Made As Intended began as most companies do: with an idea.

Our original product was a t-shirt with the words I AM. Our thought was that the t-shirt would be for the wearer’s own awareness, not for the public. We believed that the wearer of this product would look at his/her image in the mirror, and reflect on seeing their existence, their life, their self as a being of infinite potential.

When you view the shirt, and the words I AM, in the mirror, the image reads MAI. We used that acronym to name Made As Intended.

Happy in our idea, we soon learned that the universe had another idea.

Before we made our first shirt, the blessing bracelet was born. It was not our intention to sell jewelry. We wanted to be a spiritual company based on the principle of Who am I? We found inspiration in Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

As with most ideas, you have to be open. We eventually started making t-shirts, but we quickly learned how to produce custom jewelry, and how to navigate retail sales. Along the way we hired what is now a team of 11 core employees that help with everything. And we mean everything. We share a home, animals, meals, and life. We know each other’s children; they know ours. Every product we create is made within a family home in the Chicago suburbs.

It would be safe to say that it is everyone’s dream mission here, that we move to a more spacious base of operations soon; one that can house people and animals and continue the atmosphere that we love, but have outgrown.

The words I AM have changed many lives here. We are a pebble making ripples.