As a young fashion designer, Mara Scalise never thought of a future in jewelry. But life can take one in unexpected directions.

Just as Steve Jobs dropped out of college and studied Buddhism before cofounding Apple, Scalise quit college to do some exploring and eventually discovered Reiki, a healing art form. That took her into alchemy, and learning more about metals led to her making jewelry based on handmade shapes, punk sentiments, and her deep interest in spirituality. She founded her company in 2013.

“My jewelry is an extension of me. I create every piece because I love to wear it myself,” says Scalise, who is now based in Los Angeles. “Some pieces are more statement or punk, and some are more classic and timeless. I am very particular about the details and the finishes, and all pieces have to make sense visually for me when they are on the body. My pieces are complete when they click visually to my eyes.”

Looking back, Scalise says she can see how her jewelry journey commenced when she was a kid, going through her mom’s jewelry box and studying her wedding ring. It was a joyful childhood, Scalise says, filled with adventures with her two older brothers.

“I was a very happy little girl with a big sense of freedom,” she says. “I remember being very curious about the world. I loved adventures, and I was for sure a tomboy.”

She attended high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, working as a teen at the local McDonald’s—a place she claims “was much cooler than its U.S. counterpart.” She finished high school and enrolled in college, but dropped out to move to New York and work in fashion.

“My mom owned a sewing machine when I was very little that she stored in my room. I started making clothes for my dolls and, from there, began altering my mom’s clothes. I used vintage pieces that I collected and men’s Levi’s jeans that I transformed into skinny jeans for myself—skinny jeans did not exist back then,” Scalise says.

“When I was about 20, I designed clothing and bathing suits that I wanted to wear. Women would come up to me and ask where I got the pieces I was designing and wearing. They loved them and started to buy them immediately,” Scalise says. “It was a hobby in the beginning. I was just having fun creating. It came very naturally to me. I didn’t study fashion, so it took me a long time to call myself a designer.”

Scalise says she found jewelry again around the time her son turned 2. She was practicing Reiki and getting interested in alchemy and the healing power of metals. She started making her own gold and silver jewelry to wear, and then to sell.

Scalise’s jewelry, both fashion and fine, appears to be shaped from memory, not from a machine. Perfection is never the goal—having an imperfect heart or elongated line out of proportion with the rest of the piece is what makes it memorable.

Plenty of jewelry has the supposed power of protection, but Scalise takes that symbolism a step further: She infuses each piece with Reiki healing before it goes out into the world and onto the wearer.

“As a Reiki master, I began doing this from the beginning,” Scalise says. “To me, jewelry can be seen as an armor, something we put on to protect us and increase our confidence. Customers email us to express how the jewelry was making them feel—strong, confidence, powerful, badass. This is the best feedback to me.”

Top: Mara Scalise says her fine jewelry, even with imperfect designs, can give the wearer a sense of calm and confidence. (Photos courtesy of Mara Scalise)

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