Christina, the director of Ethical Metalsmiths has asked me to be a part of the "Responsible Studio Practices Working Group!" It is a part of the organization that is studying how to be more responsible and ethical in the jewelers workspace, the very thing we have been trying so hard to advance for the last 2 years! I feel as though this is a huge accomplishment. On the one hand, it in a way brings validity to what we have been pursuing and trying for. On the other, it is a forum for sharing as well as influencing a burgeoning movement in the jewelry industry that is still very early in its growth stage.
I was thinking about how best to begin contributing, and I couldn't quite get into it. There is so much we have done and so much to share, where to begin? I tried to feel my way through why I was so apprehensive in sharing, and I realized there wasn't a concrete core to what we were doing. Yes, the core is there in our hearts, but we never really wrote about it. The more I pondered it, the more this core almost seemed to glow with importance. Then I realized, this core is the most important aspect of everything we are doing! All our experimentation, research, investments, and practices have been orbiting this spiritual core. This spiritual foci has guided us, opened our eyes and given the energy, courage and determination to stick to the studio and continue pursuing a better world through jewelry when so many obstacles barred and drew us away. Yet, this core always brought us back, always pushed us on to continue in this quest for a better world.
Like our solar system with the sun at the center, this core is the simplest and fiercest of our involvement in the world of jewelry. It is merely what we believe in our hearts to be true:
The Earth is Alive. All Life is Precious.
That's it. Simple. Yet to continue in integrity with these truths is a lifelong and complicated journey. It is these truths that have cultivated the responsibility and determination to find a way to protect and preserve Life from an industry we have and continue to be involved in and benefit from. These Truths are the foundation of Conscious, Sustainable, Toxin Free Jewelry made with Love.
With all my Heart,
Justinder
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