The Links That Join Us: Shoshana Stewart
We are proud to feature the incredible Shoshana Stewart, president of Turquoise Mountain, in our latest edition of The Links That Join Us. Shoshana holds an MBA from the London Business School, a master’s degree in education, and a bachelor’s degree in Astrophysics. Prior to Turquoise Mountain, Shoshana worked in low-income urban communities with Teach For America and Uncommon Schools in New York City, Boston, and Honduras. Joining Turquoise Mountain as a volunteer in 2006, Shoshana has spent the years since living and working in the Middle East and Asia, leading Turquoise Mountain to restore and rebuild over 180 historic buildings, train and employ over 20,000 traditional artisans and builders, and bring over $18,000,000 worth of income back to those communities.
My first Pippa Small piece of jewellery was a pair of big Lapis Lazuli drop earrings. I got them when I was living in Afghanistan and Pippa came for the first time. They were so striking, and so me, I wore them every day. Wearing Pippa’s jewellery makes me feel like I am draped in the experiences of what I’ve spent my adult life doing. Every day I put something on that I know wouldn’t be there if I hadn’t had some part of it. Pippa pieces also make me feel pretty and bright. My jewellery reflects who I am because it was made by people I know and have worked with. My jewellery tells a story of my travels, and love of the countries it was made in.
When I arrived in Kabul for the first time I was just going on an adventure to Afghanistan. I didn’t even know about Turquoise Mountain. Pure serendipity. As soon as I walked into the first building, I saw activity everywhere – men with their wheelbarrows and shovels, calligraphers running around trying to hang their pieces from mud walls for an exhibition, two peacocks running around squawking. It was the maddest and most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen. I have two ‘most memorable days’ working for Turquoise Mountain: the day I arrived, and the day the Taliban took over.
I’ve been wearing Pippa Small jewellery for 18 years now, since I first met Pippa back in 2008 when she came to Kabul for the first time. It has meant so much to me to be able to wear jewellery made by artisans I’ve worked with. It means I get to tell others who ask about the beauty of the place it came from. If it’s my lapis earrings I get to talk about how Afghanistan is the place where almost all the lapis in the world comes from, and that these earrings were made by Ramzia, in a workshop in the old city of Kabul. It’s a different conversation about Afghanistan than people usually have, and I always cherish being able to share the incredible art coming out of the country.
