Our story

The Story Behind Aura Pendants

Written by Nina, founder of Aura Pendants

Every Aura Pendant begins with a story over ten years in the making. It did not start with a brand or a plan. It started with a folding table, a few molds, and a feeling that what I was making mattered, even when the world had not quite caught up yet. This is how it all began.

It started with a folding table

I first started working with resin using just a few molds, selling handmade pendants at flea markets up and down the West Coast, most memorably the Rose Bowl Flea Market. At the time, the pieces were admired by a few people, but the world was not quite ready for them yet. Eventually I stepped away from creating them, though I never stopped wearing them myself.

The pendant I never took off

Even after I packed the molds away, one piece stayed with me. It lived around my own neck through ordinary days and big ones, year after year. I did not know it yet, but that single pendant was about to change the entire course of this little business.

The moment everything changed

Years later, something unexpected happened. Strangers began stopping me regularly to ask about the pendant around my neck. The moment that truly changed everything was being stopped by two Swarovski Crystal employees in a mall who immediately recognized the craftsmanship and originality of the piece. That was when I realized the idea was never bad. It was simply ahead of its time.

Coming home to the work

I returned home inspired to begin creating again, this time with complete intention, dedication, and refinement of the process. Unlike the earlier designs, every Aura Pendant is now thoughtfully handcrafted over the course of approximately five days. Each layer is carefully poured, cured, shaped, polished, and assembled by hand to create a completely bespoke piece. You can see exactly what goes into one in my post on why handmade resin jewelry is worth it.

Why no two are alike

No two pendants are exactly alike, and that is the magic. Because each one is poured by hand, the resin moves a little differently every time, the gold leaf settles where it wants, and the result is always one of a kind. When you wear an Aura Pendant, you are wearing the only one of its kind in the world.

A woman-owned studio, slow-made by hand

Thank you for supporting a woman-owned business and for appreciating slow-made artistry in a fast world. Every piece I make carries a little of that ten year journey in it. I hope your Aura Pendant makes you feel magnetic, magical, and uniquely yourself.