Catherine Hinderman
It has always been a passion for her to travel internationally, experience foreign cultures on a personal level, and continue her polyglot journey. Originally from Sweden, Catherine moved to the US at age 10 and studied French, Italian, and Chinese before making her way to India. It was universal divinity that she met Ashish and began her discovery of India, and through these conversations, she developed a deep compassion for Indian culture and history which was the foundation for Gaia Amore. Deeply rooted in the mission was the pursuit of fairness and the preservation of culture. Always noting how unfortunate it is that so much of our culture has faded into history, she realized that her passion for fashion, history, and culture was a perfect match to build a luxury brand that was focused on preserving and reviving artisan skills based on generational knowledge and tradition. During her talks with early potential partners, Ashish and Catherine quickly realized how much synchronicity there was between their purpose and their partner’s. Noting the strict requirements for transparency and authenticity which came with the relationship, it quickly became evident that they had a unique model with a purpose fitting both of their personalities. Always wanting to help others, Catherine and Ashish set out on a mission to design a brand that puts people first. During their travels, Catherine always finds it emotionally challenging to contain her feelings when hearing of the struggles of the artisans and their families. It is however this empathy that validated Gaia Amore and pushes Catherine forward every day.
As the brand nears its 2nd year of business ambitions have evolved. Now including pursuits in the Metaverse with digital fashion and their digital store and working on our fashion collection for 2023. They are looking forward to the many collaborations and partnerships in the brand’s future. Always striving for greater transparency in the supply chain in order to build a community of patrons who value hand-crafted goods and want to know who really makes their clothes, their shoes, and their accessories. And artisans whose unique crafts and skills are treasured by a global community seeking to change how we value our products and buy only that which we love and treasure for a very long time.
Ashish Tandon
Gaia Amore is a personal passion project for Ashish, primarily because it is close to Catherine’s heart. Catherine is an empath and that recognition of her persona drew Ashish to her and led him to work with her on her non-profit projects to which she contributed her time. It was clear that she wanted to do something meaningful for others and enjoy the joy that she could bring to those who had little or nothing at all. She worked with non-profits in India and that led us to discuss more about India, its culture, history, and art. As her interest in India grew, they realized that the diverse artisan communities in India had been marginalized for decades and that required intervention. This desire to impact the lives of the marginalized artisans in India seamlessly scripted into their intent to raise funds for Catherine’s non-profit projects too. Over a conversation, Ashish asked her what she’d think if they found a way to raise money for her nonprofit projects while also impacting the lives of these artisans.
This was their eureka moment and it sounded like it could work. Catherine's interest in fashion and style could be converted to hand-crafted products, curated for a niche audience by artisan communities that we choose to support financially. Their unique idea was that part of the profits would be poured back into the same artisan communities with who we partner, and some part of the profit can be deployed on nonprofit projects of our choice.