When I first began making jewelry, I was inspired by the prayer necklaces and rings I wore as a child. My parents raised me in a Hindu ashram and we wore these hand-strung pieces to facilitate the act of devotion. We called them malas - Sanskrit for garland - and we would perform our japa - the meditative repetition of a mantra - on every bead or station of the necklaces and rings, just as one does with a rosary.

Each piece in this line is unique because it is not only symbolic, but is an actual tool crafted for the practice of stating our intentions, dreams, and hopes. Almost every culture has a version of prayer beads. Romans explorers carried japa malas back from India and coined them as rosarium, for the word jap means rose. In Hinduism, the mala has 108 beads and the final bead is called the Guru Bead, which signifies the end and beginning of one cycle. As an homage, all of the jewelry in this collection is based off the shape of the circle. I have used quotations from two gurus whose words and messages I was raised with, Baba Muktananda and Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Five years ago, I made sketches of this line and began to refer to all of my work as The Ritual of Adornment. I kept these pieces for close friends and family, and for myself. Today, I share them with you.