The Clay Society is an impact studio getting their hands dirty. Through the medium of clay they create thoughtful, functional and beautiful pieces for the home, designed for conscious consumers and inspired by the sacred earth on which we live and create.
After 15 years employed as a registered nurse working in emergency, prisons and other crazy places, Jules Laidlaw enrolled in an ‘Art for Therapy’ course at Tafe. It wasn’t that long after she founded The Clay Society.
Her vision behind The Clay Society was to make thoughtful things, taking her time to consider what she's making, and with a purpose behind it all that makes a difference. That’s when Jules decided to set up ‘Purchase with Purpose’, which donates money from every purchase to support ‘Remote Laundries’.
“I still had a really strong desire to help people after leaving my nursing career, so starting The Clay Society and ‘Purchase with Purpose’ fulfils that for me."
“I believe we all have the ability to make a difference and the worlds a lot bigger than just you and me”
Remote Laundries is a not-for-profit that was created to break the cycle of health related issues in Aboriginal communities by providing access to free laundry facilities and employment opportunities. Remote Laundries builds laundry facilities in shipping containers and places them in small remote communities so people can have access to clean clothes. They use special chemicals in the laundries that are not only used for cleaning but also preventing diseases within the communities therefore providing a health impact too.
“I think being an ambassador talking about what the laundries do for the communities, even the people in the community, and how they need us to help them, is very important. There’s amazing humans in these communities but they’re forgotten about, so we need to stand up and help them”
When we asked Jules where her passion came from to work with indigenous communities in Australia, she told us about her grandfather who was indigenous and that she feels a real strong injustice against our first nations people.
“I feel passionate about sharing their stories, being involved and producing positive impact where they live.
“They are our traditional story tellers and we’re really privileged that we can live on their land and I think they have a strong sense of community which we can learn from, much more than non-indigenous people, they all look after each other.
“They have strong beliefs in preserving their culture, teaching their languages, skills, arts and stories to younger generations and passing down all those beautiful cultural traditions.”
As a child, Jules’ grandfather never really spoke about his indigenous heritage and she feels he had a disconnection from community but a very strong connection to the land, He used to take her bush walking, teach her how to track animals, find water, detect different plants and what was edible or not. Jules said she remembers her grandfather being very passionate about the land, which is part of indigenous culture, and teaching her about water conservation, recycling, and how minimising your use is so important for the future of the land.
“There’s still a lot of injustice in Aboriginal communities themselves, and it’s really tragic that you can go into a community and there’s 18 people sleeping in a 2 bedroom home, and they don’t have any running water. But nobody is talking about that. So I think if we have these conversations, and talk to other people about it, we can create awareness and education, then with organisations like Remote Laundries we can create a change.”
“Every human has the right to dignity and basic health services including access to clean clothes.”
Find out more about The Clay Society HERE ~ Follow on Instagram and Facebook!
Find out more about Remote Laundries HERE ~ Follow on Instagram and Facebook!
Watch the video below as our amazingly talented founder Dui talks with Jules from The Clay Society… They’re both just beautiful rays of sunshine!