LOVEbomb - Made by PEACEmakers for PEACElovers
When you look at the LOVEbomb Collection it is hard to imagine that it's origins come from recycled bombs dropped on the mesmerising country of Laos. The Jewellery you see here is truly testament to the fact that beauty can, and often does come from the darkest of places.
LOVEbomb is the creation of Jewellery Designer and Sydneysider Sue Mason. Years ago, Sue literally walked away from a highly paid, highly stressful career thinking “Enough, there has to be more to life than this”. She knew life had to be moreabout helping others and living a more satisfying and mindful life.
Just like Judith, Founder of Temples and Markets, Sue from LOVEbomb went on a long journey of discovering a wide range of products that are earth-friendly, socially responsible and beautiful. Along the way she was given a piece of jewellery made from the bombs dropped in Laos and she felt an instant connection. She had no idea of the story behind its creation nor did she know that within one year she would be designing jewellery and travelling to Laos personally distributing her first donation within the village schools.
Sue discovered these distressing facts about Laos:
Between 1964 – 1973 in Laos two million tons of ordnance were dropped on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions, that’s 1 x B-52 plane load of bombs every 8 minutes 24 hours a day for 9 years. At the current rate of removal, it will take an estimated 800 years to clear all unexploded ordnance.
Sue tracked down the NGO (non government organisation) in Laos who represented the bombshell product she'd been given and immediately knew that this was the start of a new chapter in her life, And so LOVEbomb Jewellery was born.
Sue now partners with the NGO Saoban and together they work with the artisans in the Xieng Khuang Province who produce the LOVEbomb designs, made from recycled aluminium bomb parts that you see here. They follow fair trade principles and help build small-scale, environmentally and socially responsible businesses and income generation opportunities for the locals.
Sao ban grew out of a community development program under it’s parent organisation called PADETC (Participatory Development Training Centre) which focuses on community empowerment and poverty alleviation.
PADETC is an indigenous, all-Lao organization committed to making a unique and distinctive contribution to the development of Laos. They integrate socially sustainable programs in education, agriculture, micro-finance, handicrafts and community leadership.
Sue Mason donates a percentage of the annual sales of LOVEbomb Jewellery back into the Laos community, focusing on education & sanitation. Donations stay in the village, creating a stable, sustainable livelihood for this rural community with a focus on education and sanitation.
Sue believes that If all of us did nothing more than show loving kindness to each other, the world would be a different, better place and we couldn't agree more.
In the end that's a win win for us all.
LOVE IS THE BOMB.
BEAUTY FROM UGLINESS AND A MESSAGE OF PEACE
