Meet Kari
Kari Gueham is the founder of a very intimate brand called MINERALOSOPHIE. Kari creates handmade mineral talismans, vibrant of chosen intentions, to cultivate inner peace and strength. As she defines, "Energy to wear."
Kari Gueham had a respected and impressive career before she decided to strike out on her own. In fact, she was a human rights lawyer for almost 14 years. She started her career in the Prime Minister’s office and ended it at the High Authority for the Fight against Discrimination and for Equality, which is now the Defender of Rights. But after 14 years, Kari felt that her little inner flame was dying a little bit every day.
It was, of course, an exciting and gratifying activity. But it was no longer fulfilling me. I wasn't listening enough to my essence anymore. I wanted to get out of this automatic world to add some beauty to my life.
Kari decided to give her life a new direction. She wanted to give herself a more joyful life, and to do that she had to be free. “I quit, just like that, at Christmas, it was my Christmas present. Kari had to cut loose to focus on herself, what she really wants for the future, and what really brings her joy in her life. When she does something, she does it thoroughly. She was so committed to her job to the end that she could not have given her intuition the space she is now giving it.
Taking time to discover herself
Before creating anything new, Kari felt the need to take time for herself and just for herself. “Because when you have an 8 to 7 job, you don’t have time to listen to your creative soul. She discovered yoga, kundalini, and more specifically, an environment she describes as one of benevolence and well-being, where she met beautiful people. She learned to live in the present moment, to ask herself the right questions and to listen to her intuition.
This time for herself helped her to remove all her limiting beliefs. She learned to gain confidence and realize that she could do anything she wanted.
Connect to her heritage
It is funny because stones have always been a part of her life. It’s like it’s buried deep inside her and it comes out when she needs it the most. Her paternal grandmother healed with plants. “She was a midwife in Algeria, she taught my mother,” Kari grew up in the Cevennes with this heritage passed on by her mother. She grew up with stones around her neck, she was used to drinking vibrated water, and her mother put a stone in her pocket to give her strength when she was reluctant to go to school.
Rocks have always been a part of her. Kari has an innate knowledge of stones. Before starting her project, Kari wanted to study at the National Institute of Gemmology. Here she learned how to work with minerals, sharpen her knowledge and become a real expert. Of course, she already knew all the benefits and symbols of stones, but she didn’t really know the markings, the inclusions, to distinguish real stones from fake minerals, beautiful stones from rotten stones, colored stones from natural stones. “I just want to know what I’m talking about. I have to be sure of what I’m saying, sure of what I’m working on and how I have to work on it, it’s fascinating.”
The urge to live her family heritage led Kari, driven by authenticity, to create with organic mineral materials. It is now her time to share beauty, strength and energy.
When it’s taking shape
After a few years of connecting with her inner self, Kari was ready to fully dedicate herself to MINERALOSOPHIE. Her jewels are not ordinary. They are jewels of intention, linked to a mantra.
Because I am convinced that repeating a phrase over a period of time, long enough for the mind to integrate it, touching the sensual and soft touch of the stone, helps to anchor a mantra. Every morning I wake up and every night I go to bed with the same phrase. While touching my lapis lazuli, a stone for confidence, intuition and the third eye, I repeat: "I am light, I am perfect as I am. You feel beautiful as a goddess and strong as a warrior.
It’s about believing in the power of intention. It is more than just assuming that the stone will do something for you and waiting; it is about taking it into account by giving it power. You are dedicating a power to this stone that you believe in very strongly.
To protect the authenticity of her project, Kari limits her stocks, she works with stones that are not alike, each piece is unique. Kari advocates responsible consumption, which is very important to her. She also has strict sourcing criteria: family farms/mines with a strong sense of ethics, no working children, no explosives. That’s why you won’t find any jewellery with diamonds yet, because it’s still too difficult to find ethical farms.
