A sit-down with the creator of the Bota Bota mug

“I decided I wanted to run my own design boutique in Montreal when I was 14 or 15 years old,” recalls Aurélia Turon-Lagot with a laugh. Clearly, the craftswoman who founded the Alice in Montréal boutique/workshop is not lacking in perseverance.

That is in part why we entrusted her with the mission of designing a souvenir mug to mark Bota Bota’s five-year anniversary. What better way to celebrate this milestone than to enable our clients to bring home a bit of the wellness they find at the spa?

But just who is Aurélia? She was already an accomplished designer, with formal training in France, when she enrolled in UQÀM’s Environmental Design program. In the course of these studies, she was asked to design a memento of Montreal. This proved to be the impetus that ultimately lead to her business venture.

Having visited Montreal with her parents countless times in her youth, she was delighted to pay homage to the city, and she chose to do so by designing a souvenir mug. However, she wished to avoid the souvenir-shop clichés, with their low-quality and horribly dated photographs. Having discovered chalk painting, she used its techniques to outline the city’s skyline against the white background of the mug.

Aurélia went on to make more mugs and objects, perfecting her approach, and this gradually evolved into her business. Today, her mugs and paintings capture the attractions of numerous cities with her signature clean and elegant style. Aurélia’s work appears in the catalogue of the UNESCO-affiliated Bureau du design de Montréal.

For the Bota Bota mug, she chose to represent the boat itself, as well as Habitat 67 and the Old Port’s iconic Silo No. 5 grain elevator. Bota Bota is proud to be Aurélia’s first corporate commission. We are pleased to support her efforts to broaden our charming city’s souvenir-gift offerings.

To purchase a Bota Bota mug, simply ask a crew member or visit Alice in Montréal‘s Web site!