Hi! I’m Laura, maker of the malas and the face behind the brand. I am a one woman show passionate about sharing the benefits of mindfulness and meditation with as many of you beautiful beings as possible. The deep fulfillment I have gained from incorporating mindfulness tools into my daily life inspired me to start a company where I can share those tools with all of you. Let’s be honest, life isn’t always smooth sailing so it’s important for us to have tangible ways to stay grounded and graceful throughout the ups and downs.

The story of how it all began: An exploration of culture, meaning and purpose.

Since I was a small child I’ve loved creating, experimenting and making art full of life, color and a little bit of sparkle. My journey with spirituality started when I took a class in high school called “Great Ideas” which was an introductory philosophy class. I loved the idea that there are many different lenses that we can use to see our lives through and the only way to truly think for yourself is to explore all of the options before deciding on who you are and what makes you happy.

When I went to University I took a world religions class and was captivated by how interesting it was to learn about how different cultures see meaning in life. I already had a taste of comparison because I grew up in America but moved to Canada when I was 18 for college. Moving from Vermont where the norm was tye dye and friendly farmer folk, I had quite a culture shock when I was catapulted into Toronto’s elite social circle-Queen’s University. At first, I was confused, lonely and quite frankly spiteful of these people who I couldn’t understand. They lived life fast, with no time to hold doors, remember your face or care about who you were if you didn’t answer their first question “what program are you in?” right. Oh…yeah people didn’t think highly of me studying religion. In fact most of the time they seemed utterly bewildered at how someone could even come up with such a ridiculous major that didn’t lead to a specific job in business or engineering.

The more time I spent at Queen’s the more I learned about myself. Instead of being spiteful of those who had different viewpoints than myself, I immersed myself in the study of Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, yoga and meditation. I was interested in the other worldy things, which I found in religion, spirituality and raving into the early hours of the morning. I learned to transmute negativity and radiate what I was learning in class to those around me. In a world of busyness, stressful exams and social climbing I found a special little corner of the universe that I cherish deeply to this day. It was a truly profound experience to be somewhere so new and different than the place I had grew up and gave me a phenomenal opportunity for self inquiry.

Fast forward to graduation day and I left feeling deeply fulfilled by my studies, and accepting of an uncertain and unpredictable future thanks to the constant reminders of Buddhist texts and existentialism readings. From there I had a brief stint as a ski bum in Whistler, before I began traveling around the world. I felt like I had studied intellectually other cultures, but I wanted to experience them. I began traveling worked at hot air balloon festivals, who in turn paid for my accommodations and flights (that’s a story for another time). I travelled to the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, India and across the US. I also took trips to France, London, Italy, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

I enjoyed traveling but I felt like I wanted to being doing something “more” than just visiting, which is why I enrolled in a 100 hour yoga teacher training in Risikesh, India in January 2017. I was SO incredibly scared of going to India alone and let the fear of others slowly creep into my head as I did more and more research. I almost cancelled the trip because of the fear but in the end I decided to go. My view on traveling is that you should educate yourself substantially before going, be prepared and be safe but ultimately recognize the humanness in each person and that risks exist in our daily lives. The two weeks I spent in India were profound, startling and so beautiful. I was struck that their culture revolved around ritual, gathering and beauty, which was a stark contrast to the end goal of seemingly everything in America: money. Every evening at sun down there was an evening “aarti” or prayers to Mama Ganges, the river who provided so much for this town. There was chanting, offering of flowers, incense, prayers and more. It was so beautiful I was moved to tears and in a bit of shock. I couldn’t believe that all of these people gathered here every single evening just to express their gratitude for this river. I couldn’t help but think this is something that would never happen in America without ulterior motives. It felt pure, deep, and made me feel a deep sense of connection and purpose for living this life. I was hooked on finding the deeper meaning and sweet spots in our lives. The things and places that inspire and allow us to open up, be seen and LOVE.

I began to create jewelry that are tools for staying grounded and present in everyday life for those looking connect deeper with their inner selves and live in full alignment with their purpose. The journey started in 2017 and I am eternally grateful to be able to continue to connect, create and live my life’s purpose doing this work. My hope is that people can connect to their superpower, their intuition and their highest selves when they wear my jewelry. I hope that reading about the different gemstones gives you a chance to asses your own needs or to choose a thoughtful gift for a loved one. I hope that with each piece I can spread a little bit of light and that those who wear it will transfer the spark of deep inner knowing, peace and contentment.