Home, What Does it Mean?

Familiar landscapes, sounds, and smells, a common language, family or friends – home have a different meaning for everyone.

For many people, the notion of home is strongly connected to one particular place: their place of birth. But, as an old English saying has it, “home is where the heart is”.

Home doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical location or four concrete walls, home is a feeling. A feeling of safety, relaxation, and comfort. We all have something that defines home to us, whether it's a place, people, an object, a pet, or a feeling.

What Does Home Mean to the People of Ellie?

We asked our team, artisans, and customers to define what home meant to them. One simple question that resulted in a variety of answers. Some said it’s a family member, some said that home is their pet dog, and some said the home is a home-cooked meal and the feeling of comfort, some of them even associated home with a certain smell. Whatever the answer was, there was always a story behind it. A story of love, comfort, memories, and happiness.

One of our team members said that home to them is their grandmother’s couch. Yes, a couch. It might be an inanimate replaceable object to you, but to them, it held memories and made them feel safe. They told us that when they were younger, they would always fall asleep on that couch in their grandmother’s arms after lunch, and till this day, that couch is with them and it is a reminder of their late grandmother, it still remains their safest spot and the thing that makes them feel at “home”.

Ellie’s “Home”

“What Home Means to You” is a campaign that is inspired by the official opening of our very first store, a place that has become Ellie’s home. We rounded up everything we love and worked on having it all under one roof. Lots of sunlight, rich textures, wood, and plants are just a few of our favorite things! Accompanied by good music, a sweet, cozy smell, comfy furniture, and of course our beloved pieces displayed beautifully. Ellie’s store has become our official home for all the right reasons. It’s a place that defines everything that Ellie loves.

What Home Is According To Our Pieces

When we thought about this campaign, we immediately thought of our products, they are what define and make Ellie. Each product has a journey, from a clump of clay to a vase that gets displayed on someone’s table or console. Our products go through a circle of life, where they are born in our home, going through different phases and places, then are taken to yours. They are made in the hands of our artisans. From a lump of clay thrown on a spinning wheel to a beautiful creation, fresh out of the blazing hot kiln.

Our products aren’t just empty vessels, they are a piece of the people who created them. The hands that worked to turn it from sketch to reality.

We liked to approach a part of this campaign from an Ellie product point of view. If it could, what would one of our pieces say about its journey, and how would it feel?

And this is how we interpreted its thoughts into words:

What is home?

Home is more than a place to me,

It’s where I serve my purpose,

Where I am the missing puzzle piece.

From sketch to reality, I am formed

Through the hands of artisans, I am born

Created with care and handled with love

I become more and more seen, as you can see from above

The circle of life isn’t all that simple, you see My home is warmth and comfort

But growth is never linear nor easy

Phases of life begin and end,

And change is not breezy

But I always end up in a home,

Where I’m taken care of and take care of the space around me

Home is where all my imperfections are embraced Where I’m welcomed

with open doors

Home is Ellie,

From our home to yours.

We invite you to look at handmade pieces differently. Rather than normal objects, they are pieces with stories, with a long process that involves different people. These people put their hearts and souls into its making and it shows in every part and every imperfection. As with every handcrafted piece, we all have stories. Everything and everyone has somewhere or something they call home. What is yours?