In honor of Earth Day we wanted to take a moment to share what is important to us, including the ways we have sought to be respectful and conscience of our planet’s limited resources.
Making jewelry is complex and involves decisions which must take into account environmental and ethical considerations. At Shibumi we strive to not only make the right choices for the gallery and our clients, but also for our planet the greater world around us.
Here are some of the things we consider on a daily basis when making our work and curating our artists and shows:
RECYCLED METALS
Our studio and our featured artists all use recycled metals. There is simply no reason why a jeweler needs to work with newly-mined metal. Recycled metals are plentiful and easily sourced when one works with thoughtful suppliers who also make recycled metals a priority.
ETHICALLY SOURCED STONES
We always research our stone sources to the best of our ability. Currently our studio sources stones from dealers with excellent reputations, who we have worked with for many years. (One of our favorite stone dealers has gone so far as to build housing and factories for their staff so that they can ensure proper working and living conditions.) Upon request, we can source diamonds and other colored gem stones with ethically sourced certification or specifically source stones from recycled jewelry only. Many of our artists also use ethically minded sources for their stones. We want to assure you we are constantly asking these questions to our suppliers and vetting these stones before they are even in the gallery.
REDESIGN / RESET / RESTORE / RECYCLE / RESELL
At Shibumi, we will test your gold, platinum, palladium; and recycle it for gallery credit that can be applied to a new piece. We can also advise you if you have an auction-worthy piece and how to send it to auction. Or if it’s costume jewelry with minimal value, we will help you donate it to a worthwhile organization that provides jewelry to low-income women who are interviewing for jobs. As we specialize in custom design, repurposing family stones into new pieces is always something we love to do.
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING AND DESIGN
Since Shibumi Gallery’s inception over 15 years ago, our graphic designer has insisted on sustainable design. Our printed material has always been on recycled and recyclable papers with environmentally friendly inks and finishes, printed locally to ensure fair wage and to support small local businesses.
Our jewelry boxes are made using timber by a company specializing in sustainable packaging design. We source our pouches from a domestic manufacturer rather than the much more common off-shore manufacturers.
We have always felt it is our responsibility to choose the most sustainable options available, not the least expensive.
WE REPRESENT ETHICALLY MINDED JEWELERS WHERE THE WORK IS MADE IN-HOUSE
At Shibumi our mission is to support and show ‘Contemporary Studio Jewelry’ alongside local artists. This means that the work we show is made in smaller studios and not outsourced to factories or mass-produced in off-shore facilities. Most of the work we show is by US and European artists who pay fair wages to their staff.
OUR TEAM
Shibumi supports twelve people and over forty artists with our single studio and gallery. Most of the staff members have been with the gallery for 5-10+ years, so you know that we do our best to take care of them and ensure our pay and working conditions encourage them to want to stay.
It will always be important for the earth, humanity and the creativity we support, to be mindful with our business decisions. We know you have other places you can shop so we wanted to take a moment to share what makes us Shibumi and thank you.
Happy Earth Day!
There is much work to do and here at Shibumi we are constantly re-evaluating and looking for ways we can be even better stewards of our beautiful planet and help support fair wages and respectable working and living conditions for those in our industry.
Let’s keep taking care of our world and the people in it.
With Warm Regards,
April & The Shibumi Team