OUR STORY
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Brooke and Eddy are sisters and the very best of friends who share a love for the world around them and all the creatures in it. For so long they have excitedly shared their ideas and dreams with a goal of creating something special together, with a hope to make a difference in the world.
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This all began during a recent adventure that landed Brooke in the alluring city of Libson, Portugal. The captivating charm of that exciting place bursting with history and passion inspired her. And in a bustling market at the oceans edge, through a crowd of people, one little stall serendipitously caught Brooke’s eye. And there hung a delightful array of cork bags and purses alive with the spirit of Portugal. She was in love.
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On the other side of the world and entirely by coincidence, Eddy happened by an article about this amazing sustainable and eco friendly material that was taking Europe by storm and was completely in awe. As an artist, Eddy has a deep love for fashion and design. Unique yet functional fashion paired with interesting textures that evoke images of the natural world capture her attention. And supporting slow fashion and local industry is very close to Eddy’s heart. This extraordinary material ticked all the boxes.
Upon returning from Europe, Brooke met with Eddy and they shared their new discoveries, amused to find that they were one and the same. It’s strange how some ideas just sneak up on you as if they were always meant to be, that is how Amadia Lifestyle was born.
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OUR PRODUCT
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Amadia’s products are a blend of ethics and sustainability, created with love and compassion made from this beautiful vegan leather alternative, cork. We believe design should be imbued with integrity and be as functional and comfortable as it is timeless and fashionable. We design with the adventurous spirit in mind and for a customer who cares about the world we live in.
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The most beautiful things are found in nature, and the cork tree is one of the most extraordinary trees in the world. By using cork in place of leather we can contribute towards a natural, renewable and important ecological environment that plays a role in combating global environmental issues.
Cork fabric is made from the outer bark that is harvested from the cork oak tree. The cork tree is unique with a long lifespan and an enormous capacity for regeneration. Once it reaches maturity at 25 it is ready to be peeled and once it reaches the age of 43, the cork oak bark regenerates with a top-quality cork known as Amadia, this is used to create cork fabric. The average cork oak tree can live for over 200 years, with its bark being stripped at 6-12 year intervals, making it extremely renewable.
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Cork tree forests (Montados) are found in the Mediterranean basin and are one of the best examples of the development of the multi-functional forest. The landscape supports a rich diversity of wildlife and serves a valuable ecological function by providing soil conservation, clean water, renewal and buffering against climate change. It is estimated that every year, cork oak forests retain up to 14 million tonnes of CO2, a sizeable contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Amazingly, the cork oak increases its ability to absorb these gases during the natural regeneration process following stripping.
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Cork is extremely light weight (50% of its volume is air), waterproof, flexible, resistant, hypoallergenic, easy to clean, soft to touch and most importantly, it is environmentally friendly and sustainable. At the end of the products lifecycle, the materials are 100% recyclable.
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OUR JOURNEY
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At Amadia Lifestyle we believe we can make a difference with exceptional quality and ethical production. We collaborate with factories in Australia and China that are in line with our ethos and regularly verify that our operations are up to standard and we even hand make some of our products personally. We aim to be true to ourselves, our customers and their needs, all the while offering the very best in customer service. Amadia is not perfect but we dream big and aim to better ourselves in time. Our journey has just begun, and we hope you will join us on this adventure!