Car-Ma Charms

A small keepsake, handmade, designed to carry one word or intention with you. Not jewelry exactly. Not decoration exactly. Something in between. An object with a purpose.

What they are

Car-Ma Charms started as something I made for myself and then for a handful of clients who asked about them. The idea is simple: a small physical object that lives where you can see it regularly, carrying one word you're trying to remember. Most of mine have hung from a rear-view mirror, which is where the name comes from. But they work equally well on a bag, a key hook by the door, a corner of a bookshelf, anywhere you look without thinking and want to be reminded of something.

Each charm is made by hand in small batches. The materials are modest — cord, small found objects, a tag with a word stamped or written on it. They are not precious. They are not meant to be. Their job is not to be beautiful. Their job is to hold a word you need to carry for a while.

The words

Each charm is made with one of a small rotating set of words. The current set includes:

• Enough. For the women who keep raising the bar before they've arrived at the last one.
• Move. For the women in the waiting room, who know what the next step is and keep not taking it.
• True. For the moments when the socially acceptable answer and the honest one have come apart.
• Steady. For the rough patches. The ones that make you want to make a dramatic decision before the feeling has passed.
• Open. For the women trying to let something in that they've been keeping out. Usually love, in some form.

If none of the available words is right, email me. Occasionally I'll make one with a word that isn't in the standard set, for the specific thing someone is sitting with. No guarantee, but worth asking.

Why a physical object

I believe in practices that require physical presence. A phone reminder is easy to swipe away. A sticky note becomes invisible inside a week. A small object in a place where you see it while your hands are busy with other things has a different quality. You notice it when you're driving and your mind is somewhere else, which is often exactly when you need noticing.

There is nothing magic about the object itself. The magic, if there is any, is in the choosing. Picking the word that's right for where you are now. Deciding to carry it. The charm is just the container for that decision. Some clients have kept one on their car mirror all year; some have taken theirs down after two weeks because the word had done its work and they needed a different one. Both are correct uses.

Ordering

Charms are made in small batches and available when they're available. Email [email protected] with the word you're interested in (or a question if you're not sure). I'll let you know what's in stock and how to pay. Pricing is $18 each, including domestic shipping. International shipping is a few dollars more depending on destination.

They also make considered gifts. If you're buying for someone else, a note about what they're working on helps me suggest the right word.