Meet Azipho's Creations
- Ariana Marshall
- Jun 15, 2016
- 3 min read
Image: Azipho's Creations as part of the Better Caribbean Exhibit at Green Festival, Washington D.C. 2016
I met Azizah a few years ago because her copper jewellery caught my eye. As with most of the Better Caribbean businesses, her family business was one which I saw the value of their product first and then sought to explore more about what they do and why.
Now, we may be aware that materials which come from the earth, that cost a pound and a crown wreak some degree of havoc where ever they are extracted - e.g. oil, gold, diamonds and even cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However are you also aware of the counterfeiting which occurs to avoid that conflict and also to increase the profit margin of certain companies?
Have you ever had an allergic reaction to jewellery which you thought was X but ended up being Y. By allergic reaction I mean itching/burning not discoloration of skin which is just a temporary chemical reaction to certain jewellery.
If you did, then your allergic reaction could have occurred for a few reasons.
Perhaps you've discovered that your skin is becoming more sensitive as you age or you are simply discovering a nickel allergy because your jewellery is not as pure as you thought.
Perhaps some jewellery maker along the way cheated on the purity of their product to maintain their profits.
Just because you've never had an allergic reaction to jewellery, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't be conscious of the potential allergy lurking in certain types of jewellery which are in high demand (gold/silver). We don't always pay for what we get (allergy symptoms may not be evident even though jewellery is impure). Sometimes we don't get what we pay for(impure/falsely advertised jewellery). Sometimes we want what we can't pay for but that's another story for another day.
The point is - our desire for certain precious metals more than others - feeds the greed of jewellery makers fixated on creating pieces regardless of the environmental cost, social disruption or lies required to sell these products.
Image credit - George Steinmetz/Corbis
Retrieved from The Environmental Disaster That is the Gold Industry
Why is it that we value gold and silver more than other metals anyway? Gold has been devalued and is untied from our currencies. Why the thirst?
For me, once I saw the beauty of copper AND found out about how this metal could actually be therapeutic, hypoallergenic and healing, well the value has been proven. I have yet to be disappointed by copper jewellery.
Furthermore with the possible arthritis I face from hours of typing for my day job and this blog...well I will use jewellery which could possibly thwart that old age symptom....any day.
Image: The first piece of jewellery I purchased from Azipho's Creations.
Azipho's Creations not only provide copper wire jewellery but their family business also practices environmental sustainability by sourcing recycled aluminium for their craft. Their products were also well-received by the Green Festival in Washington D.C. as part of our Better Caribbean Exhibit.
You can view more of Azipho's art, craft and jewellery pieces or connect with them directly on their Facebook page here.
Read more here on why the gold industry is such an environmental disaster.
Read more here about the hypoallergenic nature of copper.
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