Custom Made

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I love making mini malas, and I especially love designing them with someone’s vision + desires in mind. I have made some custom malas for a few wonderful people, and my heart explodes when I hear what they have to say when their unique piece lands in there hands.

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“I really cant describe how much I love my mini mala. I’m not a spiritual person at all, but I kinda felt something when I held it. I definitely felt connected to it and like it gave me some sort of spiritual feeling and calmness.”

– Esta Tonkin of Wild Weka

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“…the intention I set for my mala (to lean into my intuition more) seems to be coming true! Since wearing it, I’ve found a professional intuitive online who I really clicked with and had a session with her last week. After our session, she asked for my permisson to use our call for her training program, and as a trade, offered me free access to an online course (she sells for lots of money) to develop one’s psychic skills.I create one step – and the the universe paves the next 2 steps for me.”

– Danielle van de Kemmenade of Heart Work

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“I was so honored to receive something this beautiful. I kept these pearls from a tiny island off the coast of Colombia for so many years until I saw your work and knew that I could put them in the right hands. I told you I dreamt of wearing moonlight, and that is exactly how it feels when I drape them around my neck.”

– Susanna Harwood Rubin, Yoga Teacher. Writer. Artist

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“My stunning mini mala started working it’s magic right away from the moment I began to unwrap the thoughtful, gorgeous packaging! I definitely feel energized by wearing my mini mala and remember to be grounded just by touching it or looking at it. I feel like it packs so much beauty, wisdom and inspiration, and I don’t know if they are addictive, but I already want a second one!!”

– Berynes Sosa – A most extraordinary teacher

 

Each piece is as unique as the person who sparked its creation, and serves them in both a very real + magical way.

If you have a vision, some special beads or a charm, or are just wanting something designed specifically for you with your desires in mind – let’s make something!

You can begin here.

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Charm & Magic Headquarters

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I’ve traded my little corner “office” behind the couch in our Brooklyn apartment for an entire room in our new home. It only really consists of a desk at this point, and a bed for guests – but my desk is nestled in front of a window, which is a dream.

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I got an actual “craft table” which my loving husband assembled, and now I have room for my many supplies. I have a little station for packaging / miscellaneous tasks on the other side of the room and a meditation nook, which I try to visit every morning as long as Luca allows, or if I manage to wake up before him.

I have my beads arranged in tubes, baby food jars, in a bead box I found in a second hand shop in Brooklyn, in zip lock bags nestled into a shoebox, and in a plastic case I’ve had since I was a kid. They are tucked into different drawers and spaces – and I can pull them out and put them back with somewhat relative ease.

I’m beyond grateful to have space dedicated specifically towards Charm & Magic. And just like everything in this house, I’m sure it will evolve just as I do.

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Charm and Magic : Mini Launch

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I have been making mini malas for the past 11 months – but really they have been in the works for years. This seed may have been planted when I started making jewelry for my friends in high school, or when I started practicing yoga and meditation. Either way, I have loved building this handmade business with roots in creative expression + mindful awareness.

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Behind the scenes it’s just me, in a little corner behind the couch in my living room. Wanting to create and make a difference. My beads are in baby food jars, bags, and boxes in an IKEA medicine cabinet and in metal tins on the window sill. I sometimes find an incredible flow and mini malas just pour out of me, other times I spend hours creating and destroying.

This year has been filled with the best kind of learning curves, and now I have a mini collection that I’m thrilled to share with you in the Charm & Magic online shop!

Have a most magical last month of the year – filled with intention and charm!!

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Figuring Things Out

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Summer is the perfect time to play – but really anytime is.

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I have been playing for the past six months every mini mala I made.  I needed to explore so I could figure out how I want charm & magic to look and feel like.  Now I am starting to create an actual structure so I can make many, many mini malas to be shared with many, many people (!).  I don’t think I would have arrived to this place of clarity, if I didn’t play with flea market findings and explore different ways to package with washi tape.

So go ahead and explore whatever your heart wants to figure out, and if you want to read more of my ramblings – here is a little blast from the past post on play 

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” – Carl Jung

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The Sacred Push

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I pushed two things into existence this January: a jewelry line and a baby (in chronological order), and it is with huge excitement I introduce you to both:

charm & magic: a collection of mini japa malas that serve as a visual & tactile reminder to seek out the charm & magic that exist in daily life.  A japa mala is a string of 108 beads often used in yogic and Buddhist traditions to offer a grounded focus while chanting a mantra or prayer.

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and then came…

Luca Jack Sherman, born January 15th at 5:23 pm, weighing 7lbs 4 ounces and measuring 18 inches long.

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Both births were supported by phenomenal women and my amazing husband.  Here is a little about both.

Part 1:  Creation of charm & magic

As I waited for Luca Jack to make his arrival, I started to craft necklaces.  Making jewelry has been a dream brewing in my mind and my heart for years.  As drawn as I was to this idea, I never quite knew where to start.  Not to mention the swirl of thoughts that played in my head over and over: I’m not talented enough, plenty of other people are making jewelry, I have no time, it would be too hard, what would people think? etc…  These negative thoughts always seemed to stop me before I began.

Then, thanks to my husband, I had the pleasure of meeting Rachelle Tratt, the creator of a company I love dearly, The Neshama Project.  Sitting and talking with her felt like a visit with an old friend.  I shared my dream of making mini malas with her, something I only sheepishly shared with a handful of trusted people.

She held the space as I shared my vision, and the negative thoughts living in my brain got quiet.  Suddenly, I had a brand name (charm & magic), a tagline (movement. color. love), and new mantra: Shut Up & Do It.  This blunt mantra is exactly what Rachelle said to herself to get her soulful business up and running.

Since then I have been churning out necklaces, getting completely lost in the color and design of these playful, delicate, and asymmetrical expressions of my heart and soul.  Then came January 15th.

Part 2:  Arrival and care of Luca Jack

I bow to all mothers that ever were, and will ever be – labor is hard!  I will spare you the details, except for this one moment.

I was halfway through labor, when I started crying, fully believing I couldn’t do it.  It was already so hard, and the end was nowhere in sight.  Totally unprompted, but just what I needed, my husband handed me my japa mala.

I held each bead and started digging into my inner reserves.  Mantras emerged that helped me believe I actually could do this.  Lying on the bed, I repeated “I am a powerful goddess,”  “I was created to deliver this baby,” and “I trust my body, she is infinitely wise,” until I started to believe it.  This gave me a much needed second wind.  Almost 12 hours later, with the help of three grounding midwives, many compassionate nurses, and one very strong doctor, we met our baby boy.  I have yet to experience anything so miraculous.

So now our little family is hibernating as we figure out this whole parenthood thing, with my collection of mini malas dangling in it’s storefront in the living room. 

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I have always been a person with many interests, and I’m excited to see A Well Fed Body live alongside charm & magic, and watch them both inform each other, with Luca Jack adding wonder when necessary.

So with that, I leave you to chew on this:

“Ideas in secret die.  They need light and air or they starve to death.”   – Seth Godin  

Is there something you are ready to bring into existence?  Are you waiting for the perfect time?  Are you waiting for someone to give you permission?

What if you just started, taking small steps and watching where it leads, playing along the way, knowing it is OK that you don’t know it all now, but reveling in the fact you are putting things in motion?

It’s amazing what happens when you trust and believe in yourself.

Love, mala beads, and baby hiccups,

Leah

 

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