Hi there, my name is Harvinder, and I’m the founder and designer behind the empowerment brand, KAURA JEWELS.
I created Kaura at a time when I was seeking inner strength and courage. My hope is that these pieces help you to feel powerful, too.
So back in 2011, I was thrown for a loop when I became a stay-at-home mom to a newborn daughter who had extreme colic the first nine months of her life. I had dabbled in making jewelry before she was born, but my profession had been in environmental consulting.
In my unfamiliar role as a stay-at home mom with a crying infant, I found myself completely off balance and a sense of hopelessness. Within a year of giving birth, I fell into severe post-partum depression.
Thankfully, my scholarly curiosity was intact and in 2012, a voice inside me saved me - I was reminded about the stories my grandfather had shared with me, growing up.
As a child growing up in an Italian neighborhood in Toronto Canada, I hadn’t had much exposure to my Indian heritage, so I decided to spend a few hours a day and studying Indian history.
I found a book with stories and images of kings and queens holding shields and swords crafted of gold and ruby and emeralds and engraved with beautiful animal imagery. One image in particular of a warrior-woman struck a cord with my own warrior spirit and reminded me of my forgotten self-worth and passion for life.
I felt like if I wore something that represented protection, like a shield or a sword, then maybe I’d feel strength like the warrior-woman in the history book. I was inspired to create a distinctive double-headed horse pendant inspired by an ancient dagger, but designed from a place of symmetry, where one head represented me and the other, the challenges of being a new mom. I wore the piece everyday and it became a reminder to practice acceptance without judgment, allowing for moments of joy and sadness, and relaxation in response to resistance: basically, a call to find balance & harmony in my life.
The piece felt protective and just knowing it existed already made me feel better. This piece lead to the next and so on… 2 years later, I created 4 collections titled
In 2017 I was inspired to create the Wisdom collection, inspired by the bindi (third-eye point), after my nickname, Bindi.
The creation of the jewels became medicine for my own soul. Inspired from Indian traditional armory from a bygone era, my pieces serve as a bold reminder that we are powerful beyond measure, and that our self-worth, our light is ever-present.
Today, my daughter is my teacher and source for laughter and connection to natures beauty and wonder. She knows the story behind each piece and encourages me to continue sketching and creating.