Maybe you’ve been looking for mala beads. If not for meditation or prayer, then to simply add a color that makes you happy to an outfit. Look for a necklace or bracelet that feels right immediately; after all, it’s meaningful to you, and your jewelry does reveal something about you to others. It makes a statement.
You can search far and wide, but you’re likely to loop right back to Westport. Local jewelry designer and yogi Phyllis Kurzer designs hand-knotted malas made with semiprecious stones and tribal pendants for her line, Karma Mala. Each is authentic, beautiful and made with intention.
Aligned with the purpose of malas, she gives back. Kurzer donates 100 percent of her profits to STOP Girl Trafficking, a program run by the American Himalayan Foundation (himalayan-foundation.org). Her hope is to put an end to the nearly 20,000 girls trafficked in Nepal each year by safely getting them into school and educating rural communities about the realities of human trafficking. Kurzer says it has enrolled nearly 14,800 girls, and just $100 will keep a girl safe and in school for a whole year. Karma Mala has gifted nearly $33,000 since its inception in February 2014.
“I sell at trunk shows, private appointments and through my website to maximize what I can donate,” she says. For example, she recently had a trunk show at Bianca Boutique.
Add beauty, nurture the innocence and potential of vulnerable girls and believe good has no bounds. karmamala.com