Lou Sang grew up watching his grandfather craft prayer bead bracelets for local herders and travelers. “He always said, ‘This bracelet isn’t just for decoration —— it’s for those rough days ahead,’ ” Lou Sang recalled. As a teenager, he didn’t fully grasp this sentiment. It wasn’t until he was 16 that he had to trek 50 kilometers through blizzards to fetch medicine for his ailing grandmother. “I wore the bracelet my grandfather made,” he said. “Whenever I wanted to give up, I’d touch those beads. It felt like my grandfather was right beside me, telling me to keep going.” This experience changed him —— and now he pours the same “courage” into every bracelet he makes.

For Losang, crafting a Tibetan bead necklace themed around courage is a deliberate and sacred process. First, he meticulously selects beads: choosing jade that feels “steady yet powerful” in the hand, crimson coral with hues as radiant as tiny flames, and silver beads engraved with the sacred knot (a Tibetan symbol of “connected strength” reminding wearers of their courage being deeply connected to ancestral wisdom). Then, he carefully ties each knot with devotion. “Every knot is a promise,” Losang explains, “a pledge that this necklace will stay with you forever, just like the courage deep within your heart.”

He would also add a hidden little detail: between the two large beads, he would quietly hide a small turquoise bead. “In our culture, turquoise is a symbol of the guardian,” he said. “It’s like a quiet but powerful little guard —— just like courage itself.”