Upcycled Weapon Accessories

Cambodia is one of the most bombed countries in the world. The 2014 Fall Collection of the Purple Buddha Project is based on the belief that we can learn something from the past and use it to change the future. Upcycling artifacts from around the world, including Germany, India, United States and Cambodia, the Purple Buddha Project integrates these objects of history into jewelry constructed in Cambodia.

The finishing of each piece is created by recycled remains of conflict from Cambodia such as bullet shells, bombshells and weapon remains. Having been used in the past in multiple Cambodian civil wars and the Khmer Rouge, we work into creating something negative into something positive. The jewelry pieces themselves are created in the country of Cambodia by local associations who employ artisans through fair-wage, and with the sale of each jewelry piece, the Purple Buddha Project makes a donation to inspect and remove 3 m of land for UXOs that have yet to detonate.

The founder Forrest Curran himself has gone to each of the countries in order to obtain the raw materials that would be going into the collection and along the way shot a 13 episode feature detailing what it took to create the collection. With a focus of the model based on sustainability and up cycling, the Purple Buddha Project looks to change the future through the past.

With a pledge, donors can receive a jewelry piece that integrates history into fashion while empowering the people of Cambodia, as employment is the strongest and most consistent catalyst of long-term change.