Jewelry designer John Hardy's Balinese Compound

Jewelry designer John Hardy moved to Bali in 1975 to study Balinese jewelry with a master artisan whose ancestors were goldsmiths to the island's former royal courts.  By 1989, Hardy beleived he'd mastered enough of the traditional forms to start his own brand and that is how John Hardy came into business. He is known mainly for his intricate, silver hammered, woven pieces that are bold and beautiful. In 1990, Head designer Guy Bedarida joined the firm to develop the Bali Design studio, which employees commonly refer to as "The Compound." The island oasis consists of a series of sublimely beautiful open-air bamboo structures, where workers-mostly Balinese, both Muslim and Hindu- scatter about in printed sarongs and sandals. Aside from the lavish compound Hardy's owners, CEO Damien Dernoncourt and designer Guy Bedarida, developed for his company, Financial Times named John Hardy as one of the top 100 green businesses in the world. The Bali compound is not only completely self-sustaining but the company also has launched a project to offset the amount of CO2 it produces each year by planting bamboo trees in Nusa Penida, an island off the southeast coast of Bali. And in 2010, John Hardy launched a line for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City called Hijau. The Hijau line includes bamboo-inspired stackable rings and bracelets, topaz-studded hoops and drop earrings, a pendant, a sizeable cuff priced from $295 to $3,000, and woven organic cotton cord bracelets in green, brown, or pink with a topaz-encrusted silver clasp.