With 'Bespoke Spirituality' As A Bedrock, Jewelry Brand Awe Inspired Plans Goddess Fest

LOS ANGELES, CA — What leaves you in awe?

That's the question emblazoned on a billboard outside Awe Inspired's Melrose Avenue space. The existential pondering is the first sign to visitors that the Awe Sanctuary is no ordinary storefront and Awe Inspired is no ordinary jewelry brand.

"The idea of discovering your inner goddess is at the heart of the store," co-founder and CEO Max Johnson told Patch.

For those skeptical of such poetic musings, here's another way to think of the bedrock of Awe Inspired's brand: pieces of jewelry centered around powerful female figures — from Athena to Harriet Tubman — meant inspire women with archetypes from the past and present while creating an opportunity for deeper meaning through charitable contributions and spiritual connection.

"Nature, the ocean, the cosmos, the heavens, the moon, the power of love and connection, real heroes who have accomplished culture-altering achievements — those are all things that leave people in awe," Johnson said.

Back in 2019, Johnson teamed up with his mother, Jill Johnson, to found the company. After beating cancer for a third time, jewelry-business veteran Jill Johnson sought to design an aesthetically pleasing, high-quality and meaningful necklace that could serve as a way to honor her fellow cancer survivors with a portion of sales sent to charity.

At the time, gold medallion necklaces of St. Christopher and Caesar were en vogue and the Johnson's couldn't help but notice the dearth of female figures available to wear around one's neck.

Max Johnson, working at a telehealth startup at the time, saw an opportunity to use his web skills to match people to various female mythical figures through an online questionnaire — think of the BuzzFeed quizzes that were popular at that time.

The result is a business built on what Johnson calls "bespoke spirituality," the existing trend of young people picking and choosing religious and spiritual elements from their own upbringings, historic practices and myths to help create a sense of meaning and purpose.

And that model has been successful, Johnson says Awe counts Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Meghan Markle and Billie Eilish among its fans.

"It's more of a lifestyle than a fashion accessory — people aren't just wearing it because it's pretty, it says something about their belief system in the modern age," he said.

On Saturday, Awe Inspired will open the doors of its Sanctuary for the Goddess Festival. Timed with the Autumnal Equinox, the event is a partnership with House of Intuition — the Los Angeles institution well known and loved for its array of spiritual goods at multiple storefronts.

Among the highlights planned are tarot readings (featuring Awe's goddess deck), tattoos of the symbols in Awe's collection, energy work, cannabis teas, a manifestation ceremony, dueling DJ and soundbath and more.

Attendees are encouraged to "dress for a festive spiritual awakening."

The Goddess Festival runs from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Awe Sanctuary, 8446 Melrose Ave. on Saturday, Sept. 23. More information is available on Awe Inspired's website.