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Caine

"Bali has given me everything I desired and more... and I feel I should give something back in return, therefore a percentage of the sale of my jewelry is donated directly to my favorite cause (the Healthy Mother Earth Foundation), which provides a healthy start for the hope of the world... the children."

"I went to India in 1988 'chasing after God' and while I was there I bought some gemstones. That was the beginning of many adventures, bringing me back to India in search of gemstones and trading my way with those throughout Southeast Asia!

"By about 1993 I was starting to tire of this lifestyle, so when I set off again in 1994 I had in mind to find a more nourishing place to use as a base. I traded my way through Bangkok then across the border into Burma, then I headed on to Singapore and Malaysia. But literally, once my foot touched ground in Bali, the island of the gods just opened up to me and sat me down to stay awhile and I've never looked back. Besides, my astrologer cast a relocation chart for me and confirmed what I felt, which was that for me, 'Bali is more home than home.'

"Naturally, after settling in Bali, the next step was to set stones in sterling silver - over the years my team and I have become rather adept at this. My passion is for gemstones and I have developed a talent for finding the best of them, wherever they may be, for example opals from Australia and fossilized mastodon from Siberia and Alaska. I get ammonites and emolliates from Morocco to Madagascar, while Brazil offers me everything, from tourmaline to every kind of quartz. The south seas that surround us lay pearls at my feet. I have traveled Java and Sumatra and found fossils of palm trees and 60 million year old fossilized coral that has turned into agate.

"What resonates within me is that while Bali and indeed all of Indonesia are helping me to realize my dreams, I have become an integral part in other people realizing theirs. We share all, in that we all do our work, whatever part of the team we play on – whatever we are responsible for, be it designer or silversmith. We are seeing our dreams come true be it continuing education, purchasing a motorbike, renovating the family home or welcoming a new child.

"Bali has given me everything I desired and more, including a wonderful son, who at eight years old is keen to be in the 'family business' (my son's own words!). So he 'works' most Saturday mornings weighing and preparing stones and even sketching designs – one of which has already become a piece in my collection.

"Bali is a place where dreams come true and the whole culture honors that. Bali is empowering for giving birth to ideas. I am grateful to this island paradise and the culture that nurtures creativity and crafts that makes this lifestyle possible. In that sense I feel I should give something back in return, therefore a percentage of the sale of my jewelry is donated directly to my favorite cause, which is the hope of the world... the children. My donations go to a charity that is very special to me and that provides a healthy start for the next generation -- the Healthy Mother Earth Foundation (Yayasan Bumi Sehat). Thank you to all!"