Thai Hill Tribe Silver
A rich part of the cultural tradition of the hilltribes in Northern Thailand is the making and wearing of silver jewelry. Intricate hilltribe inspired designs and patterns are hammered out by the silversmiths. Their work is still created from "fine" silver (99.9% pure), superior in quality even to sterling, the standard of today. This very soft and easily worked silver is painstakingly hammered, soldered and engraved to completion, and still appears the same as it did adorning the hill women of centuries ago. Because each component is handcrafted individually, no two pieces will ever be exactly the same. Each carries an imprint of it's own moment in time.

Styles and methods vary from village to village, which is useful in determining exactly where a piece came from. Your jewelry purchase helps to keep the skills of the silversmiths alive and provide much needed income for the villagers. All silver pieces are unique and truly one-of-a-kind!


African Ceramic Beads
These magnificent ceramic beads come straight from the earth of Africa. Clay is trucked from the foothills of Mt. Kenya, to a "factory" where it is then made into thousands of beads! Every step of the process is done completely by hand; no molds, forms, conveyor belts or modern machinery is used. Each individual bead is shaped and painted by hand, and fired at least twice.

This was started as a women's project in 1975 and succeeded in reviving the traditional bead-making process of the Kikuyu women. Thirty years later, the process continues. Hundreds have been employed in this bead-making project who might otherwise have been unable to provide for their children and extended families. A member of the Fair Trade Act, good wages & working conditions are provided, as well as a medical clinic and assistance with school fees for their children.

These miniature "works of art" quite often become the focal beads in my jewelry designs that will capture your heart for their beauty, and the support you give back to these women through the purchase of their amazing art!