The Tamesis
We should note that from the perspective of time and space, dogs are not just dogs. They are bristle-haired pointer griffins, cheerful and gigantic hounds who, in lieu of hunting, are burly, slobbering socializers that add to the logistical demands of parenthood—which is why, as we speak, she briefly sips coffee while her family team includes two children under the age of two.
“I’m from the South, so I’m an ice tea person,” she laments. “I don’t want to be dependent on coffee!” For Emily, the origins of coffee can be traced back to college in the early 2010s, when late-night caffeine fueled her first menswear creations, which a few years later became Bode in her Lower East Side apartment. The story is now ancient history: In 2016, she began simultaneously exploring the family traditions that inspired her (her roots are in New England and the Piedmont region, namely Atlanta) and the historic American craft traditions that fascinated her, eventually collaborating with her now-husband and business partner, Aaron Aujla. As the couple raised two children and accompanying griffons (the first was a gift from Emily’s mom, the second was their idea, believe it or not)—and as she battled naysayers who suggested cutting vintage quilts or pants out of gorgeous deadstock fabrics or decorating them with buttons found in closed warehouses in the Midwest—the family business grew with the family: Bode has become a global brand, with a growing number of stores in the U.S. and overseas.
When I visited their house shortly after they moved into their new home, I asked Emily to reflect on how things had changed from a few years ago, when the world was wondering whether she would launch a women’s line, until she showed off reimagined bolero jackets, gowns, and sheer dresses that were somewhere between then and now. At the time, she and Aaron had just opened a store in Los Angeles (there are now two in New York and one in Paris) and were married in a country house in Connecticut that Aujla had just renovated with Benjamin Bloomstein, Aujla’s partner at Green River Project, an interior design firm and furniture manufacturer. When she looked back, she was almost surprised. “There’s been a huge change and now we’re venturing into different parts of the world in a way we never have before, while also being more grounded in our feet,” she said. “It’s kind of like this weird juxtaposition, right? We’re growing our nuclear family here, but our fingers are going into different parts of the world.”
