PH.D is a design driven NZ owned & operated jewellery brand dedicated to addressing the unique styling needs of real women everyday, from work to weekend, casual to evening.
In each new season's collection, designer/director Philippa Harvey (Pip) encapsulates classic understated elegance with contemporary style & the use of clever colour combinations to create strikingly bold statement pieces.
Attaching great importance to her choice of materials Pip prefers to work with mixed mediums often combining precious metals, gemstones & genuine pearls with recycled natural components and on occasion, a touch of synthetic for a quirky twist.
At PH.D we consistently aim to apply the highest standards of creativity, integrity, quality and innovation to our product design and concepts. All jewellery is created at her Auckland studio where Pip painstakingly oversees every aspect of design, workmanship & production from start to finish to ensure the strictest level of quality control. Each piece of exquisite jewellery is backed by PH.D’s exclusive warranty & presented in a stylish pouch.
.."as women we're allowed to treat ourselves occasionally without feeling bad" - Pip Harvey
And of course PH.D offers women the perfect affordable luxury to do so . . . simply stunning jewellery!
HAGAR - We are also very excited about developing a strong working relationship with Hagar NZ and hope the two stories below touch your heart as they did ours . Sadly they are about real victims of human trafficking (names & photos have been changed). If you wish to donate to Hagar simply click on the red "Hagar" logo below or go to their website www.hagar.org.nz
Hagar welcomes the toughest of human conditions. Since 1994, our ministry has been committed to serving women and children who are the most rejected by society. This includes women who have been victims of vicious acts of domestic violence. It includes children with intellectual and physical disabilities, in a country where discrimination and stigma against them is nearly insurmountable. And, our hearts break for some of the most poignant cases of all: children who have been sold into brothels, trafficked for labor, forced to beg on the streets, or sold into domestic servitude.
Long Journey Back
*Eang was only 6 years old when her mother sold her into prostitution to make extra money for the family in Cambodia.
Eang's father had already died of AIDS, leaving Eang's mother to provide for the children and elderly grandmother alone. Her meager income from a clothes-washing business was simply not enough, so she turned to the one job she knew would provide quick money.
A foreign customer paid Eang's mother a high price for Eang's virginity. That was the beginning of Eang's nightmare — rape became an almost daily occurrence. Some days she would see two or three men; other days none at all. Eang brought a lot of money into her family because men would pay her mother a high price for someone so young.
Eang never questioned her mother or refused her requests. She believed she was working to help her family. Between customers she would return home and pretend that life was normal, occasionally attending school and playing with other children.
Eang's nightmare continued for five long years. It ended the night that Cambodian police, after investigating and watching a foreigner at his guesthouse, rescued Eang and brought her to Hagar's Aftercare program.
There, with plenty of food, schooling and friends to play with, Eang began the long journey toward healing. She met other girls with similar stories and learned that what she had endured was not a necessary way of life. Eang was surprised to discover that her Vietnamese counselor listened to her story and responded with empathy.
Eang's path to healing is a long one. She still feels guilt that she is not helping her family, and she frequently shifts from a cheerful and confident girl to an angry and anxious one. Her counselors, however, continue to encourage her by helping her tell her story, heal from the trauma and build hopes for a future with new opportunities.
* Not her real name or picture. Girl pictured here is not a victim of sex trafficking.
Sold At Five
*Socheat can still remember the day he was sold. He was five years old. He watched two strangers give money to his mother and brother. Then he had to leave his family and go with the couple.
Socheat had grown up with his mother, brothers, and sisters. Though he was born missing some of his fingers due to a congenital constrictive anomaly, he was still able to help his family grow rice and vegetables to sell. After he was sold, Socheat was taken along with many more children to Bangkok, where he was forced to beg. Socheat's left leg became very painful and swollen and soon he was unable to walk without a stick. He was given no medicine or time to rest. He was made to work harder because of his disability. "I remember one day I was so hungry," Socheat said. "But I could not crawl as far as the market. A Thai monk took pity on me and gave me food and water." Socheat was finally apprehended by Thai police. At eight years old, he was kept in a detention center for two years. He suffered beatings inflicted by adults detained there, too. Then, he was repatriated to Cambodia where he was brought to Hagar. From such a traumatic past, it took Socheat nearly two years to settle in to his Hagar foster home. He needed to learn to trust. Now, Socheat is a teenager.He is praised at school for his good behavior and his work ethic. He loves going on outings, and he expresses love and concern for all members of his foster family. Doing well in math, he dreams of becoming an accountant. *Not his real name or picture. Boy pictured here is not a victim of trafficking. Hagar New Zealand www.hagar.org.nz exists to support projects walking the journey of recovery for women and children in Cambodia.
