HOW WE Create
What makes our creative process unique is every soul involved in bringing these pieces to life. This brand wasn’t built alone - in fact, there are many hands involved in not only the creation of our products but also the inspiration that led to such a purpose-driven adventure.
A viDEO of our soul-infused metalsmithing process.
Did you know that every single piece of silver on your mala (except the beads) is melted down from pure silver, hand-cranked into flat sheets or wire, and hand-formed to fit each individual crystal.
Even those tiny little joiner hoops, all chainlink and every component of our earrings are made entirely by hand.
When Umar, the Silversmith Boss, was asked why he and his workers choose to do the silversmithing work manually (without electrical machines), he replied “untuk tetap dengan semangat” which means:
to keep connected with the spirit.
It’s one of our core values to work with people who are deeply connected with the process of their art. To supply work to souls, instead of machines, wherever we can.
The sweat + soul that goes into these pieces is what sets them apart from all else. We want you to know who touched every component of your mala until it reaches your hands.
A BACKSTORY.
When Passion Pilgrim’s founder, Kayla, was asked why she sells mala beads, her answer was simple:
“so i can make more.”
Kayla loves the meditative nature of the craft mixed with an opportunity to satisfy her relentless obsession for design. Mala bead creations are Kayla’s way of channelling her intuition (and obsession for problem solving!) to find the perfect stones to support an individual’s journey - either through custom designs or Passion Pilgrim’s signature collections.
Beyond that, there were other aspects of the mala-making journey that fed Kayla’s soul, such as the purpose it brought into her travels. Over the past few years, creating these unique talismans has sent her on a bus through Sri Lanka’s mountains, into the heart of Indonesian cities and rural towns. Finding quality stone suppliers, unique artefacts and sourcing raw crystals feels like a chapter out of a fairytale life she dreamed of as a child, and these ‘treasure hunts’ provided Kayla with the source of grounding + magic she was seeking.
But there was one problem - Kayla had created a demanding business that needed to be marketed, managed, produced and shipped, as well as maintaining a balanced lifestyle. There are only so many mala beads she can make in a day!
“I’ve always enjoyed playing with rocks + sparkly things, but my favourite part of this whole endeavour is the process. The more I sell, the more jobs I create. Passion Pilgrim has brought so much more purpose into my life than I ever thought possible just from tying knots in string!”
TIed with love.
In all of her adventures, Kayla’s favourite treasure is the people she met along the way. Their faces left an imprint on her heart and after learning their language as a necessity for her life and creative endeavours, she found herself being moved to tears at the deeper level of connection she experienced. This new communication skill allowed her to explore her bigger vision of outsourcing production with a strong intention:
To provide jobs to hands who need them, eliminating machines wherever we can.
Kayla always remembered her dear friend Karin on Bali’s neighboring island, Lombok. So on her next visit, along came her beads - supplying jobs for about a dozen grateful souls. This was the first of many fulfilling visits and Kayla was excited to witness others who enjoyed tying knots in string as much as she did! She now totes all her beads over to Lombok a few times per year to sit in circle and create with the Mala Production Family, ensuring quality, organization and leaving with a fully-charged spirit. All Passion Pilgrim mala beads are fairly-produced in small batches in a joyful environment.
The larger vision of Passion Pilgrim is to give people tools so they can create a solid foundation and with that, cultivate more JOY in their lives. These tools help people to live inspired, express themselves freely and do what they are in this body to do - be present for their human experience in all its shapes and forms. The more mala beads we sell, the more we can make, and the more souls are being positively impacted on both sides of the equation.
![Unmistakably beautiful, MERMAID mala beads call to you with their non-conforming design + oceanic presence.
Amazonite, jasper, hematite + rose quartz mala beads [with a touch of traditional rudraksha seed] finished off with a beautifully polished p](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a825a55017db239bb6b89e3/1618997403630-0OUTN4NXFJAZRN9KCG5L/image-asset.jpeg)
