I get asked why a jewelry studio gives away a quarter of what it makes. The honest answer is that I didn't set out to build a giving-back program. I set out to make something for my own dogs, and then couldn't find a good reason to stop there.
This is the story behind Crystals & Paws — what the pieces are actually for, where the money goes, and why it's a specific number instead of a vague promise on a label.
And if you landed here because you're buying this for someone else, the gift section is further down. Everything in it carries the same 25%.
Start here: Shop the Collection | The Matching Sets Guide | Crystals & Pets: What's Safe | New to Crystals? Start Here
It started with rescues of my own
Boo came from Misty Creek Rescue. Willow came from CB Rescue. Neither of them arrived finished.
That's the part people don't always see. A rescue animal doesn't walk through the door grateful and settled. They walk in watchful. They sleep on the edge of the bed in case they need to move fast. They flinch at things you'd never think to warn them about.
And then, slowly, they stop.
Watching that happen twice, in my own house, changed what I wanted this studio to be for.
Why the collars carry an intention
Here's the thinking behind the pieces themselves.
Crystal work is about intention — choosing the energy you want to hold, and what you'd like to help release. When I build a set, I start from the energy the animal needs most: protection, rest, love, loyalty, grounding, safety. Then I choose the stones that carry it, and I make a matching piece for the human end of the leash so you're both holding the same intention.
If the whole idea of choosing stones by intention is new to you, the complete crystal guide is the plain-language version. No credentials required.
A collar strung with genuine rose quartz sits against your dog's chest all day. That's the point. Not a decoration you remember on special occasions — an intention worn close to the body, every day, by the animal who needs it.
I want to be careful about what I'm claiming here, because it matters to me. These are not medical devices. A stone will not treat a condition or replace a vet. What it will do is carry an intention you set on purpose, worn by an animal who is already reading every signal you give off. Your dog knows what you're feeling. They've always known. This just makes it deliberate.
One practical note before you put anything near an animal: not every stone belongs in a pet's space. The safe-and-unsafe stone list covers which ones to keep well out of reach, and why.
Why rescue
It started in my own house, and then it started again in Shannon's.
Shannon helps me run this business — she writes for the blog, she's beside me at every show, and her dog Roxy is a rescue too. Roxy is the one who taught both of us what rescue energy looks like up close: the slow softening, the trust that builds in inches, the way an animal who once braced for the worst eventually learns to nap in a sunbeam.
Between Boo, Willow and Roxy, there wasn't much of a decision left to make.
Where the 25% goes
Twenty-five percent of every Crystals & Paws sale goes to animal rescue.
Not "a portion of proceeds." A specific quarter of every order, calculated on the price you actually paid, and I keep the records.
Here's how it works, plainly:
- The 25% is calculated on the product price — not after discounts, not including shipping.
- Donations are tracked monthly and sent on a regular schedule.
- If you want to see the tracking, ask me. I'll share what I have.
Rescue is run by volunteers doing the hardest, least glamorous work there is: pulling animals from shelters before time runs out, fostering them in real homes while they decompress, and matching them with families who will see them all the way through. They run on donations. Every dollar matters.
If you'd rather give to a rescue directly and skip the jewelry entirely, that's a completely reasonable thing to do. But if you were going to buy something anyway, this is a way to make it count twice.
What's actually in the collection
Three things live under the Crystals & Paws name, and they do different jobs.
The matching sets. Six of them, each built around one energy — protection, rest, love, loyalty, grounding, safety. One piece for the collar, one for you. Same stones, same intention, both ends of the leash. Full breakdown in the matching sets guide.
The gemstone collars. Two handmade beaded collars strung with genuine stones — no plastic filler, no imitation crystal. Sized for dogs, with an XS breakaway version for cats.
The paw and keepsake pieces. Paw prints, cat and dog pendants, rings, studs — and the memorial line, for the ones you're still carrying. These are the everyday pieces, and they carry the same 25%.
Every stone is real. Nothing is mislabelled.
