NOTES FROM MATES (01) YASMIN SUTEJA

Our first note in this series comes from a dear friend and long-time collaborator, @yasminsuteja

Yas and I met over 10 years ago in the fashion industry, when I was putting together a campaign for a shoot in Bali. She came onto our radar through a mutual friend, and somewhere in that first phone call, something told me she was the right collaborator before I could explain why, her global upbringing, and the way she expressed herself and the world around her, said everything I needed to know.

That first project turned into a collaboration that’s followed us through Bali, Tokyo, Melbourne and Sydney. Through every chapter, Yas has stayed exactly who she is: thoughtful, adaptable, endlessly positive. With her, there’s never a “we can’t,” only a way through.

It’s a good reminder that the most meaningful connections often start in the most unplanned ways, a single conversation, a shared project, a sense that someone sees things the way you do.

That’s what sits at the heart of AURI: the people, the conversations, and the connections that stay with us long after the moment has passed.

This is our first note from @yasminsuteja

NOTES FROM MATES

At AURI, we’re always looking for the connections between things,the people, places, ideas and experiences that, when brought together, create something unexpected.

Notes From Mates is an ongoing series born from that curiosity.

We’re turning the lens towards the people in our orbit: collaborators, artists, photographers, chefs, designers, founders, thinkers and friends who are making their own mark in the places they call home.

From Kyoto to Los Angeles, Bangkok to Seoul, Melbourne and beyond, these are people we’ve crossed paths with through work, travel, creative projects and, often, a little bit of instinct. Some connections have lasted years. Others have happened quickly but left a lasting impression.

What interests us isn’t necessarily what they’ve achieved, but how they move through the world — what they’re paying attention to, what shapes their days, where they find inspiration and the ideas they keep coming back to.

Notes From Mates is part diary, part documentation.

A place to share the everyday details alongside the bigger picture: the morning ritual, the neighbourhood they return to, the current soundtrack, the work on the table, the conversation that shifted their thinking.

Because we believe that the people around us influence what we see, what we make and where we go next.

At the heart of AURI is the idea of connecting the dots, bringing together people, places and perspectives that might not otherwise meet. Sometimes those connections lead to a project. Sometimes they lead somewhere much less tangible. A new idea. A different way of seeing something. A friendship that continues long after the work is finished.

For us, those connections are worth documenting.

So, this is an archive of the people we know, the people we admire, and the people we continue to learn from, across cities, cultures and creative disciplines.