Pippa's Travel Diaries: Romania
I recently travelled to Transylvania, where our latest project has begun to take shape. Transylvania is a very wild and ancient landscape, where ma...
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Pippa Small is an ethical jewellery brand, creating talismans for modern life.
We approach jewellery design differently, working with Fairtrade, Fair Mined materials, generating secure livelihoods in areas of conflict around the world. From our core collection in India, our support of hand panning gold in Colombia, to community efforts with Turquoise Mountain in Afghanistan, Myanmar and The Levant, we work to encourage and sustain these communities.
All our designs are handmade by highly skilled artisans. We believe it’s a privilege to own something made by hand; these pieces forge a bridge between one person and another, crossing language barriers and continents, bringing attention and awareness to what is happening elsewhere.
By wearing Pippa Small jewellery, you help us create sustainable jobs in areas impacted by conflict and climate change, support cleaner, fairer mining practises, and ensure the continuation of traditional craft techniques the world over.
Pippa first travelled to Jaipur when she was a teenager and fell under the city’s spell, a region of India famed for its abundance of creativity and skilled artisans drawn from around the country. We work with master goldsmiths, gem cutters and setters, their work is exceptional and inspiring. We draw on the wonders of nature as the basis for our designs and work with stones that are traded in Jaipur and sourced from all over the world to create our classic collections of jewellery.
We are proud to have been working with the artisans of Afghanistan since 2008. Drawing inspiration from the myriad of traditional techniques and skills such as gem inlay and chain making, as well as respecting design motifs tracing back to ancient Bactrian and early Islamic design traditions. The gems are sourced all over the country including the ancient heaven blue lapis mines of Badakhshan and spring green emeralds from the mountains of Panjshir.
We have been working with Turquoise Mountain in Myanmar since 2015 in Yangon to help preserve traditional goldsmithing techniques and skills and train the next generation to provide jobs and a renewed sense of pride. Since the 2th century BC, there has been an exceptional skill in the region in gold work, with delicate filigree, granulation and gem cutting. We respectfully draw our design inspiration from the Pyu period and from the diverse traditions of the many ethnic communities within the country.
This middle eastern kingdom has for centuries been a part of ancient trading routes creating abundant design traditions from the ancient gold of the Nabataeans and Greeks to the silver work of the Bedouin. Working with Levantine artisans to create fresh contemporary collections of jewellery inspired by ancient traditions.
We carefully source Gold from small artisanal mines in Bolivia and work with skilled traditional artisans in La Paz to create pieces inspired by Pre-Colombian designs and casting techniques. The gold pebbles have a particularly tactile and smooth finish and are strung on rainbow shades of Alpaca wool.
The protection of our planet and its natural resources has always been at the forefront of our core values as a company and we are constantly striving to find cleaner and safer ways to create our jewellery. We are very excited to share our latest project made in Colombia using clean gold.
"As a jeweller, I strive to find ways to create collections with consideration for the impact and the livelihoods of the artisans we work with. At Pippa Small, this has been our mission since day one.
We are launching our Sterling Silver Olive Branch Necklace, the sales of which will directly support the artisans who handcrafted the piece, and 100% of the profits will go to the World Central Kitchen." - Pippa Small
We’ve collaborated with our team in Kabul to launch Zindagi Now, A New Life, a new initiative that provides a safe and creative space for Afghan women to make jewellery and develop business skills – giving them a newfound sense of confidence, and hope.
100% of all profits from these necklaces will go directly to the female artisans of Zindagi Now, giving hope and a future to women in Afghanistan.
I recently travelled to Transylvania, where our latest project has begun to take shape. Transylvania is a very wild and ancient landscape, where ma...
Read moreWe are delighted to be showcasing Pippa Small’s collections with Turquoise Mountain in Shoreditch this September, and hosting a panel discussion a...
Read more"Endeavouring to change that, over the past 20 years she’s worked with communities, NGOs and charities all over the world to create unique collections of jewellery. From fairtrade projects in the slums of Nairobi to supporting artisans in Kabul, training women refugees in Jordan and using fairmined gold in Bolivia, Small is a trailblazer for ethical, sustainable jewellery practices.‘’
"She's the modern bohemian's favourite jewellery designer, but Pippa Small's eclectic aesthetic is underpinned by ethical foundations and a deep respect for local craft. Working with her partner in Kabul, Small has been involved in Afghanistan's Zindagi Now project, which works to empower local women by training them in jewellery crafting, business skills and literacy and has just celebrated its first 100 graduates."
“Pippa Small has been a pioneer of ethical jewellery”