Buying it for someone else
Most of the people who buy from this collection are buying it for someone else. A sister with a rescue. A friend who lost a dog in March and still hasn't moved the bed. A mother who says every year, and means it, that she doesn't want anything.
That last one is the reason this collection works as a gift when other jewelry doesn't. She can decline something bought for her. It's harder to decline something that sent a quarter of its price to a rescue — and it's a real quarter, calculated on the price you paid, which matters to the kind of woman who reads the fine print on a charity claim before she believes any of it.
So the gift arrives and it isn't only a necklace. It's a necklace, and $7.25 of a $29 order going to rescue. The conversation about spending money on her doesn't happen, because there's nothing to push back on.
Three things worth knowing before you choose:
- The paw pieces are the safe answer when you know she loves the animal and nothing else about her taste. They're small and plain, and they don't ask her to have an opinion.
- Buy for the animal she has now — not the one she's grieving, unless she has told you she wants the memorial piece. The keepsake line matters to the people who choose it, and it is not a surprise.
- Waterproof matters more than it sounds. She is outside in weather with an animal. A piece she has to take off is a piece she eventually loses.
What to buy
Paw Print Necklace — Dog & Bear Paw, stainless steel · $29. The default correct answer. Stainless steel, so it survives dishwater, lake water and the dog. If the only thing you know is that she loves him, buy this one and stop researching.
Cat & Paw Stud Earrings — sterling silver · $25. Small enough to sleep in. Cat people are used to being an afterthought on a gift list, and being the first thought lands harder than the price suggests.
Stainless Steel Paw Print Ring — waterproof · $25. The right material for a woman who is outside in November with an animal. Nothing to remove, nothing to misplace.
Paw Charm Bracelet — stainless steel · $35. For the one who doesn't wear necklaces. Worth asking yourself whether you have ever actually seen her in one, before you default to a pendant.
Hamsa Collar Charm & Matching Owner Necklace — sterling silver · from $35. A charm that clips to his collar and a piece that matches it for her. Same stones, same intention, both ends of the leash. Nobody else on her list will think of this, and it's the one she'll photograph.
Every one of them carries the same 25%. The full collection is here — thirty pieces, sets and collars included.
If you're not sure which of them is right, the honest shortcut is the animal. Dog person, cat person, or the two of them as a pair. That decision makes the rest of it obvious.
If you run a rescue, read this part
The thing I'd most like to do more of is work directly with rescue organizations.
If you're running a rescue, a shelter, or a fundraiser and you want a custom piece — something specific to your organization, your event, or a particular animal — I'd genuinely like to hear from you. I've done one-off collaborations before and they're some of my favourite work.
What that can look like:
- A custom design made for your organization, with the proceeds structured however makes sense for you
- A limited run for a specific fundraiser or adoption event
- A memorial piece for a donor, a volunteer, or an animal your community is grieving
I'd like to work with more rescues on fundraising, and I'm one person making these by hand — so I can't say yes to everything, but I can usually find a way to say yes to something.
Email me at andrea@mysticsouljewelry.com and tell me what you're working on.
Why I keep doing it this way
Giving-back marketing has a bad reputation, and it earned it. Vague percentages. Numbers that turn out to be calculated on profit after everything else is deducted, which usually means almost nothing.
So I made it boring and specific on purpose. One number, calculated on the price you actually paid.
I'm not going to tell you I have a partnership I don't have. What I have is a number I hold myself to and the records to show for it — and if you want to see them, ask.
Boo and Willow have no idea they're the reason any of this exists. Roxy has no idea either. That feels about right.
Want to know when new rescue pieces come out of the studio?
The Moon Circle is free, gets you 15% off your first piece, and sends a note when something new lands — including the Crystals & Paws sets, which are made in small runs and go quickly.
Mystic Soul Jewelry — Canadian small business, Calgary, Alberta, since 2008.
Keep reading: The Matching Sets Guide → | Crystals & Pets: What's Safe → | Follow along on Instagram →
