*We aim to aspire to inspire as we chat to others, picking their brains, exploring their passions. All posts are raw & unedited because f**k none of us are perfect & it is time to celebrate that - I'm here for the honest & real, you?
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Who are the beautiful faces behind Zalah?
The first half behind our brand is my beautiful man and fiancé who’s the founder of Zalah, Jason Lim. He is also a very passionate filmmaker with a great sense of grounding, open heart and cooking (yum) who helps me to create our wholesome team. The second half of Zalah is myself, Eva Cangarova - Slovakia born, Egypt raised and Australia based entrepreneur and a photographer. A soul very passionate about all things minerals, vulnerability, Ayurveda, holistic business approach and bringing the collective into a fuller potential.
Both Jason and I nurture our other businesses along with Zalah too — mine is Aldebarān Amulets, a Middle Eastern inspired platform for uncovering the Inner Mystic within through powerful vintage gold amulets, while Jason’s other brand Raw Realms allows him to share his journey and inspire the community through his strong vision of storytelling and videography.
What is your connection with the communities of India & Pakistan?
Our connection with the community in India started back in 2017 on Jason’s first journey to India, where he met and got to know our primary supplier Peter, who’s the main source of most of our stunning high vibrational crystals. Jason had a proper chance to meet and stay with his family, where they welcomed him with open arms on his latest adventure while creating the documentary for Zalah about the Life of a Crystal Hunter & The Journey of a Crystal.
Without Peter, Zalah would never exist and we do all we can to nurture our relationship with him and his family for the incredible job they’re doing. Looking into their life, it truly opened our eyes to see how much hard work goes into the sourcing of crystals. People often get to see the prettiest side of it all with the crystal healing modality and retail booming, but we wanted to showcase the actual process from A to Z in full transparency and shed some light on this very trending industry.
The second biggest source of our crystals is Ziyad from Pakistan, whom we got to know in 2019. Ziyad is a young man who’s so ambitious and his will to make his dreams come through at such young age is truly impressive. In fact he reminds me of myself at the age of 17 when I started my first business. He’s currently a caretaker of his brother who’s mentally disabled and seeing his passion and resilience inspired us to support him.
Maintaining the strong connection between us and our suppliers allows us to have a close look into their life and all their practices, so we can ensure we know where the crystals came from and who they passed through. More than that to see through the gaps of the local system and create a thriving environment for these men who deserve having their dreams fulfilled.
When working with Peter especially, we’ve seen a beautiful transformation in his professional and personal life over the four years of Zalah’s existence with his son Mohammed slowly learning a lot about business and having a vision to get involved with us when he grows up too.
Eva's background in fashion? and how this translated to this current business adventure?
I studied Sustainable Fashion Design & Technology in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark and it really enlightened me into the world of not just the textile industry, but sustainable sourcing chains and finding ways to lower our impact on the environment. It also gave me a great foundation of design and a sense of aesthetics which have always been very dear to my heart. That translated into the look of Zalah as a brand as well as its sacred space - the Temple of Zalah that we currently call our home in Torquay, Victoria.
Having a holistic approach to running a business? and as a woman, considering the monthly moon cycle?
Learning this totally new (to me) concept of approach to life, not just to a business has been such a huge journey for me. As women we go through four main phases of our menstrual cycle, with each of the phases bringing forth a different mood and energy levels. I’ve learnt that listening to my body, knowing when to push and when to retrieve is crucially important to maintain a sustainable and healthy relationship with my career.
During my ovulatory phase I experience a huge amount of passion as well as the fire to execute my vision and my energy levels are generally a lot higher.
My bleed however is all about replenishing myself and nourishing my soul, so I have no to-do lists and I only do tasks that I feel inspired to do. I currently bleed on Full Moon so experiencing sudden creative outbursts is very common for me, however I’m always reminded with patience as my bleed isn’t really time for the action even though it is very tempting at times. I instead keep gathering inspiration and doing heaps of journaling so I can let my ideas sprout and blossom into beautiful big flowers when the time is right.
And, the question everyone is asked, what sets your soul on fire?
I feel on fire when I’m in service — to myself, to my beloveds and the community through my businesses and offerings. Seeing people who resonate with my work and witness me through some of my most vulnerable shares makes me feel seen, acknowledged and grateful that I may have sparked a different angle within someone else’s perspective or make them feel safe to express their own journey.
I wake up in the morning feeling so bloody excited to show up for Zalah & Aldebaran, and of course, just like everyone else I’ve got my days when I’m being challenged and question my own self, but those moments make me feel stronger, more aligned and clearer on my vision.
Knowing that I’m taking care of myself and I’m creating my own reality brings me ultimate joy and empowerment, so I can then experience what’s possible for others to lead by example and never give up on my dreams (because they will come true). One of my personal missions is to hold space for people who also thrive to blossom and allow them to explore their own power to create anything they want in this human experience.
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