Flux it up – London’s first Fair Luxury Exhibition

With the recycling of precious metal heirloom jewellery predominant these days (minimising the need for direct mining) and more importantly the demand and availability of Fairtrade Gold and silver on the increase; small scale artisanal mining communities around the world, and the natural environment are getting a fairer deal.

If you couple that with traceable fairly sourced gemstones that are now also readily available we are beginning to see a new winning formula in the creation of ethical designer jewellery…

Great things are happening!…

London is getting ready to host an exhibition at The Goldsmith’s Centre on Britton Street later this month… The first of it’s kind, a debut exhibition that is about to redefine luxury, casting a fresh light on what terms such as ethical luxury can mean. Tracing the journey of jewellery from source to wearer.

Fair Luxury Presents –

is a showcase of 12 makers for whom transparency and sustainability are as important as craftsmanship and design... And I can’t wait to be a part of it.

These are exciting times to be a jeweller, positive change is happening within the jewellery industry!

I will be showcasing pieces from my Two for Joy Collection (pictured below) alongside some of the industry’s best conscience designer jewellers and brands.

FT Gold Magpie Herkimer Necklace

My Fairtrade Gold Story –

I became a Fairtrade Registered Jeweller in 2014. This was a monumental moment and shift in my career. I was becoming jaded in my profession as I increasingly learned about child labour, exploitaion, pollution of the earth and other countless dark hidden truths surrounding the mining and jewellery industry.

It wasn’t until a good friend of mine who was about to get married (8 years ago) set me a challenge of sourcing her some ‘green gold’ for her engagement ring, that I realised that there had to be an alternative out there! She was seeking a truly special piece, kind to the natural environment and devoid of any pain and suffering.

Together we discovered Cred Jewellery who sold me my first few grams of Fairtrade 18ct white gold casting grain, which enabled me to make my first piece of ethical jewellery… The rest as they say is history!

I am truly grateful to ethical pioneers within the jewellery industry like Greg Valerio, activist and founder of Cred Jewellery who campagined for ‘Fairtrade Gold’.

Thankfully it is now so much easier to source Fairtrade and ethical precious metals, with two of my suppliers offering just that.  And as mentioned in my last blog post, it was also a breath of fresh air meeting Stuart and Gary last year of Nineteen48_Ltd, a small gemstone supply company with big heart who can offer full traceability on all of their gems.

With Sapphire being the birthstone of September, how could I not include a picture of some beautiful fairly sourced Sri Lankan Sapphires that I recently purchased from them (pictured below).

‘Fair Luxury Presents’ –  Monday 18th September to 27th October 2017 – The Goldsmiths Centre, London.

 

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