I've spent a lot of years thinking about how we decorate ourselves. Blame it on being a girl in America and playing Pretty Pretty Princess the board game, blame it on a rebellious piercing and hair-dying phase, blame it on a Bachelors in anthropology. I love the art of everyday life - the things we surround ourselves with to remind us of who we are and what we value. I graduated with degrees in film production and applied anthropology from Biola University in May 2011. I currently work in retail, moonlighting as a non-fiction writer, and dream of finding ways to connect the developing world to the industrialized world through consumer goods. I have an activist past but now, much to the chagrin of my angst-ridden teenage self, believe free commerce can give marginalized people a way out of poverty for good. I dream of the Chinese middle class coveting jewelry made in Kenya for French couture houses. I dream of handbags designed by women in former Yugoslavia for American teenagers. I dream of the end of handicraft accessories purchased by white guilt. I dream of more than just charity. I dream of whole societies peeling themselves away from the poverty cycle and competing in the free market. I believe in the dollar and the credit card. I believe in thousands of small purchases over a few ultra-luxury buys. I believe in quality craftmanship. I believe in fashion trends. I believe in things that get better with wear. I believe in things that sparkle.