Creating Meaning: Ritual & Ceremony with Kama by Andrea | Ep 80

In this episode, Mickelle sits down with Andrea Jansen, Amsterdam-based designer and founder of Kama by Andrea, to explore what it looks like when creativity, spirituality, and devotion become something you can actually wrap around a life transition. Andrea shares the origin of the name Kama, rooted in Kamadeva, India’s “Cupid” and why her work is ultimately about love made tangible, not trend cycles.

Together they unpack Andrea’s path from fashion design and years in art direction/product design (often in the baby + children space) into a deeper calling: creating “modern sacred garments” that honour birth as both practical and profoundly mythic. The conversation moves through symbolism, Andrea’s holy bird as a bridge between heaven and earth, wings spread in protection around a baby’s name and why these rituals matter, with or without religion.

They also widen the lens on “sustainability,” arguing it isn’t only materials and labels, it’s meaning, longevity, small-batch integrity, and choices that reduce waste because objects become keepsakes. Andrea speaks candidly about producing ethically at small scale, the pricing pressures of the current system, and her desire to keep sacred design accessible.

in this episode

• Why Kama (Kamadeva) + Andrea’s deep connection to India

• Birth blankets/capes as ceremony: naming, protection, transition

• The “holy bird” symbol + how Andrea designs through deep knowing

• Reframing sustainability: sacred = kept, not discarded

• Small-batch ethics, pricing realities, and questioning the system

• The heroine’s journey, slowness, and trusting creative purpose

Find Andrea at https://kamabyandrea.com and in Amsterdam at Atelier Hop.

For a special listener offer, visit https://www.houseofperegrine.com/podcast/ep-080. Follow House of Peregrine at https://www.houseofperegrine.com.

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