Vurchoo secures new stockist for Studs of Hope collection

Sustainable jewellery brand Vurchoo has secured a new stockist for its Studs of Hope collection. The Secret Garden Jewellery in Basingstoke has taken on the collection, becoming Vurchoo’s 48th stockist. It said the Studs of Hope is an evergreen collection of “unique and affordable earrings” that represent and donate to the country they are inspired by. The collection comprises gold, silver and mixed metals as well as ethically sourced gemstones. Each design, which ranges from the ‘Not So Evil Eye’ of Guatemala to the ‘Lapis Lazuli’ of Honduras and the ‘Golden Clover’ of Uganda, comes mounted on a card which shows the region which customers are supporting and tells the story behind it. For every pair sold, Vurchoo donates 10-25% of profits to charities that help street children around the world to escape poverty and find education. The charities are based in the UK and overseas, and the donations are completed via Vurchoo’s UK partner registered charity, Teach a Man to Fish. Individually designed, the pieces are an “accessible way” to help those in need but are also made to be “desirable” and “fashionable”, said Vurchoo. Additionally, packaging for the collection is designed by Livibility, a UK charity that helps people with disabilities find work. The collection is available in over 40 UK stockists, online and in the USA. Alex Angel-Benscher, founder and designer, said: “The idea for Studs of Hope was planted whilst I was travelling through Cambodia and seeing street children doing what they could to survive; some of them selling whatever they could, including fantastic creations they had made themselves. “I wanted to find a way to use my passion for design to help them. I decided to work with schools in all corners of the globe, knowing that they all needed an extra source of income, and asked the school children to draw whatever meant the most to them.” He added: “The results were fantastic, from the colours of Africa to the emotions of Asia, each one was a reflection of the child’s story and the culture they were surrounded by. From these drawings, I created individual representations and it was from that Studs of Hope was born.”