MY BIG IDEA

Healing stones

Loneliness during the pandemic led new mum Holly Edwards to find calmness through creativity

Before moving to Hong Kong, British expat Holly Edwards and her sister ran a boutique jewellery business called Alberta Grace, named after Holly’s niece. The project was put on hold when Holly relocated to Asia to work in travel PR. Fast forward six years to early 2020, Holly received the news that the company she worked for had decided to close the Hong Kong office due to the impact of Covid on the travel sector. On top of that, she was experiencing a high-risk IVF pregnancy and had to spend over a month at Queen Mary Hospital.

At the end of July, her twins Freddie and Beatrix were born by emergency C-section at 35 weeks. Like many mothers who have given birth during the pandemic, maternity leave wasn’t what Holly had expected, especially as a first-time mum. “We couldn’t travel back to the UK to see family and friends and they couldn’t come to visit us. I started to feel quite anxious and lonely during this time, despite having my two miracle babies,” she says.

Holly decided to start creating jewellery again and she immediately felt a sense of calm and was able to look at her situation more mindfully. On March 9, she launched Alberta Grace in Hong Kong. “The timing was significant for me with it being Mothering Sunday in the UK. The power of stones has been widely researched and I wanted to help others achieve moments of mindfulness. The collection is made with healing crystals that focus on helping to restore emotional balance with calm and soothing energy, so great for new mums,” she adds.

Holly now works on the brand from her apartment in Repulse Bay and has just released the Moments of Mindfulness collection through which she aims to help ease anxiety created during the pandemic. Alberta Grace pieces are bespoke as well as customisable with any name, initials or word in colourful alphabet beads. Customers can select crystals according to their healing properties from amethyst, amazonite, pink opal, rose quartz, dalmatian jasper, larimar and labradorite with prices starting from $400. albertagrace.com

Healing crystal properties

New Beginnings: Labradorite

Labradorite symbolises new beginnings and inner peace. It has a calming energy that is believed to guide the wearer on their journey with confidence. The perfect gift for new mums.

Stability: Larimar

The energy from this stone is calming and soothing to help relieve stress. It is also known for encouraging clear communication and emotional stability.

Calm: Amethyst

A powerful stone for healing with beautiful purple hues which is understood to be a natural stress reliever that promotes positive energy and helps to balance mood.

Compassion: Pink Opal

This natural pink opal is a love stone, helping to heal emotional blocks with compassion. The calming energy of this stone helps with anxiety and fear.