St.Ives Silver

St.Ives Silver is a Cornish based company that sources their collections of jewellery from individuals and small-scale businesses all over the world. The company was set up by Ruth Nicoll and Tristan Evans and they operate two Cornish shops. St.Ives Silver only buy from people that they have met on several occasions so that they can be assured that their company ethics are sound. They buy as directly as is feasible which ensures a good price for their artisans. By buying directly from artisans also ensures that more unusual products can be sourced. As St.Ives Silver do not purchase from catalogues, much of their jewellery are actually 'one-off' pieces. They are all otherwise unique, in that they are hand made from talent local artisans. Although they are not affiliated with a ‘fair trade' umbrella organisation, they act upon clear cut criteria to ensure that their ethical trading requirements are met.

Another place that St.Ives source from is Mexico. The working environment is rather different in Mexico. Although they too work from their own workshops, the silversmiths work independently, as and when they choose. The handmade Mexican jewellery is primarily of contemporary design in plain silver although one of our suppliers uses local Talvera pottery, gemstones and shells. St.Ives Silver's range of amber jewellery comes direct from the miners in a remote area, above the cloud forest in the Chaipas Mountains. This ensures they are receiving a fair price for the amber by cutting out profiteering by middle-men.