April at Aura Surfaces: Opening the Doors to the Next Chapter
I want to do something a bit different this week. Less about a product, less about a trip — and more about where I am, where Aura Surfaces is, and what I’m starting to think the next chapter looks like.
April has been, without doubt, one of the most full-on months I’ve had in business. So I wanted to write it down honestly, sit in front of a camera, and talk it through. Because I think there’s something in this for anyone running a small business, but also because I’ve come to a conclusion I want to put out into the world — and see what comes back.
What April Actually Looked Like
Let me give you the highlights — and I use that word loosely, because some of it was brilliant and some of it absolutely wasn’t.
I flew to Spain with clients to choose tiles for what I can only describe as a monster of a new home. Boots on the ground, hand on the surface, eye on the detail. The kind of trip that reminds you why this job is the best job in the world.
I went to Budapest to look at new technology — because if we’re going to lead the surface design conversation in the UK, we have to know what’s coming, not what’s already here.
I went to Milan Design Week — and if you’ve watched my last video or read the Milan article, you’ll know how much that one trip shifted my thinking.
I jumped on a plane for a day trip to Scotland to sit down with a world-renowned spa design and build company about projects we may collaborate on. Up and back in a day. It was worth every minute.
And in between all of that, I’ve been juggling seven live projects, editing videos, being a dad, and trying — really trying — to keep on top of my own mental and physical health. Because none of this works if the engine isn’t running.
The Bit I Almost Didn't Write About
I also became the victim of a sophisticated email hack this month. I’m not going to go into all the detail here, but as it stands today, it has left me significantly out of pocket. Not a small amount of money. A real, gut-punching amount.
I’m including it because I think it’s important to be honest about what running a business actually looks like. It’s not all the showroom shots and the design week selfies. Sometimes it’s an email that looks completely legitimate, a transaction you genuinely thought you’d verified, and a very long, very quiet evening realising what’s happened.
I’ll get through it. I always do. But it has shaped how I’m thinking about the rest of this article — because when something like that happens, you can either retreat or you can take it as a signal. And I’m choosing to read it as a signal.
So Why Has It Still Been an Incredible Month?
Because in the middle of all of that — the travel, the projects, the dad duties, the hack — I’ve never felt clearer about where this business is heading.
I’ve learnt. A lot. About products, about technology, about people. Every one of those trips put something on my radar that wasn’t there before.
I’ve strengthened relationships. With clients. With suppliers. With manufacturers who, two years ago, wouldn’t have known the name Aura Surfaces and now actively want us in front of UK projects.
I’ve been productive in a way I genuinely didn’t know I was capable of being. April is the month I stopped wondering whether the vision is real and started feeling, in my bones, that it is.
Where Aura Surfaces Actually Came From
I want to step back for a second, because if you’re new here — and a lot of you are — the context matters.
I’ve been in this industry for 25 years. A quarter of a century selling, specifying, learning, listening, watching it change. And around two years ago, I realised I’d fallen out of love with retail. I was tired of selling a single product. Tired of being on the wrong side of a conversation where the client clearly needed broader help — and I could only point them at the one thing on my shelf.
I could see the gap. Clients in high-end residential and good-quality commercial didn’t need another shop. They needed a partner. Someone knowledgeable, keen, and genuinely enthusiastic, sitting in their corner. Someone whose job was to save them time on sourcing the right products, make sure the technical specification actually matched the aesthetic vision, and — crucially — keep all of that inside the budget they had to work with.
That’s what Aura Surfaces was built to be. Not a retailer. A consultancy. Independent, multi-product, multi-supplier, opinionated about quality, and entirely on the client’s side.
That clarity is what’s let us grow this fast in two years. And it’s also why finding the right person to help me is so important — because what we’re protecting isn’t a product range, it’s a way of working.
Over the last two years we have handpicked some incredible products. Built relationships with suppliers and manufacturers I’m proud to represent. We’ve got beautiful projects on the books and new products in the pipeline that I think are going to make people stop and look. Two years in, sitting where I’m sitting, I don’t think I can keep doing this on my own.
Opening the Doors at Aura Surfaces — Carefully
That’s a hard sentence to write, because for a long time the whole point of Aura Surfaces was that it was mine. My eye. My standards. My relationships. My voice. And I’m not letting go of any of that — let me be very clear about that.
