Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Mauro.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In 2014, I became disillusioned with my role as an in-house Fashion Stylist – my art and my work was someone else’s but I wanted to created something that was mine and meaningful, something that landed to helping others amplify positivity, growth and inner radiance. In the same year, I lost a dear friend. I retreated to the mountains of Vermont to search, for solace, meaning, hope. On a fated walk in the woods, I asked for guidance from this late friend and shortly after found a tiny pendant on my hiking trail, the exact shape of his tattoo. I created a necklace, wore it for healing and INDA Creations was born. This experience gave me purpose – to create + share healing products with the universe. I realized the personal power that adornment and sacred objects can have on our everyday experiences and began creating my line. Our offerings started with crystal jewelry and then expanded into our signature piece, the INDA pipe necklace. We have also added handmade smudge sticks and ritual wraps (kits with crystals, Palo Santo and smudge sticks, Hemp Honey + Hemp Salve and multipurpose herbal blends (smoke-sip-soak) to our offerings.
This brand is something I lived and then created for people to help them search within and heal. It’s about drawing strength from nature to explore and heal. It’s about learning to move through the hard times without the numbing techniques that our society is so quick to encourage. I choose to offer alternative healing modalities that rely on the holistic healing approach so we can treat ourselves through products inspired by nature and plants. The intentional products I create and sell are meant to inspire others on their personal journeys of healing and encourage us all to connect with Mother Earth.
Has it been a smooth road?
Nothing is easy in the world of entrepreneurship but that’s why you pick something that is meaningful to you so that the struggle is worth it. The challenges that most entrepreneurs face (or anyone that is trying to bring a new product to market) can be extensive but when you work in an industry you love and in a category you are passionate about, it makes weeding through the challenges so much easier!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the INDA Creations story. Tell us more about the business.
INDA believes that Mother Earth is our greatest healer and that we can look to nature and plant medicine to find healing within us. We are seamlessly combining wellness, style and cannabis under one roof. We have an assortment of products, all designed as self-care tools for our wellness journeys. The INDA pipe necklace, the first of its kind, is a necklace that transforms into a working smoking pipe which supports us on all of the inner journey and explorations with plant medicine.
The Hemp honey and salve we sell combines the healing properties of the cannabinoid plant and other natural, and restorative ingredients without the psychoactive high that THC heavy products can bring. The crystal bolo necklaces are versatile and allow you to pair your energetic intentions with the different crystal offerings.
We proudly work with small businesses and farmers to source all of the parts to make our products, most which are then hand-assembled and handmade by me. For example, the farm where we source our herbs from to create our smudge sticks and tea blends is a family owned production farm in VT where I lived for several months. Both the company that make the pipes I design as well the shop where I source my vintage chains from are both family owned and in small towns in New England. Supporting small businesses and being USA made is a huge initiative of the INDA brand so anytime you make a purchase you are supporting local farms and family owned businesses.
We are constantly evolving and growing to expand our offerings. We just launched INDA Styling this month, a platform that combines my background and passion in styling and art direction with wellness and healing, which will sit under the INDA brand. INDA Styling is a new way of working with my clients to help them define and express their authentic vision and voice through wardrobe and style. I am looking forward to connecting with like-minded entrepreneurs, small business owners, creatives in wellness and beyond.
Travel is a huge pillar of the INDA brand. We believe that traveling, wandering and adventuring can lead to ultimate self-exploration and healing. Speaking to this, we have made it a brand initiative to travel to various festivals, markets and ups throughout the country. We LOVE connecting with our customers one on one and in person so this is a great way for us to do that and continue to build our tribe and community. Past Festivals have included Wanderlust Yoga Festival in Stratton Vermont, Desert Daze in Joshua Tree, Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, SOWA Open Market in Boston, etc… We are planning on adding festivals in Sedona and San Diego to our travel line up next year and of course various markets and pop ups throughout LA.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I believe that the stigma of the cannabis plant will continue to fade. Slowly but surely, we will accept cannabis as states continue to legalize and the benefits and uses of the plant continue to come to light.
People are already seeing the positive benefits the plant can offer the economy, modern medicine and society as a whole – I believe that the future of cannabis is bright!
Contact Info:
- Address: Venice, California
- Website: www.indacreations.com
- Phone: 401-527-3845
- Email: inda@indacreations.com
- Instagram: @indacreations
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndaCreations/
Image Credit:
Monica Justesen
alpinecollective
John Davenport
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