All around our office and workshop, our team of brave survivors is a buzz establishing independence, developing careers, and making way for more women to step into higher-level careers. If we haven't mentioned it before, Starfish Project is the best place to work! Every new collection created at Starfish Project is not only beautiful new jewelry, its career, and confidence building at its best! Here in Asia, 83% of the Starfish Project staff who create each new collection are survivors of human trafficking or exploitation. From sourcing raw materials, where a survivor is growing in her leadership capacity as she heads up the team, to the newest woman on our production line learning to bead bracelets, we are all growing and learning together.

There is something beautiful and magical about this built-for-learning environment. When we’ve asked the women we work with to put their experience into words, they always describe it as safe. At first, this answer may seem odd when describing an environment where we are always trying something new, yet when you really think about it, this answer, “safe,” is perfect. What better way to learn than to simply try, maybe fail, maybe not, in a community where you feel safe and encouraged?

Our newest photographer in training, Lia, had precisely this opportunity with our new Treasured Collection. The photography for this new collection was Lia’s first official training with the camera! In her first lesson, led by Mae Lee, Lia learned how to turn the camera on and off and adjust settings. Next, Mae Lee simply asked her to try her hand at taking whiteboard photos. Until that day, Lia had only prepared jewelry for photography and watched as pictures were taken. She shared that she was nervous yet excited to get behind the camera. She tried, practiced, asked for help, and she did it!

As our new collection goes live this week, Lia and our whole team are excited to see photos Lia took on every Treasured Collection jewelry page! This is the impact of your jewelry purchases! This is building safe, dignified careers! This is the start of a brand new life for Lia! Thank you for helping her have this transformative opportunity!