October 20, 2026
Part 3: Myanmar, Chapter 1: Welcome to Myanmar
In 2015 I was lucky enough to be invited by arts charity Turquoise Mountain to visit Myanmar. It was an incredibly rich and inspiring trip, and the start of my journey in Myanmar; I’ve been going back ever since.
In the beginning I was working with two men, existing goldsmiths, and as Turquoise Mountain’s workshop grew more people came to join. Turquoise Mountain started training programs for young people to learn goldsmithing, and there was something utterly moving about how beautiful their work is. It’s unlike anywhere in the world that I’ve seen, they have such a natural affinity to making and creating. Gold is a material the people of Myanmar have been working with for centuries.
There have been a lot of political, economic and social changes since I began working in Myanmar. The Burmese people are in a challenging position right now, but throughout all of these changes we and Turquoise Mountain have continued to support them through making and working alongside them.