By: Naiia Lajoie   It goes without saying that society could use some rose-tinted glasses looking back on the past year. While hindsight is 2020, for k mae Jewelry founder Klarissa Castro, all that glitters is rose gold after having switched careers and launched her website just as the pandemic was ramping up. Klarissa grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago. In 2008 she moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue her graduate studies. After having received a Masters and Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology, she joined a group psychotherapy practice with offices in the downtown Los Angeles area as well as Beverly Hills. As a professional working with individuals experiencing major life transitions, relationship difficulties, trauma, navigating through identity issues, and first generation matters, Klarissa took pride in her work – but was neglecting her own happiness. While still working as a psychotherapist, Klarissa found out she was pregnant with her first child. Ever ready to face a challenge head on, this was when she sought out to start her own jewelry business. At first she was designing jewelry and working with manufactures while still simultaneously working as a psychotherapist. Upon realizing her job was no longer fulfilling her, she elected to leave the practice. This was a difficult decision, as the therapy field she had worked so hard to pursue – earning her Dr. title – was the only thing she had ever known. As she states on k mae Jewelry’s website, “As a positive psychotherapist, [I have] always been passionate about helping women discover their true potential, feel empowered, and believe they belong”. Klarissa’s source of empowerment was her creativity, fostered while still holding her previous job position. She would find herself doing creative side projects; anything from mixing facial...... Read more on Full Issue!