Being A Catalyst To Change
We sat down with Genevieve Ennis Hume to hear about their work in establishing international trade standards for conflict-free minerals and the impact it has on their business.
Hume Atelier is a bespoke jewellery studio with clients centered in Vancouver, New York and Paris. Co-founders, Kevin and Genevieve Hume, work extensively in international mining policy through partnerships with organizations such as the US State Department and the UN. Their focus is on eliminating conflict minerals and supporting artisan miners.
Institute B: How did you decide to launch Hume Atelier? Did you have an “aha” moment that led to its inception?
Kevin and I were 17 when we started dating and for our first Christmas he got me a necklace. That said Foxy. I was mortified, but it foreshadowed his rather unlikely career as a goldsmith. Thankfully his taste in jewellery has come a long way!
A few years later, a chance meeting with a senior adviser to the UN led to our work in mining policy. It was a pivotal moment in the creation of Hume Atelier as an ethically-minded company, as it was our introduction to both the social and environmental impacts of mining.
Hume’s company culture is clearly unique in many ways, including its business partners being partners in life, too! How does running Hume Atelier together affect your day-to-day and what advice can you give to other couples interested in starting a business?
We never intended to work together, but somewhere along the way our interests overlapped. We both love what we do, and I think this is critical because I don’t know how well it would work if one person was sacrificing way more than their partner.
We feel very fortunate to be in this position as we average about a quarter of our time working abroad. This would be so much harder if we were apart, especially when we are in relatively dangerous regions.
What helps? Having clearly defined roles. Maintaining a sense of identity outside of our business and relationship. Knowing when to turn it off: how you fared in Q1 does not make for great pillow talk.
What personal attributes make you successful entrepreneurs?
In the beginning, it was ironically our naiveté. We didn’t understand the implications of launching a luxury company at the start of a recession. I know how obvious that sounds, but we were slow on the uptake. I’m not sure we would have survived the anxiety of understanding that we were entering an industry that was imploding. By the time we realized the risk we had taken, we were already fairly well established.
In our policy work, it was simply being able to ask how we could help. This has opened more doors for us than anything else.
You don’t have a storefront, but you do have a studio. Can you describe your work-space atmosphere for us and how this affects the business?
We are lucky to be in a beautiful space filled with custom art and furniture. We’re asking our clients to invest in bespoke design, and so it’s important to us that we do the same.
Working out of a private studio allows us to really focus on our clients without distraction. We have built Hume Atelier on these relationships. Also, Kevin really likes to listen to rap when he’s building which isn’t really conducive to having a storefront.
Hume Atelier was heavily involved in the development of Fairtrade and Fair Mined Certifications for gold. What was that experience like and what did you learn from it?
It’s been an incredible education. We have worked with artisan miners in South America and Africa. They are often working outside of any legal framework, leaving them vulnerable to violence and exploitation. Mine collapses, oxygen deprivation and mercury poisoning make the mining itself very dangerous, while the International Labour Organization has deemed it to be the single worst form of child labour that exists.
These experiences have driven our need to support the Fairtrade and Fair Mined models, which are currently the only independently certified, traceable, transparent gold supply chains in the world. Artisan miners are given access to the global market at global prices, and the gold is mined using safe and sustainable practices.
Our biggest lesson from our involvement is that Fairtrade standards are so strict; the system isn’t accessible to the vast majority of miners. Consequently, we also support projects that focus on broader miner education and development.
Although there are many global initiatives for ethically sourced diamonds, as of today, there are no Fairtrade Certified diamonds. How do you ensure the diamonds and gems you’re using are ethically sourced and what does ethically sourced mean in this particular circumstance?
Supporting peace-based economies is an important component of our policy work. Currently, we are participating in establishing international trade standards for conflict-free minerals through the UN and the OECD.
With that said, conflict-free is often equated with responsibly-sourced. We believe that it is an insufficient measure. For example, a diamond could be conflict-free but mined by a child. We are collaborating on creating a direct trade model for artisan diamond miners in Western Africa that embraces a broader set of sourcing standards.
Artisan miners’ own entrepreneurship is a valuable means of poverty reduction.
Beyond our projects, Canadian diamonds and lab created diamonds provide exceptional consumer confidence.
How has dealing in ethically sourced gems and metals affected your business in the long run? What is your Purpose Beyond Profit?
For us, being a responsible company means going beyond providing ethically sourced materials for our clients. Because we choose to build a limited volume of exclusive pieces, we understand that if we want to make a difference, we need to change the system. We want to work in an industry that we can be proud of.
Ultimately, we don’t want our clients to come to us because we are a socially responsible company. We want our clients to come to us because they love our jewellery.
Where do you see Hume Atelier’s place in the history of jewellery making?
We see ourselves as a catalyst. What we lack in numbers and capital, we make up for in agility. We are not bound to shareholders, we have fewer internal politics - when we can get past things like laundry - and we can implement change immediately. This has allowed us to set precedent and establish a new norm for our industry. To date, the growth of Hume Atelier has not meant increasing our volume, rather increasing our impact.