We are so honored to share the interview Christina, the designer of Ananda Soul, recently did with CauseArtist:
Meet The Inspiring Woman Who Moved To Bali And Became A Social Entrepreneur Dedicated To Ethical Fashion
Ananda Soul is an ethically produced jewelry and clothing label based in Ubud, Bali that is centered on conscious consumerism and sustainable products.
Ananda Soul is an ethically produced jewelry and clothing label based in Ubud, Bali that is centered on ethical fashion and conscious consumerism. The founder of Ananda Soul, Christina Zipperlen, created the company in 2008 to share her spiritual encounters in the form of wearable art. All of the products are sustainable and made with recycled, low— impact materials in order to encourage customers to make buying decisions that have a positive impact on both the planet and other people.
See below for a Q & A with the founder of Ananda Soul, Christina Zipperlen.
How did Ananda Soul’s story begin?
You know those moments when you look back at your life and it finally all makes sense? The job you took that never felt like that ‘final step’, the place you moved to, knowing it would be a ‘stepping stone’, the challenging experience that you knew deep down was happening for a reason. Well, that moment for me was when my company, Ananda Soul, birthed itself. I had moved to Bali, Indonesia in the spring of 2009 and knew immediately that this place was home. Ananda Soul came about shortly after and is the expression of my passion for empowering women, living sustainably, changing the fashion world and ideas around the female body image, and expressing my art and spirituality in a palpable medium that makes women feel beautiful. I feel beyond honored to work with the most talented artisans, sharing the same passion for art and jewelry and introducing new, sustainable forms of production into their lives.
Your jewelry pieces are absolutely beautiful! Tell us a little about the inspirations behind your designs!
Well first of all, thank you!!
To be honest, the miracle of life in this precious human body on a planet that continues to amaze me is the main source of inspiration for my work. Living in Bali, an extremely mystical and spiritual place, most certainly has influenced me tremendously, along with my continuous spiritual studies and practices. Everywhere you look in Bali, there are flower offerings, delicate ornaments, statues and temples, all of which have infiltrated my artistic expressions.
At the same time, there isn’t beauty everywhere you look. The other common sight on this stunning island is the overwhelming amount of plastic and rubbish in the rivers, rice fields and pathways.
Living in a developing country where clean water is not readily available at all times and where we are drowning in trash (or coughing from burning plastic) makes it impossible to overlook the frightening effects mass consumerism and unsustainable practices have on our planet. So this horrifying truth is the other inspiration for my designs: while creating beautiful pieces, I also want to create awareness about conscious consumerism.
In order to make a difference, we need to become mindful about the products we purchase, how they are made and what they are made of, along with a deeper understanding of why we are buying them in the first place and if we really need them (or if we are just trying to fill a hole that might be more sweetly filled with human interaction).
