As a small child, Pippa Small was attracted to gems, shells and minerals. Growing up, she began to collect anything she found: beads, seeds, sea-washed glass, a button from a loved ones shirt, a shell from a beautiful beach. These personal tokens told stories, held secrets, recalled memories. They were strung together to form tangles of amulets and bracelets that festooned her arms. Her jewellery began as a way of holding her discoveries and treasures close to her and characterises the way she approaches her jewellery design today. Her eclectic style soon led to her designs attracting the attention of some of fashion's best-known names and her collaboration with Gucci, Nicole Farhi and Chloe and her superb rough diamond collections with Christina Kim of Dosa.

Drawing on her two interests, Pippa has initiated crafts projects with indigenous communities such as the San Bushmen of the Kalahari, the Batwa Pygmies of Rwanda, the Kuna in Panama and in Afghanistan helping them to research their traditional designs and generate much-needed income. Her commitment to the environment has led to her involvement with the first Fair Trade gold mine in Bolivia, a mine that works to ensure that the health and safety of miners are a priority and the protection of the environment.

PIPPA'S FAVOURITE SITES

Pippa Small - I am very excited about our new selling site.  Skywire did an amazing job in animating paintings my sister had done around the shop of birds and insects - I find it whimsical and fitting well with a site that I did not want to be ruthlessly commercial but yet is practical and functional.

Survival International - I am an Ambassador for Survival, a charity that works with tribal people on protecting their land, and I check the site regularly as they have updates about issues relating to the struggles and the wonderful recent victory of the Donghria Kondh - a tribe I had visited in Orissa and have created a collection of jewellery for Survival, available on its site. The Indian government has made an historical judgement in favour of the Dongria keeping their land and stopping a large scale mine that would have destroyed their land.

Guardian - I also always read the Guardian online and follow links to video footage or for more detail. A few years ago I would have sworn I would always prefer buying and holding real paper but as I also don't have a TV, it has crept into my life casually checking the news over breakfast. As I have been working in Afghanistan I like to keep track of what is happening there daily.

Dosa - I love this site as it stays true to the brands' aesthetic identity using photography and information on their collaborations and projects around the world.

Net-A-Porter - I sometimes look here for pieces I can't find in the shops and to see what designers are producing. I remember going to its tiny offices in Chelsea when it had just started and it was stacked with boxes and stock and run by a handful of farseeing women. I love that Natalie's vision has been such a success and love selling on the site.

ABE Books - I love books and use them for inspiration and hunt sites like this one for old copies of museum or private collections of antique jewellery, art books and tribal art. We are launching our new collection of diamond jewellery next month which was in part inspired by the wonderful work on Klimt's paintings and mosaics by Alfred Weindinger.