How Grace Alvarez Reinvented the Chakra Crystal Jewelry Game With vibemade
Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Grace Alvarez has always been a spiritual person, but it was her foray into the world of healing crystals—and the lack of solutions for using them properly—that led to the creation of her fabulous crystal healing jewelry brand, vibemade.
Her handmade pieces, made with stunning stones with their own unique properties, make for the perfect intersection between fashion and healing with properly placed chakra crystals—something we haven't seen from any other brand. We just had to learn more, and got the opportunity to ask Grace herself all about the brand, what inspires her as an entrepreneur and what vibemade means to her.
Name: Grace Alvarez
IG handle: @vibemadenyc
Hometown: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
1. Grace has always believed in a higher energy, but it took a unique path to bring her back to the spirituality that eventually led to her career.
"During college and my first few years working in the fashion industry, I didn't prioritize self-care and unfortunately distanced myself from that belief. In 2015 I started practicing meditation, and during that journey, I was introduced to meditating with crystals and started learning about the healing power of crystals."
-Grace Alvarez
(Image courtesy of Grace Alvarez)
2. The inspiration for vibemade from observing people struggling to wear crystals near their chakras.
"In the fall of 2019, after seeing a friend struggle with velcroing crystals to her chest to rest them in her chakras, I started looking for better solutions for that. I couldn't find a better way, so I decided to try designing my own. I went online and bought jewelry-making supplies, and started teaching myself how to use the tools with YouTube tutorials. I created the first vibemade piece, the Asha Crystal Mask, in the middle of the pandemic. After a few months of working on starting the business during lockdown, we officially launched vibemade in June 2020."
-Grace Alvarez
(via vibemade)
3. While vibemade's original name was "crystal mask," Grace wanted a more abstract name for the brand that wasn't tied to just one piece.
"vibemade filled this condition, and spoke to some of the things we saw as special to the brand since the beginning: it was about positivity and crafting things with love and intention."
-Grace Alvarez
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4. vibemade truly sets out to aid people on their journeys to spirituality and confidence.
"We want to provide our customers with crystal pieces they can wear every day. We are intentional from the design through production and packaging. Our crystals are mindfully sourced from small-scale vendors globally and our packaging is made from post-consumer recycled materials and 100% recyclable; down to the last detail, no plastic inserts included."
-Grace Alvarez
5. The brand's The Aura Cleansing Care Package contains all of Grace's favorite accessories for going out.
"It includes our Jorja earrings, gold high-vibe huggies with moon-charged black obsidian crystals. It also comes with our signature Cleo bracelet, a twin-chain bracelet featuring eight moon-charged black obsidian beads. Black Obsidian crystals have protective qualities, which are very important to protect your energy when putting yourself out there."
-Grace Alvarez
(via vibemade)
6. Grace says it's hard to have a favorite healing crystal, as she uses them as balancing tools.
"That said, I've been wearing amethyst almost every day for the past few weeks. Amethyst enhances intuition and inspiration—things I've been needing during this time as I finalize the new collection that will launch for the holiday season."
-Grace Alvarez
(via vibemade)
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7. The best piece of advice she ever got came during a moment of doubt from one of her teachers at the Altos de Chavon School Of Design.
"'You can't get good at something you haven't tried out.' That piece of advice changed my mindset when it comes to trying out new things."
-Grace Alvarez
8. Her regular practices of manifestation and meditation have helped her get to where she is today, especially when it comes to having confidence in herself and clarity in what she wants. She also has a strong follow-up routine.
"I'm that person always sending a thank you note and connecting with people afterwards."
-Grace Alvarez
9. She says that seeing the pieces she made with her own hands bringing joy to others is the most rewarding thing about her work.
Also read about: How Family—and Being a Twin—Inspired Joann Zehenni's Skincare Brand, Gemini Beauty
10. Her Dominican roots are the foundation of her identity.
"Anything I am at any time, I am that, plus Dominican."
-Grace Alvarez
11. It's important to her that the world sees the gratitude she has what she's been able to accomplish.
"I'm grateful every day for the opportunity of building and growing vibemade."
-Grace Alvarez
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