Pura Vida – Creating Opportunities for Artisans Worldwide

Being happy, giving back, and living free has never looked SO good.

Meet Pura Vida. Our newest brand obsession that’s supporting over 150+ artisans worldwide and creating handcrafted pieces for us to love, cherish, and love some more.

Pura Vida, meaning “pure life”, focuses on embracing life’s most simple moments. A brand that celebrates slowing down, good fortune, and refusing to take anything for granted is the kind of brand we can endorse.

Read more from our conversation with Pura Vida’s Director of West Coast Sales, Erin and check out their give-back bracelets for yourself.

Pura Vida provides full-time jobs for artisans worldwide. How many people do you employ?

Erin: We employ approximately 150 artisans.

Described as a lifestyle brand, what influences Pura Vida? Would you define Pura Vida as having West Coast sensibilities?

Erin: We are influenced by the outdoors. We love the ocean, the mountains, and even the desert. We are all about just getting out there and living life to the fullest. We believe that you have one life to live so you should enjoy it! We are based out of the West Coast, but I wouldn’t limit us to that. Most of our retailers are actually based on the East Coast.

Aside from Costa Rica, where else do you have partnerships with other artisans?

Erin: We have partnerships with artisans in El Salvador and in India.

What does “Pura Vida” mean to you? How do you encourage the Pura Vida mentality within your company and community in the states?

Erin: Pura Vida means Pure Life – it means enjoying life to the fullest and taking nothing for granted. We encourage all of our employees to take vacations, go on trips, eat lunch by the beach, and to be happy.

If Pura Vida had a theme song, what would it be?

Erin: Our theme song would be Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy.

Your charity collection raises money for a variety of different causes (love). How does your company decide which causes to give to?

Erin: There are a number of factors that we use to determine who to work with, some of them being: belief in the cause, willingness to work and post about us, and lastly what our customers are recommending and telling us they want to donate to.

What’s next for Pura Vida? Any exciting announcements, or upcoming product lines you’re willing to share?

Erin: Our goal is to add many 0’s to the number of artisans we employ worldwide. Right now we are at 150, but the goal is to keep going past 1,500, on to 15,000, and so on. We are also starting to focus on making more rings and jewelry as that has been a huge hit with our fans.