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At 29, Michelle Winston chucked the American dream by quitting her advertising job of over 10 years, sold her house and antiques she had collected from the age of 17, and immediately traveled to India. Thus began her love affair with Asia and the mesmerizing women who inhabit it. She soon based herself in Afghanistan for three years, where she worked without a salary for a non-profit organization exporting hand crafted products. Michelle sold these products in the United States and with the proceeds, built seven schools for girls. While in Afghanistan, she further fueled the empowerment of women by starting a women’s cottage industry, where she produced hand crocheted garments with a team of over 90 Afghanistani women. Profits from this industry also went to the building of schools for girls. Michelle then moved to Kathmandu, Nepal and began a new venture sourcing and managing the export of crafts from Thailand, Nepal, India and Afghanistan. Inspired by the emerging independent and bold South and Central Asian female artists, she also started creating art pieces of her own. For the last 5 years, Michelle has worked in Asia to create fusion pieces blending the richness and intricacies of eastern gems and metal crafts with the cleaner lines of the West. With the creation of each piece, Michelle seeks to capture the sense of mystery and history embedded in the lives and garb of Asian women who have long fascinated the world.
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