The Heart Behind the Sparkle: Why We Support Global Creatives

5 min reading time

At Sundara Joon, our jewelry is more than adornment; it’s a story, a livelihood, and a celebration of human creativity. We don’t just sell handcrafted accessories. We honor the hands that make them. In a world where mass production dominates and trends change with the algorithm, we’ve chosen a different path. One rooted in intention, craftsmanship, and connection, and guided by a deep belief in the power of global artistry.

At Sundara Joon, our jewelry is more than adornment; it’s a story, a livelihood, and a celebration of human creativity. We don’t just sell handcrafted accessories. We honor the hands that make them.

In a world where mass production dominates and trends change with the algorithm, we’ve chosen a different path. One rooted in intention, craftsmanship, and connection, and guided by a deep belief in the power of global artistry.

Made by Artists, Not Machines

The artists we work with are not anonymous laborers in a factory. They are master metal smiths in Thailand, brass handiwork in Italy, filigree artisans in the Philippines—each with a signature style and a story worth telling.

These are craftspeople who’ve inherited generations of tradition or carved out new approaches using old-world techniques. When you wear a Sundara Joon piece, you’re wearing a fragment of that world—translated through texture, material, and form.

Handmade is a Commitment

Handcrafting is not the easy route. It’s slower. It’s more detailed. It means that each necklace, bracelet, or pair of earrings may take days—sometimes weeks—to complete.

But here’s what that means for you:

No two pieces are alike. That describes 99% of our jewelry. We do have a few pieces that we fell in love with that the artist kindly gave us multiples of. But, that means we still do not have that many, we've never carried more than a dozen of any one idea where the pieces could be deemed identical. Even with multiples, each has subtle variations that make it uniquely yours.
Imperfections become beauty marks. Evidence that a human—not a machine—shaped this item with care. You can easily see the handiwork, involved, its not that its sloppy but made with love and care. We love that some pieces are even deliberately asymmetrical, it shows the thought and care involved.
Every dollar goes further. Your purchase doesn’t pad a supply chain—it supports an individual artist, a family, a future. We work to keep overhead low, we are primarily an online store so do not have deal with the costs of a physical storefront.

Ethical Sourcing, Real Impact

We believe that style and substance go hand in hand. Our commitment to supporting global creatives is not just about aesthetics—it’s about economic dignity.

We work directly with independent artists or small collectives, ensuring:

Fair compensation for their time and talent. We work with the designers determine a fair price, and if we think we can sell them at the price, we acquire the pieces. We do not haggle them down. Early on, some artists offered us their jewelry at cost, which we refused, we want them to make a profit to support themselves and their families.
Respect for traditional methods - we strive to seek out design technics that may be falling out of favor because of their difficulty, such as our filigree earrings from the Philippines, or the handcrafted bamboo earrings from Thailand. We think pieces that beautiful and special are worth keeping.
Sustainable production practices - we avoid mass produced and focus on the individual artist. Some of our jewelry is made of materials we've identified specifically as sustainable such as wood, horn and pearl.

We are their only international partner, or in most cases any partner. That means your purchase isn’t just “supportive”—it’s transformational. When we started in 2022, the artists were desperate as they relied on visitors to the markets or their workshops. There were none.

We heard time and again that Sundara Joon had given them hope. We want to do more. Our goal is not just support more artists; we want to educate them so they understand more of the business side, and are better equipped to support themselves and their families. Once we start a relationship with our artists we work with them for a few years to build trust and then move on to the education portion of our mission.