Pippa Small on Jewellery, Ethics & the Stories We Carry
By Slow Luxe Society
P.C. Pippa Small
Jewellery philosopher, anthropologist, and ethical designer Pippa Small speaks with Slow Luxe Society about her lifelong love of stones, the meaning behind slow luxury, and why heirloom pieces matter more than ever in today’s world.
What first drew you to jewellery — and what continues to inspire you today?
Pippa: I think I was drawn first to stones — to rocks and pebbles. These tiny, yet ancient, solid and unchanging pieces of the earth felt like talismans to me. I gathered and collected rocks from all the happy places I had been. I kept them in my pocket, in my bed, in my bath. I loved having stones near me.
When I was a teenager, I finally found a way — with a small drill — to put holes in them and be able to wear them, so they were always close. That was the start.
I spend a lot of time studying jewellery traditions across the world, from early Neolithic times to the Kalahari and the Himalayas. Jewellery is a universal connector. The diverse materials and meanings are vast, but basically the same — from a single glass or wood bead to a diamond. It’s about beauty, about connection to the earth, about protection, identity, and also memory and deep emotional connection.
How has your background in anthropology informed your approach to design and sourcing?
Pippa: My anthropology background was centred around human rights — and, for my MA, around mental health. This may not seem like an immediate connection, but indigenous human rights (which was my area of special interest) are also about rights to land, to language, identity, and self-determination.
When I began to link my love of design and stones to the places and people I was working with, I saw there was massive potential. The people in remote communities such as the San Bushmen of Botswana and the Kuna of Panama had the skills, the strong traditions, and a link to identity and resistance through their jewellery — but they lacked markets and access to sales.
I started these wonderful collaborations and partnerships nearly 30 years ago, and I absolutely love them. My process begins with thorough and deep research — museum collections, prehistoric artworks, ceramics, textiles, tiles, early portrait photographs — anything I can find to inform me about traditional aesthetics and iconography. From there, I start to find elements that speak of the place but also have universal overtones. That’s the beginning of the design process for me.
Then we sit together — the artisans and I — and discuss design, technique, and details. I draw my designs, and if they are happy with them, then we start sampling.
What does “slow luxury” mean to you — in practice and philosophy?
Pippa: Making by hand is a very slow art. Patience, huge skill, and design instincts are needed to create. Part of my mission is to employ as many people as possible and to train the young to carry these skills forward.
I work in many parts of the world where conflict and violence are a concern and there are few opportunities. Many young people are forced to migrate in order to find work. If we can be successful with the designs and reach the market, that can generate sales — and this provides not only employment but also instils pride, a sense of accomplishment, and confidence that only creating beauty with your own hands can bring.
Can you share a bit about your relationships with artisans — how they begin and how they evolve?
Pippa: I love working with artisans and feel I have a huge family of people I’ve known for years — in India, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Palestine, Colombia, and Bolivia. We have worked together through love, marriage, children, recession, COVID, political upheavals, changes of government, and wars.
I feel our friendships are one of the most important things to me. Standing beside them and creating beautiful things to be treasured around the world is a huge feeling of hope.
How do you approach ethical sourcing and community collaboration? Are there stories you’d like to share?
Pippa: Sourcing is a challenge. I’ve worked with the first Fairtrade gold mine in Bolivia, with artisanal miners in Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Colombia. It is a privilege to see mines that are working to improve their environmental impact — to replant after cleaning up, to ensure the miners are paid properly and are safe. That the value of these precious materials actually goes to the people that need them.
I love the hand-panned gold from the rivers of Chocó in Colombia. We work with a women’s association of very political and courageous Afro-Colombian women, who are very clear about their relationship to the rivers. They want to keep large-scale and illegal mining out — the kind that destroys the environment and takes all the gold.
Their small-scale method, using wooden bowls, does not disturb the river. They collect small pieces of gold that add huge value to their lives, while ensuring there is gold left for their children and grandchildren to benefit from nature’s gift to their community. We then take the gold to the traditional goldsmiths in Tumaco, where they create true pieces of art from this clean gold.
How does a piece come to life for you — from concept to final form?
It can be a word, a thought, the inspiration of an ancient piece of jewellery — or just the natural forms of the stones themselves that tells you what to do with a piece.
What are you excited about next — creatively or consciously — as the brand evolves?
I am excited to continue and develop our work in Palestine with the talented artisans of Golden Zaytouna in Bethlehem, and the brilliant glass blower Mohammad Twam near Ramallah. Also, to continue to grow our work with the workshop of the Roma coppersmiths in Transylvania, Romania.
Jewellery is not just adornment. It’s a way of remembering, resisting, and reconnecting — to the earth, to each other, to ourselves.
Read more on Pippa Small Jewellery: The Earth Wears Memory
Visit to check out her collection at: https://pippasmall.com
