are simple - my family, yoga, the beach, happiness, health, being in nature, friends and fashion.
Much of my design experience comes from working within the surf industry, where I have worked for the past 15 years. Creating Yogi Peace Club has given me the opportunity to express the things I love in design.
When and how did the idea for YPC first come about?
Yogi Peace Club started four years ago. The brand was derived from my love of yoga, the beach, color and prints. The idea was inspired in Bali when I purchased some incense from a market.
My ideology for the brand is to bring the “inner yogi” out in everyone. With unique colors and prints I hope to inspire people to try yoga. I wanted a brand that felt inclusive and made people feel like they are part of a Club, while invoking a feeling of community and inclusion.
What do you enjoy most about running YPC?
I love the fact that I have full creative control of the brand and I can be as experimental as I want with the design.
I love the freedom and flexibility and not being accountable to anyone else. Also working with my team Tess, Lu and Sarah. We have so much fun and lots of laughs! And of course going to yoga whenever I choose!
What do you find most challenging?
I am always time poor. There is so much to do running a small business so I always feel like I am rushing! I pack as much as I can into everyday. I often feel like I could make things better if I had more time. But I have to accept that it is what it is!
What are you most proud of to-date?
Being voted by Elle Magazine as one of the Top 10 Yoga Brands.
How has the company having grown?
The company has grown through hard work and dedication. It is not as easy as it looks. Instagram has been a major part of my success.
Do you have any advice for other people wanting to start their own business?
Never give up. It's damn hard work and it never stops. Yogi Peace Club is not a job for me it’s a passion and I love it.
If you have a passion or a dream, follow your heart and take the journey, no matter how difficult the path may be.
Listen to your instinct, keep things simple, be authentic and don’t give up.
What are the hopes for the future of the business?
My dream for Yogi Peace Club is simple - I just want my products to make people happy. Yoga aims to transform the body and mind, so I am taking that philosophy with the business with a sense of all things tropical, peaceful and fun.
One day I would love to have my own yoga studio with a store and café attached with my design space above. It’s a big dream but I hope to get there one day.
What is life like outside of the business?
My family always come first. But I try to get to as many yoga classes as I can, when I am not teaching yoga.
I love walking to Bells Beach, which I try do most days. And I love surfing in the summer with my husband and kids.
We have a tropical garden so spending time in the garden is energising and seeing growth in the garden is fulfilling, rewarding and balancing.
Click here for the About Us Video
Thanks so much for reading. We are celebrating by offering a discount code for 30% off storewide for 24 hours. USE CODE 5YEAR
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