It has been 46 years since a Canadian art student found his way to Bali, fell in love with the island and its time-honoured jewellery-making tradition, and decided to establish an artisan collective.
The student’s name was John Hardy and he arrived just in time to meet the old master artisans who made jewellery for the late kings and queens of Bali. The silver and goldsmiths drew their inspirations from ancient myths, legends, nature, symbolism and cultural motifs. Applying different techniques – from granulation to weaving – each piece that they crafted was delicately made with simple tools such as hammers, foot-pumped bellows and scissors. It was a, a craftsmanship that has been passed from generation to generation.
