MARCH 2020 - REYKJAVÍK, Iceland
THE GOLD LAB: Design your own jewellery from fully traceable gold on Design March 2020
When designing products we are in fact also contributing to the design of a process. The Gold Lab by MXIA takes you behind the scenes in the gold industry and helps you design your own, personal gold jewellery in an ethical way - that yes, contributes to a better world.
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Meet the founder and designer behind MXIA – María Ericsdóttir Panduro grew up overlooking a river that was once rich with gold, in Sierra Leone. As a child, she lived with her family in West Africa where people, in a region rich with gold did not benefit from the natural resources in the soil around them. Now she designs jewellery from ethically sourced gold that is fully traceable.
She calls herself a social designer because recently it became clear to her that design is really about people, communication and making the world a better place. At MXIA she’s working towards a change in the gold industry, a system characterised by corruption and greed, but is reminded with advice from friends that one cannot change the system, you can only change yourself and the choices you make (and that consumers have the power to reshape industries).
Maria is an Icelandic graphic designer and social entrepreneur with 20 years professional experience. She has worked in advertising and design agencies in Iceland and abroad, run her own design studio, Karousel and received numerous design awards. Her partner in The Gold Lab is the Danish art director Nina Knudsen.
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About The Gold Lab:
The Gold Lab is a pop-up design space where you can design and order your own jewellery from fully traceable and fairtrade certified gold. Graphic / Social Designer Maria E. Panduro and Art Director Nina Knudsen assist guests with design thinking and production.
About MXIA:
MXIA is a new Icelandic jewellery brand that designs jewellery from Fairtrade gold. On Design March 2020 the designers have created a pop-up design event called The Gold Lab.
MXIA is a social design enterprise that was founded because designer Maria Ericsdóttir Panduro wanted to use design to make a difference. The brand is dedicated to designing and producing jewellery from traceable gold and creating a demand for Fairtrade gold, which contributes to individual and community development around gold mines. A special project is to eliminate the use of mercury in gold mining as it is highly toxic for pregnant women and children.
Designer jewellery from fairtrade gold on miareykjavik.com:
The jewellery collection from MXIA features minimalistic designs that are founded on basic art elements: circles, triangles and squares. All jewellery can be ordered in 9 and 18 ct. and is shipped to customers worldwide.
The jewellery industry:
Ask any jeweller where their gold comes from. Chances are that they can trace it to a refinery in Swiss or Dubai. But not MIA Reykjavik: They can tell you exactly where the gold comes from.
Increased consumer awareness of business ethics creates demand for ethical and environmental (people) friendly products. In the design industry, professionals are working increasingly towards slow fashion, environmental protection, sustainability, and social justice.
However, goldsmiths and jewellery designers are still far behind when it comes to designing with ethically sourced materials. This is because of the complete lack of transparency and traceability in the industry. As a result, the availability of such jewellery is very limited.
The gold industry:
Millions of men, women and children work in unsafe and unregulated mines in approximately 70 different countries. The use of mercury and cyanide in gold mining poses serious health risks to the workers, communities and the environment at large.
To change the gold industry would be a crazy goal for a small Icelandic brand – but consumers have the power to do precisely that.
Icelandic design:
As a relatively remote island in the North Atlantic, Iceland has been home to a distinctive culture since its settlement more than a thousand years ago. However, Iceland ́s design tradition is relatively young. Some say that the lack of tradition has been a great advantage, ensuring a certain freedom characterised in originality, resourcefulness, individualism and innovation.
Inspired by Iceland:
The nations dramatic volcanic landscapes and the prolonged light in the summer months are a source of inspiration. But more important than our physical surroundings, is the influence and mindset of fellow creatives in Iceland, their “can do” approach (an Island thing probably) and the flexibility in our community. The weather has taught us to be flex, in stormy weather you can be forced to change your plans and when the sun shines, it would be wise to drop what you´re doing and enjoy it.
Designer jewellery from fairtrade gold available at:
MXIA webshop: www.mxia.org
Contact: Maria Ericsdottir Panduro, Tel: +354 864 6640, Email: maria@mxia.org
Instagram: @mxia_org
mxia.org
