PIPPA SMALL CELEBRATES COLOMBIA WITH CLEAN GOLD COLLECTION 'TOGETHER FOREVER'
I had a dream. Last year I had a dream that I would be able to support great companies, brands or individuals who are actively seeking to have a positive impact on the world, either with their products or their services. It's a big dream. I am really quite motivated by this being the way that I make an impact. After all, my superpower is to be a catalyst for others. I may not single-handedly save the rainforest, but I can certainly develop the right business, coach the executives who can do the job and help strategically communicate their work.
Lucky me then to have worked for the past few months with responsible jeweller (link: https://pippasmall.com/ text: Pippa Small). She launched a very special new collection which I'm excited for you to discover. If her name isn't familiar, I encourage you to read on and wait for it, listen to her interview with me, which will launch in a few days.
Recently, Pippa was introduced to a new (well old in tradition) ethically and environmentally clean gold source in the region of Choco, Colombia, which started her on the journey to create her new collection, Together Forever.
Pippa told me what struck her about this method of collecting gold:
“What’s beautiful about the Colombian gold extraction is that it's hand-panned. The women in Choco practice an ancient technique using a shallow wooden bowl, with which they collect gravel from the rivers, and swirled with a special wrist movement that allows the gold to separate from the river gravel, revealing particles of gold dust and gold nuggets. They are then separated and collected.
The women take a little bit at a time, which will mean their children and grandchildren will continue. To be able to use this river to provide a sort of supplement to their incomes, whether they're farmers or shopkeepers, is empowering to the women in the community. They go out, and without any chemicals, no cyanide, no mercury, no arsenic, with no machinery, no pollution, they can just simply, with this wooden tray, be able to source a bit of gold.”
The resulting collection, Together Forever, is named after a traditional chain of handmade woven links. The brand is also donating a premium over their cost of gold to a re-wilding project in Nariño, an area greatly damaged by mercury poisoning. The collection is available exclusively in store and on PippaSmall.com.
As someone who works at the crossroads between business and mindfulness, I couldn’t help but share this quote from one of Pippa’s master goldsmith, Tin Win, who explains in his own way the power of making things by hand, for those who do:
“Meditation is about clearing your mind of distractions. Craftsmanship is like a meditation; you must be free of distractions when you work, so you must control your actions with awareness and discipline. Craftsmanship needs so many things, such as composure, concentration, and thinking.”
I am proud and happy to be supporting Pippa Small and her team. If you’d like to find out more about the collection, you can read more about it (link: “What’s beautiful about the Colombian gold extraction is that it's hand-panned. The women in Choco practice an ancient technique using a shallow wooden bowl, with which they collect gravel from the rivers, and swirled with a special wrist movement that allows the gold to separate from the river gravel, revealing particles of gold dust and gold nuggets. They are then separated and collected. The women take a little bit at a time, which will mean their children and grandchildren will continue. To be able to use this river to provide a sort of supplement to their incomes, whether they're farmers or shopkeepers, is empowering to the women in the community. They go out, and without any chemicals, no cyanide, no mercury, no arsenic, with no machinery, no pollution, they can just simply, with this wooden tray, be able to source a bit of gold.”
The resulting collection, Together Forever, is named after a traditional chain of handmade woven links. The brand is also donating a premium over their cost of gold to a re-wilding project in Nariño, an area greatly damaged by mercury poisoning. The collection is available exclusively in store and on PippaSmall.com.
As someone who works at the crossroads between business and mindfulness, I couldn’t help but share this quote from one of Pippa’s master goldsmith, Tin Win, who explains in his own way the power of making things by hand, for those who do:
“Meditation is about clearing your mind of distractions. Craftsmanship is like a meditation; you must be free of distractions when you work, so you must control your actions with awareness and discipline. Craftsmanship needs so many things, such as composure, concentration, and thinking.”
I am proud and happy to be supporting Pippa Small and her team. If you’d like to find out more about the collection, you can read more about it on Forbes.com or watch a film to meet the makers here.