But I have to be honest with myself. If I’m going to be in Spain sourcing surfaces, in Italy ahead of the trends, in Scotland sitting with collaborators, on site with clients, in the showroom holding samples, and in front of the camera writing and recording these articles and videos — something has to give. And the thing I refuse to let give is the quality.
So maybe it’s time to test the water. I want to be clear about what I mean by this, because I’m not slapping a job ad on LinkedIn tomorrow morning.
What I’m saying is: if you’ve read this far, and you have real experience in this industry — specifically the specification market for high-end residential and good-quality commercial projects — and there’s a part of you reading this thinking that sounds like the kind of place I’d love to work — then I want to know about you.
I’m not looking for someone to do my job. I’m looking for someone who wants to grow Aura Surfaces to the next level alongside me. Someone who knows the difference between a good supplier and a great one. Someone who understands that in this industry, the relationship is the product. Someone who can walk into a project, hold their own, and represent what we stand for without me whispering in their ear.
What I'm Honestly Worried About
I’m going to put my fears on the table, because I think they’re worth saying out loud.
My biggest worry is that I won’t find someone who loves it as much as I do. I don’t know how to teach that. I don’t think you can. You either feel it walking into a fabricator’s workshop in Italy or you don’t.
My second worry is the working environment. I run a relaxed business. I genuinely don’t care about clock-watching, about where you sit, about how you dress. What I care about is results. But — and this is the bit a lot of people miss — a relaxed environment only works for people who are disciplined enough to put the work in without being asked. The freedom is the reward, not the starting point.
So if you’re someone who needs structure imposed from above, this isn’t the place. And if you’re someone who’d take advantage of a relaxed environment, this really isn’t the place. But if you’re someone who’s been quietly outperforming a more rigid environment for years and would thrive with a bit of trust and a lot of responsibility — we should probably talk.
Why Aura Surfaces Is Doing This Now
Because I refuse to spread myself too thin on the ground. That’s the line I will not cross.
The projects deserve better. The clients deserve better. The suppliers we’ve worked so hard to bring on board deserve better. And honestly — my family deserves better, too.
For Aura Surfaces to grow into what I know it can be, I have to be in Spain. I have to be in Italy. I have to be on the road, in the workshops, ahead of the trends. But I also have to be on site. In the showroom. In front of clients. Behind the camera.
You can’t do all of that and do all of it well. Not as one person. Not honestly.
This isn’t a polished recruitment campaign. This is me, at the end of the busiest month I’ve had, telling you where my head is at and asking the universe a question. If you’re in the industry, if this resonates, if you’ve read this and felt something — send me a message. Not a CV. Not a cover letter. A conversation. Tell me what you love about this industry, what you’re frustrated with in your current world, and why a place like Aura Surfaces sounds like somewhere you’d thrive.
There Are No Six Steps to Success
I’ll say something here I genuinely believe.
There are no six steps to success. There is no shortcut, no playbook, no templated journey that takes you from where you are to where you want to be. If something is worth doing, it takes time. It takes dedication. It takes the lessons you only learn by getting it wrong. And it takes the effort nobody else sees.
That’s true in business. It’s true in every single other part of life.
And the relationships we build in business have to be held to exactly the same standard. The good ones — clients, suppliers, collaborators, and eventually colleagues — are built on effort, dedication, communication, and mutual respect from every single person at the table. If any one of those four is missing, the relationship doesn’t last. And frankly, it shouldn’t.
That’s the bar. It’s what’s got us this far. And it’s what whoever joins me has to bring to the table from day one.
April has taught me a lot. It’s taught me that the business is real. That the vision is real. That I’m capable of more than I thought I was. And it’s also taught me — through the hack, through the seven projects, through the trips and the late edits and the quiet moments — that I don’t want to do this alone forever.
It’s tough being in business. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. But I love what I do. I love the products, the projects, the people. I love that two years in, the calendar is full, the pipeline is healthy, and the conversations are getting bigger.
So maybe this is the moment. Maybe this is when the doors start to open. If that’s you — get in touch. Let’s have a coffee. Let’s see what conversations come from this.
And if you’re a client, a collaborator, or just someone who’s been following along — thank you. April was a hard, brilliant, exhausting, incredible month, and you’re part of the reason it was worth every minute of it.
Watch the video, enjoy the journey, and I’ll see you in the next one.
Ashley Fabian is the founder of Aura Surfaces — a design-led surface design consultancy specialising in high-end residential, hospitality and commercial interiors. If this article resonated and you’d like to talk — about a project, a collaboration, or a role — get in touch via aurasurfaces.uk.
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