Phoebe Minona

I am being given the opportunity to write about my company, Tawapa, for this issue of The Point, as we won the award for “Best Multiple Booth Display” at this year’s Conference. I’m honored of course, but given the audience, a promotional article on who we are feels redundant. We’ve been around awhile and, if you have too, you’ve probably already read it somewhere before. This realization allowed me to reflect on all the years we have been in this industry and how it has changed over time. A more appropriate title for this article could be “Growing up as a business in an unstable environment” or,” A condensed history of organic jewelry through the eyes of Tawapa.”

Being in our teens (as a company) feels the same as getting older as a human. We have become wiser and more mature, but we are left wondering how so much time could have passed. As we continue to accumulate years of experience, I realize that the lifespan of this company reflects the ebb and flow of life itself, a road paved with joy and successes, but not without bumps, potholes, and major road blocks.

I began Tawapa as a renegade wanderer, rejecting the confines of normalcy for a life of adventure, art, and eccentric exchanges with extraordinary people. This put me on a direct trajectory into the piercing world, which embodied and supported all of these ideals. In 1996, I found myself in a small carving village in Indonesia. In those days, the carvers in that village were actually carving sculptures, animals, and art, but as years passed the village has become dominated by piercing jewelry—to the point of oversaturation. When I first arrived there, I was introduced to an exceptional carver who opened the doors of creativity to me. I was so inspired, the possibilities felt limitless. I came back to America with a little suitcase full of treasures I had collected and created. I traveled the country in an old truck with my little case and my carver friend at a time when almost no one had even encountered “organic” jewelry. In fact, that term was only just then being coined. If I am correct, it was Erica Skatsen who coined it. I met her in Portland that summer. She was hand-carving beautiful wood plugs.  She was a pioneer in her field and our meeting felt important and exciting.  Besides Erika, Borneo Joe had created and produced incredible jewelry, but his wares were not widely distributed. In Europe, Cold Steel and Wild Cat had begun carrying some carved horn and bone jewelry, but that was it. The tiniest handful of artists, designers, and distributors were the beginning of a new movement of jewelry in the piercing world which, until that time, had been dominated by steel jewelry.

As we all know, the term “organic jewelry” quickly became industry jargon.  An influx of carved jewelry, particularly horn and bone, flooded the market. Everyone and their piercer decided to go to Bali, the mecca of the organic movement, to cash in on a budding micro industry that seemed to be growing and growing. Meanwhile, the peaceful village of artisans took down their signs that said “handicrafts” and hung new ones stating “piercing jewelry”. An artist village became a piercing village. The younger locals even began adopting the style, stretching their ears, covering themselves in tattoos, and listening to punk rock heavy metal.

This shift in the industry was both exciting and overwhelming. I loved the hardcore aesthetic some of the Balinese were embodying at the same time that more and more people in America and Europe were stretching their ears and choosing organic jewelry.  I did not love the disproportionate amount of jewelry companies that were popping up everyday, and with them, an excessive amount of rip offs and counterfeits. However, now that we are in our ripe old teenage years, I can look back at that time with gratitude and appreciate the fruits that blossomed from that rich yet unstable environment.

Within a couple years, we saw many companies fall as quickly as they had risen. Most of them realized that there was a lot more to running an international business than they had imagined, and the dream was quickly deflated. The ones that did manage to hold on and grow within the industry did so because they were exceptional. With so much competition, the only way to make it was to be amazing. Today there are only a few really successful companies in the “organic jewelry” industry.  The ones who have succeeded are the ones who have forged their own unique aesthetic and style, who make beautiful high quality jewelry, and who know how to run and manage a business.

I feel honored to have been able to experience so much growth and change and sometimes challenge in this dynamic, insular, tiny beast of a community. I am grateful to the companies who came before me for paving the road.  I also appreciate all of those companies who came and went over the years.  I see now that they helped shape who we are (and who we are not), and demanded that we up our game. Most of all, as I reflect on the history of Tawapa, I thank our loyal customers who have supported us all these years and I thank my colleagues, the ones who have carved their own niche in this industry, through beautiful jewelry and a sense of integrity.  They have challenged me to continue to excel. Because of them, I have not had the luxury of being lazy. I have learned humility in the most honorable way.  I am constantly inspired and motivated to create and to continue to evolve Tawapa on all levels.

This year has brought a lot of change for us as a company, with a move to Los Angeles, a new look, new logo, and more jewelry than ever before.  In this industry, as in life, change is the only constant. Embracing change is the gift that comes with age.  We, at Tawapa, feel that we are at the dawning of another new era in jewelry, and in life, and we cannot wait to share it with you.