Inspiring Conversations with Samantha Whitehead and Emily Hudgin of House of Aura and Indigo James

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Whitehead and Emily Hudgin.

Hi Samantha and Emily, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Samantha’s Story: For as long as I can remember, I’ve been in love with photography. As a little kid, you could find me behind my digital camera capturing every little moment. As I got older, my passion only grew stronger along with my intuitive abilities. I have lived all over the world, and through my travels, I have connected and worked with many people from vastly different backgrounds. Throughout my photoshoot sessions, I watched people’s walls come down and their confidence grow. I was able to connect with others and allow them to see their unique beauty. I quickly realized I had a special talent for this, but the healer in me wanted to do more than just that. I heard of aura photography while I was living in Los Angeles, and decided to get my own done. I left the experience feeling inspired.

It was like an “ah-ha” moment. I knew I had the ability to capture people’s essences from the inside and out, combining the earth experience with the souls. I started expressing my interest in creating a legitimate business with my friend Kaitlin Gordon, who now works for House of Aura. We were about to make this dream a reality. The next thing I knew, I was reaching out to the company that makes this special equipment and signing up for the waitlist. Once it arrived, I reached out to different venues all over Denver and started booking events. Working with clients at my pop-ups, I was able to witness emotions and imprints unlock in them which enabled them to gain new self-awareness. These special moments have been beyond my wildest expectations but assure me that I am in the right field of service. As I was launching House of Aura, my dearest friend Emily was also in the process of launching her own business Indigo James, and we knew that we would be able to collaborate beautifully.

Emily’s Story: I have been immersed in event planning since I was 13 years old when I would help my aunt run her parties for fun. I loved being behind the scenes, stuffing envelopes, guest photos in picture frames, and anything to watch the magic of a dream turning into reality. I planned events in college, interned at Rafanelli Events in Boston, Massachusetts, and took a leap of faith when I applied to be the first recruiting coordinator at Snapchat (now Snap Inc.). My career took wild twists of fate and 1.5 years later in 2015, I was the first Internal Events Specialist within the company. Throughout my 9-year career, I built a team where we produced 7 events per office, annually, reaching over 2000 employees with our special experiences. I merged Internal Events with External Events, and together with the Head of Brand Strategy, we created an even larger department focused on the culture and employee experiences. In October of 2019, my greatest miracle arrived and I welcomed my son Isaac James into the world. Going through pregnancy awakened something within me, that led me to want to work with the metaphysical world more deeply. I had loved and worked with crystals lightly since 2017, however, they became my oracles and source of medicine from 2019 onwards. I realized there were ways to blend my passions, and what resulted in this was absolutely astounding to me. Indigo James was then founded in June 2020.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Our goal has always been to spread this unique healing experience that is not yet widespread or known. This has its own benefits, of course; however, weaving the principles of House of Aura and Indigo James to a wider audience is also our largest challenge and opportunity.

Events are deeply engrained in our culture, worldwide. Throwing parties, social events, and corporate events are already very saturated within society. For lack of a better term, the ‘physical’ environment. However, the energetic, unseen, and subtle environment is arguably equally as important. Commonly known as the ‘vibe’, or ‘mood’ — it’s what sets spaces and events apart from others. The energy. House of Aura and Indigo James focus on weaving both aspects together and bringing frequency and energetic beauty to a market that is used to an old tradition proves as our largest challenge currently.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
House of Aura: I (Samantha Whitehead) started House of Aura at the beginning of 2022 with the intention of spreading healing and doing what I love. Aura Photography was invented in the 1970s and works by combining the magic of the polaroid camera with electromagnetic sensors to double the exposure of auric fields onto the film. Each individual has a unique aura; I like to call it the soul’s blueprint. It is amazing to see the vastly different photos of each client. The colors and their placements represent different aspects of each individual’s aura, such as their emotions and characteristics. After the photo is taken, I sit down with the client and pull oracle cards and do a reading as we are waiting for their Polaroid to develop. Once it develops, I flip it over and do a personalized reading on their auric field which is shown through the photo. Clients also have the option to add a crystal curation to the experience, which is where Emily of Indigo James comes into play. Not only does the client receive their aura photo and intuitive reading, but they also get matched with a crystal based on their energy which they get to keep and implement into their day-to-day lives. A double dose of medicine. This is one of the aspects that sets House of Aura apart from other aura photography businesses, as well as my commitment to supporting aligned entrepreneurs. Indigo James and I did our first pop-up collaboration event at the iconic Modern Nomad in RiNo. The event lasted two days and was a huge success.

In such a short amount of time, I have felt the immense impact we have made on the lives that we have come in contact with through this work. Through laughter, tears, and testimonials, I know we are on the right path. I am so proud of where we have come from, and it is only the beginning. House of Aura has big plans for the Denver community and we can’t wait to spread our light.

House of Aura offers worldwide bookings for pop-ups, weddings, and private events.

Indigo James: (Emily Hudgin) Indigo James is a new earth experience company, that produces high-touch events with a metaphysical edge. We offer full event production services based in LA, Colorado, and worldwide.

Additionally, Indigo James offers specialized crystal curations, for events, homes, individuals, and most importantly for the soul. Our greatest work to date happened in October 2022, where we partnered with House of Aura, and blended our services to give guests the most unique experience Denver has ever seen! It was deeply meaningful to witness and observe guests tuning into their own frequencies through the guidance of Samantha and the House of Aura Team. Collaborating with them only shows us how much more opportunities there are for brand partnerships within the metaphysical realm.

To us, infusing crystal energy within a physical event space transforms the experience to a level of magic that is deeply felt, and unseen. We have received testimonials that our events ‘feel’ incredible, the energy of the space is amazing, and guests tend to stay hours longer than they may have normally. There have been instances where dinners have gone well over the anticipated end time and resulted in unexpected meaningful conversations and connections – we can’t help but believe it’s because of the power of this energetic work. Infusing events with crystals has allowed me to realize there is more than simply a beautiful event. An event can look beautiful, and Indigo James captures how that can feel, for every guest.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Denver is a vibrant community with open-minded individuals. Because of the expansive mindset, we knew this was going to be one of the greatest cities to launch our businesses.

Denver has a special vibe that draws people from all over the country. The beauty, nature, arts, and cultural scene are one of a kind. There is always something new and exciting to do here, and we love being a part of this growing city.

There really is nothing to fault with this wonderful place.

Contact Info:

• Website: houseofaura.co
• Instagram: @houseofaura.co and @indigojames.co

Image Credits
Anetta Odnoralova