About Sovedaa

SOVEDAA is a US-based online shop that sells Khmer style Buddha pendants that are proudly carved, created and/or designed in Cambodia by Khmer artisans and curated by me. 

Hello and Jum-reap-sua,

I am so thrilled you've found my business and are considering Sovedaa to be your one-stop shop for your future heirlooms.

My name is Sorany Var and I'm the proud owner and operator of Sovedaa. I am based full time in Phnom Penh, Cambodia where I personally curate a collection of ready-to-wear Buddha pendants and also get custom Buddhas mounted in your choice of silver or gold.

As of right now, everything on sovedaa.com ships to customers from within the United States and Canada via USPS. Lead times for custom pendants will depend on material availability and other factors. Custom pendants can be shipped directly from Cambodia to any country via DHL. Please contact me at hello@sovedaa.com to discuss the possibilities!

About Me:

I am a Khmer American who chose to move from California to Cambodia in August of 2021, following decades of what can only be described as a spiritual beckoning from the Motherland, calling her children home. With Sovedaa, it is my humble effort and mission to take agency over my own story and contribute to creating something new and beautiful we could be proud of in a sea of heartbreaking legacies.

My parents were forced to flee Cambodia after surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide in which nearly 2 million people lost their lives. Among those who were first targeted, include artisans, creatives, dancers, film makers, musicians and countless cultural curators of centuries of tangible Khmer tradition, spirituality and art. At the core of what I do with my business is my version of not only sustaining those skills, but creating culture as well in an updated and contemporary way.

The start of my small business began as what I can only call divine alignment: from sharing my journey of moving and everyday life after having freshly moved to Cambodia during the pandemic, I amassed followers in the tens of thousands on Instagram. From this visibility, an Instagram friend reached out to me, asking to buy a few small buddha pendants. From there, I got the idea to buy a few more to sell to in order to cover my plane ticket for my upcoming California trip and it worked. Within just 2 weeks, I sold a few hundred Buddha pendants from curating what I bought from local vendors in Cambodia. I realized very quickly that I had a viable business on my hands with a captive, trusting audience in my amazing Instagram following/friends. 

The Name, Sovedaa And Its Creation:

Amazingly, I had already chosen and purchased the domain name of "Sovedaa" for at least 1-2 years at that point - BEFORE the business even came about. I was waiting on the right moment to use it. I had fallen in love with this concept of creating a name that was unique to me, my world and what I wanted to express - not even knowing what kind of expression that would be, but trusting that the stars would align and the business would eventually reveal itself! When I was thinking about names years ago, an easy route would've been to just use my name, however, I felt it would be more interesting to create something.

The 'So' in Sovedaa represents the So in my name and my sisters names, which also means good or virtuous in Khmer. The "vedaa" in Sovedaa is derived from the Sanskrit word, "Veda" which means wisdom or sacred knowledge. Cambodia's official language, Khmer, is derived from ancient Sanskrit, so it was important to me to use words that represented me in a way I could not even fully articulate yet, but could feel with every ounce of me. 

You see, since I was young, I immersed myself in books, National Geographic magazines, visual art, beautiful crafts, almanacs, sociology, science and biology books and of course, books on ancient Angkorian temples. My mind was endlessly curious of anything that opened up my young mind so I could travel beyond the confines of my little town. Sovedaa is birthed from my love of all things I hold dear, what interested me naturally, and what would eventually become the business that changed my entire life and how I interact with the world.

You can call it luck but I'd like to look at it as a full blessing from the Motherland herself, entrusting me with, not only a way to provide for myself, but an avenue to sustain the handicraft and work of local artisans, jewelers and other vendors in Cambodia, and providing these incredible pendants to the world.

Since the spring of 2022, I have upped my discretion in how I choose quality pieces, defining my curation process and proudly designed pendants exclusive to Sovedaa by working with local carvers and other experts to bring my ideas to life.

The goal was never to be well known or amass tens of thousands of followers/friends; I really was just happy to be sharing my life in modern Cambodia, hoping to dispel negative stereotypes, show everyone that it was safe to come visit and explore... and the result of all that visibility was something I never could have imagined. Sovedaa is successful today because you all got to know me first as Sorany.

That is what makes Sovedaa so sacred to me because it is the convergence of all the miracles in my life when I allowed divine alignment to guide me. 

All of this is why I am honored to bring you a special, wearable piece of the Motherland that was crafted in Cambodia by Khmer artisans and thoughtfully curated by me. When you wear your new statement piece, may you always be safe, protected and forever connected to the motherland.

With Blessings & Gratitude,

Sorany Var