I can’t quite believe my luck some days when I stumble upon hidden
gems such as Pura Vida, completely by accident.
Pura Vida Bracelets
began with two friends who were holidaying in Costa Rica, and (as fate would
have it) came across a man named Jorge who was peddling colourful handmade bracelets
on the streets. They felt that the simplicity of the bracelets captured the
essence of their journey and the simple lifestyle of the Costa Rican people and
cultures. The pair asked Jorge if he would kindly make them 400 bracelets (they did pay for them, just in case you were wondering!) which
they could take back home with them to the U.S and sell; and within weeks a
relationship between these men had blossomed. Upon meeting Jorge, he was living
in a single room with three beds shared by several other members of his family.
But after the guys returned home they were able to provide him with enough
business from the bracelets to live comfortably in a house and have his friends working alongside
him. Jorge went from selling a small 2-5 bracelets each week to the point where
he now sells more than a whopping 15,000 per week!
Those initial 400 bracelets were an instant hit in the guys’ hometown of
California, and sold out like hot cakes, with people asking for more, more, MORE.
And so, they contacted Jorge, and a full-fledged business was born. No one has
looked back since.
The bracelets are now being sold in over 700 surf shops, boutiques,
college book stores, as well as a few large chain stores, AND online (for those
of you who aren’t lucky enough to live in the right postal code: www.puravidabracelets.com
‘The phrase “Pura Vida” means
‘pure life’ in Spanish. Enjoying life slowly, celebrating good fortune and not
taking anything for granted embodies the Pura Vida Lifestyle.’
Each bracelet is handmade in
Costa Rica with a unique combination of colours –
so it’s very unlikely that you’ll encounter someone with your exact bracelet...
how cool is that? You’d think that would mean they’d be ridiculously
over-priced, but you can grab yourself one for between $5-$15, with only an
additional $5 for international shipping. There are so many colour ways on
offer that it’ll take you a while to decide which one is right for you. I’m
finding the whittling down process extremely tough, so I may just cave and buy all
5 that I have my eyes on. Once again, I think they do make truly special gifts
for friends and family... think of them as friendship bracelets with a cause.
The time has come to boycott the likes of LINKS & Pandora, and embrace Pura
Vida whole-heartedly. Spread the word.
Apart from Pura Vida creating jobs and better lives for the Costa Rican
people, here’s where the extra bit of charity comes in: Many of the bracelets on
offer are part of the ‘charity collection’ with around 20% of the profits of
each bracelet going directly to many different causes including Breast Cancer, Suicide Prevention, AIDS
Awareness, Stop Bullying, and the U.S Army
to name just a few. There’s also a ‘Kony 2012’ bracelet in
support of the Invisible Children campaign
which went global as of yesterday. AND (yes, there’s more) Pura Vida is also
a member of ‘One Percent for The Planet’
and thus donates 1% of all profits to the Surfrider Foundation
which cleans up beaches and oceans worldwide.
This is what the guys had to say about their business
philosophy:
‘Here at Pura Vida Bracelets
we strongly believe in giving back. After travelling around the world and
seeing tons of beaches filled with trash and debris, we wanted to make it not
only a point to help, but a mission. There
is no reason why our beautiful beaches and oceans should be left destroyed.
In addition to cleaning up beaches around the world, we aim to provide more and
more full time jobs to the amazingly talented artisans of Costa Rica. After travelling
all over Costa Rica, we came to realize that with very little tourism and the
low paying jobs, local jewellers had a difficult time making ends meet. From
the exponential growth of Pura Vida Bracelets throughout the United States, we are now able to fully support the food,
clothing, and shelter of 15 talented artisans. Our goal is to recruit all
the artisans of Costa Rica and get their beautifully hand crafted jewellery on
the wrists of everyone in the world. Pura
Vida for life!’
AMEN to that guys.
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