Consciously crafted for yogis

Yogi Peace Club (YPC) is a Surf Coast business designing slow-made yoga products for eco-minded yogis on their search for bliss.

Founder Emma Barr launched YPC to build a community of like-minded health conscious, eco-friendly yogis.

Barr is based in Jan Juc, where she lives with her husband and two children.

“I grew up by the beach in Barwon Heads and have always had an interest in the yogic lifestyle and philosophies.”

“My loves in life are simple – my family, yoga, the beach, being in nature, and friends.”

“I practice yoga every day and I am yoga instructor at Its all Yoga and RACV Resort in Torquay.”

Before launching Yogi Peace Club, Barr worked in the surf industry for more than 20 years, including sales, marketing, and design at Quiksilver and the head of Roxy design for Australasia for a decade.

“I then worked at Reef in Torquay where I was in sales and product design. Working with rubber in footwear gave me a deeper understanding for rubber in yoga mats.

“Much of my design experience comes from working within the surf industry.”

Barr started YPC in 2014 from her Jan Juc home, with a love for creativity, yoga and health.

“My love of yoga and seeing an opportunity to place prints on yoga mats was the catalyst to start Yogi Peace Club.

“The yoga mats are the hero of the brand. We sell yoga mats all over the world and they are loved and used by yoga teachers.”

 

YPC products are consciously made, and free from heavy metals, toxic glue, latex, silicon, and phthalates.

YPC yoga mats are made from tree rubber and recycled post-consumer plastic and each mat features beautiful artworks created by local artists.

“Creating Yogi Peace Club has given me the opportunity to express the things I love in design but more importantly design and create products that are long lasting, quality and use materials that leave the smallest possible footprint on the planet,” Barr said.

She was on a holiday in Bali with her family when the idea first came to her.

“The idea was inspired while in Bali with my family. I wanted a yoga brand that felt inclusive and made people feel like they are part of a club, while invoking a feeling of community and awareness for sustainability when creating products.

“My ideology for the brand is to bring the ‘inner yogi’ out in everyone. With unique colors and prints, I hope to inspire people to try yoga.

“The brand was derived from my love of yoga, the beach, colour and prints.

“I created Yogi Peace Club with the intention to design yoga products that make people feel supported in their yoga practice, while producing products that have minimal impact on the planet.

Barr has been practising yoga for as long as she can remember and wants to use her strengths to share her love of the practise.

“When I step on my yoga mat, I feel at home,” she said.

“Yoga teaches me to slow down, be present and find life balance. It is a deep passion of mine, and I not only do I practice every day, but I am a passionate yoga teacher.

“I can’t remember what actually inspired to me to start, but now I simply can’t live without yoga; I feel it in body and mind when I am not practicing.”

“Yoga has the ability to transform the body and mind, so I take that philosophy with the business with a sense of empathy, kindness and sustainability to ensure our practices are in line with a yogic way of life. Being able to do what I love in my personal life, and bring it into my working life, makes me feel so blessed and grateful every day.”

 

Barr said a group of Surf Coast women with a passion for the environment and yoga worked behind the scenes at YPC.

“I think is fundamental to the business is our authenticity.

“We are yoga teachers and yoga lovers. We seek to build an authentic relationship with our customers through a dialogue of inclusivity, kindness and understanding.

“Mindfulness and yoga is practiced daily within the office to promote a calm and enriching culture.

“My team are always inspiring me with their creativity and passion for the brand. I could not do it without them.”

As a yoga teacher herself, Barr loves to share, practice, and test the products with fellow teachers and students locally to ensure the products are not only made sustainably, but also perform in homes or the studio.

“I also love teaching yoga and seeing Yogi Peace Club mats being used by students in the yoga studios across Torquay. It’s such a huge compliment to see so many locals using and wearing our products,” she said.

“My mission for the brand has always been to ensure our products are of the highest standard, purpose built to enhance a customer’s yoga experience, while minimizing the impact on the planet.

“Our mantra is ‘Be kind, do yoga’.”

As part of their mission, YPC donates yoga mats to local schools for their wellness program and fundraisers as well as giving back to Carbon Positive Australia, a non-for profit organisation that aims to restore Australian land and reproduce natural ecosystems with the planting of native Australian trees.

To follow along on the YPC journey, head to yogipeaceclub.comYPC flares designed on the Surf Coast. Photo: SUPPLIED

Yogi Peace Club is a purpose-driven business and yoga brand that aims to build an authentic community of like-minded Yogis.