In their pursuit to make the most stand-out, thoughtfully-sourced jewelry and scarves possible, A Peace Treaty has racked up some serious frequent-flier miles. Here, co-founder Farah Malik gives us a global tour of the sites where she and co-founder Dana Arib have worked. —lauren benet stephenson Afghanistan“While in Afghanistan, we focused on embroidery, using their cultural design aesthetic for inspiration. We’ve worked with a widowed-women’s organization—Afghan Hands.”Bolivia and Peru“We trekked to Bolivia and Peru to work with the Aymarra and Quechua indigenous artisans on knitting our collections.”The line’s hand-dyed fabrics drying in the sun in Lahore, Pakistan.Pakistan and Nepal“We bought wooden looms for artisans who previously had to give up a family tradition because of a lack of demand. In Pakistan and Nepal, we work with hand-weavers, silk-screeners, and block-printers. We also bring dip-dyeing, sewing, and printing work to widowed or disabled women so they can work out of their own homes.”Bone being shaped for jewelry.Turkey and Rajasthan desert “We had done a lot of research on bone jewelry, and what we noticed was that the trades had been dying out since the seventies when resins and plastics took over. So, we resuscitated camel-bone carving for our THAR jewelry collection. The task was then to find artisans who have a history with the trade—this is where our wild goose chase started.”India“The edition we designed for Of a Kind [Ed: Coming tomorrow!] was crafted by a group of artisans in Rajastan, India, but we were originally inspired by the jewelry of nomadic desert tribes—especially the Berber Taureg tribe that lives in North Africa. We were particularly moved by the Fourth Century Taureg queen Tin Hinan who was found buried in her tomb covered in robes and opulent jewelry on every part of her body.” Now’s your chance to score the made-in-India edition the girls designed. It’s a necklace, it’s a ring, it’s amazing.

Two bright ladies from separate ends of the religious and occupational spectrum—Farah Malik (right) is a Pakistani Muslim who had been working in human rights, and Dana Arib is a Libyan Jew with a background in textile design—met, and like Team Captain Planet, they combined their talents to better the world. Their weapon of choice: accessories. “When Dana and I first met, we both found that while working for other people, we were coming up against certain types of barriers that weren’t allowing us to do what we wanted to do. We brainstormed, and decided to start a company,” said Farah. A Peace Treaty’s fundamental mission is supporting the work of craftsmen the world over, whose work and centuries-old traditions have otherwise lost market value. As Farah explains, “It’s about getting the maximum amount of profit to the artisan. The majority of what we do is about ensuring income generation and above-fair-trade rates for the people we work with.” This lofty, ahem, treatise, originally began humbly, as more of “a side hobby, or an experimental venture,” as Farah puts it, with handmade scarves. But by 2010, the duo was itching to use their newly honed international-sourcing prowess to create a jewelry collection. “There’s a lot of jewelry out there, but we knew we had such a different voice and perspective. We didn’t think people would respond in such a huge way, but they really have,” Farah notes. “Now we’re in seven countries, with projects encompassing everything from metalsmithing to textiles.” Next up: Uruguay for Fall 2012. And with their many far-flung aspirations, we’re psyched to see  what these designers without borders go next. —lauren benet stephenson Get you hands on the awesome necklace-slash-ring the duo created just for Of a Kind. Only 20 in the world!

When Farah Malik and Dana Arib decided to grow A Peace Treaty beyond the stunning, ornate scarves they had become known for and add jewelry to the mix, they didn’t look for a local producer to realize their vision—that’s not how they roll. Instead, they hunted down artisans abroad who could lend a unique vision to their pieces, and, with every collection, they employ different makers and methods. “Sometimes it’s complete self-sabotage—working with groups where the learning curve is high, coming to an understanding and finally getting the design right, and then next season completely changing it,” Farah explains. “It’s a little bit challenging.” Ah, but it’s an interesting challenge and one that Farah is happy to talk us through. —lauren benet stephenson The Of a Kind creation! Click here to score one of the 20 before they’re gone.“For the necklace we made for Of a Kind, we were inspired by the jewelry of nomadic desert tribes like the matriarchal Berber Taureg of North Africa. We researched ancient civilizations, amulets, talismans, old ritual emblems, matriarchal leaders, and the countries that have a history with these particular techniques. We found a region we wanted to work in—Rajastan, India—and explored ways to incorporate their own traditional design aesthetic.” Camel-bone earrings from their past Thar collection.“Each season we introduce one new element. We did camel-bone carving for a previous collection because we found these gypsy families that used every other part of the camel—so it’s actually really sustainable. They had to trash the bone otherwise.”A lava-stone ring from their upcoming spring collection“For our next collection, we’ll be working in Uruguay and incorporating agate, lapis, and lava stone. Every season, we’re going in a new direction and going back to the drawing board. But we always end up saying, ‘Wow, it looks like it’s A Peace Treaty!”’