Exclusive rendezvous
Kari does not sell her unique jewellery in shops, but welcomes her clients to her beautiful showroom in Alma-Marceau, Paris, for a private appointment.
The experience is very personal. As a client, you must contact Kari directly so that she can send you her book of all her creations. In her book, she links each piece of jewellery to an intention, according to the stone, to guide you in your choice.
When you are ready to see the jewels in person, Kari will welcome you to her showroom alone. Be prepared to spend some time there as this is a profound moment of sharing.
We reveal ourselves. We talk a lot. I feel what a person needs, it is a story of relationship and exchange. In my job, I have the solitary and meditative side of my manual work, which is so much balanced by the moments of exchange I have with people who want to meet my collection. These moments are part of my achievement and my personal development: creation/exchange.
It is all about vibration and harmonisation. Everything has to be in harmony and, if possible, without shine, without fakery, without excess. In this way Kari has created a strong community of Mineral Sisters. Now Kari’s life is filled with beautiful encounters. She creates with her own hands, which makes her happy and builds a strong and intense community. A very authentic process that fills her with happiness. “For the future, I don’t know, I never calculate anything. I live in the present, I seize opportunities”.
Discover Kari’s concept store
The Story of elbgold
elbgold stands for high-quality, directly traded speciality coffees from Germany. The founders discover all elbgold raw coffees on their travels to the coffee-growing countries of the world and purchase them directly, fairly and sustainably from the producers. The direct trade coffees are roasted by hand and with great experience in the coffee roastery in Hamburg's Schanzenviertel.
Virginia Woolf has been a great inspiration to Kari throughout her life. Virginia Woolf is an English writer. She is one of the most important modernist writers of the twentieth century. Her essay “A Room of One’s Own”, published in 1929, has an important place in the history of feminism. The main theme of this text is the place of women writers in the history of literature, mainly in the British context. Woolf examines the factors that hindered women’s access to education, literary production and success. One of her main theses, which gives the work its title, is that a woman must at least have “some money and a room of her own” if she is to produce a romantic work.
Another source of inspiration is “creative images that call me, that vibrate in my body when I can listen to them”. For example, the hand of MOODra (pictured below) was inspired in a church during a classical music concert.
Either I draw my ideas, or it's very intuitive and I work directly on the stone. I get a lot of inspiration from the stone itself. Sometimes I can be led to do something else, a lot of things. The material speaks very well for itself.
The time it takes to create a piece of jewellery depends very much on the type of stone you choose to work with. Each stone is different and requires special care. A crystalline or volcanic stone like black obsidian will be much more difficult to work than a leopard jasper, which is more clayey and therefore more malleable. A stone can break very easily. They can also catch fire if she doesn’t work them in water!
Traditions and symbols are also part of her inspirational process. Kari soaks each piece of jewellery in Palo Santo oil. Palo Santo is a tree that grows in Latin America. It is unique in that it only flowers in winter. The shamans use these plants to aid the healing process. Kari soaks each piece of jewellery in palo santo oil because it increases the energy of the stones. “Some people burn the Palo Santo wood to get rid of bad energies while repeating a special mantra.
A piece of advice
You have to take risks. If you don't take risks, you don't leave your comfort zone. I resigned because I had to face reality and discover more about myself. I find it complicated to continue working, especially if you want to do your job well and find your new path in the meantime. Otherwise, I call it a hobby, and a hobby remains a hobby; it's not something you can hatch. You have to show strength of soul and courage. Obstacles have to be overcome.
Kari also refers to the cardinal virtues as an anchor for both her husband and herself. A cardinal virtue (the adjective “cardinal” comes from the Latin cardo, meaning “hinge”) plays a pivotal role in human action, especially in Christian morality, and determines the other virtues. There are four cardinal virtues: prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice.
Kari believes that everyone is capable of anything. The only thing to check is whether you are capable of doing what you dream of, to avoid delusion. The most important thing is to really be in your project.
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