OUR STORY
Tamra began with a copper water bottle—and a much longer love affair with India.
I first traveled to India on my own in 1998 and returned twice over the next three years. I was drawn to its temple architecture, art, music and dance; its saturated color, fragrant oils and incense, handworked textiles, and exuberant festivals. Most of all, I was moved by the way devotion and celebration are woven into everyday life.
When I returned again in 2016, after fifteen years away, I came across a copper water bottle in a small shop in Rishikesh. The sunlight caught the metal and made it glow. I learned that storing water in a copper vessel was part of an Ayurvedic tradition, and that simple discovery became the beginning of Tamra Copper LA.
Copper remains part of our story, but Tamra has grown beyond the bottle.
Today, Tamra is a considered collection of objects for the body and home, including fragrance oils, incense, Ayurvedic tools, handprinted textiles, leather journals, original art, and copper drinkware. I choose pieces for their materials, craftsmanship, and the feeling they bring to everyday life.
A fragrance applied in the morning, incense burned at the end of the day, water poured into a beautiful vessel, or a journal opened for a few quiet minutes—these small acts can give shape to a day. They invite us to slow down, pay attention, and find pleasure in the things we use every day.
Many of our objects carry the visible marks of the person who made them: variations in color, print, texture, or finish. These are not imperfections. They are part of what makes each piece individual.
Tamra is a Black woman-owned independent business based in Los Angeles. Every piece is selected by me, with an eye toward beauty, usefulness, and a meaningful connection to place.
I hope you find something here that becomes part of your own daily life.
— Cheryl Freeman
Founder, Tamra Copper LA
