Eva lives in Wormerveer with her two children and husband who she met in Ecuador. She has been working at a Beautiful Story since 2014 and has been our product & impact manager since 2020: "We always had the idea: we want to create jobs and we want to know exactly where the materials come from."
For Eva, the great thing about her work as an impact manager is that she can finally make use of her studies in Cultural Anthropology. “Everyone always asks: what could you possibly do with those studies? To be honest, a whole lot! It’s in the general knowledge you gain, it’s in the way you learn to view the world around you, and it’s in the way you look at people.”
Everyone should go to Nepal once
Eva goes to Nepal twice a year for product development and to monitor the impact of what we do. Many of our colleagues have been to Nepal, and she thinks everyone should go at least once. From a distance, the difficulties in Nepal aren’t that easy to understand. "Once you are there, it all makes sense. When the electricity is cut off or when there’s no transport. Only then you realize what the risks and struggles are over there. How our artisans sometimes have to do their best to work around that. And still get the job done."
Read all about how we make an impact here
Eating together and personal conversations
What has stuck with Eva from her visits to Nepal is the hospitality. "We always say artisans, but the people we are in contact with daily just feel like colleagues. Not like producers far away." In Nepal, she feels that even more when eating together and having personal conversations. When you’ve been there only for a day, you already know much more than in all those months at a distance. Just because you work together and eat together. Like our favorite MoMo's that Santosh, the Beads for Life operations manager, brings along at least once during our stay.'
A coin that gives a lifetime of happiness
During one of the visits, Sanjaya, the owner of the Artisans Workshop, asked her for a coin. "The next time I was there, the coin had been blessed with a ritual. I got the coin back, together with a small, crocheted cloth. If I would put it on something blue, it would give me luck and prosperity for life. The Nepali people are always very generous and compassionate. It's so sweet and special."
Would you like to give someone a coin? Look here
A tale of the jungle
Does Eva herself believe in magic and rituals? There’s a story she sometimes thinks back to. "Back in school we used to write our own stories in a notebook. One page was for writing, and one for drawing. I had a competition with a friend for the longest story. In the end, she was two notebooks ahead, but I remember being very proud of my story. That competitive spirit was already there. I also remember that my story was about the jungle and a tree house. I met my husband in Ecuador. He literally comes from the jungle. My daughter Sacha's name also means jungle in Quichua. I think it’s beautiful when everything comes together.”
Want to write a great story yourself? We also have storybooks with a nice bracelet.
Trust your intuition
"When I look back at how I met my husband, I now think: wow, that was quite a challenge. Having to say goodbye over and over again. But at the time, we didn't experience it that way. We had no doubts. Just don’t look ahead but follow your instincts. And by intuition I also mean being able to judge who means well and who doesn't." It’s no coincidence that labradorite is Eva's favorite gemstone. But that’s also because it's simply beautiful.
For jewelry with labradorite look here.
