Anna-Mieke Anderson, Founder/CEO of MiaDonna & Company and The Greener Diamond.

Originally from the South Pacific, Anderson was born in New Zealand and raised in Sydney, Australia. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon USA.

Anderson has been involved in the fashion world her entire life. As a kid she grew up “back stage” with a mother that modeled and a television and film art director for a father. Her teen years were spent on stage and as an adult she returned backstage as a high fashion makeup artist. Her work as a make-up artist included various projects; The Matrix, Babe, The Muse, The Jay Leno Show, Australian Fashion Week, San Francisco Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Yves St Laurent and many more.

After discovering the origin of her earth-mined diamond ring, Anderson was so haunted by what she learned about the trade of illicit diamonds that she took off her own diamond wedding ring and didn’t look back. She started by sponsoring a child in Liberia and then set out to find a diamond alternative she could live with. It wasn’t long before Anderson discovered that she wasn’t the only one in search of an ethical, environmentally friendly, beautiful and affordable diamond alternative – MiaDonna & Company was born. The name MiaDonna came from her daughter's name Mia and her mother's name Donna. Together they can be translated “My beautiful lady,” which Anderson feels is a fitting description of the products she offers.

She not only considers MiaDonna & Co. to be an outlet for her creative side and a way for her to use her experience from the fashion world, but she finds greater fulfillment in knowing that sales from MiaDonna & Co. help fund restoration work in Africa. Having started with just one child, Anderson now has her sights set on supporting an entire African village that was torn apart by conflict funded by the trade of illicit diamonds.

 

Letter from Anna-Mieke

I am so excited to share my vision with you and help make your diamond dreams a reality. MiaDonna & Co. and The Greener Diamond is my passion and drive.

I love the beauty of diamonds. I love their sparkle and the dreams they represent, however, at what cost? When it was brought to my attention what really goes into bringing earth mined diamonds to market, and the effect on the environment, societies and the mining communities, I felt like I could not sit back and contribute to this any longer.

I knew there were great advancements in diamond science, it was 2005 and we could create diamond. NASA was using it in space, so why were we still buying into this old tradition of mining for diamonds and gems when we no longer had to, this is the 21st century, it is time for us to create our diamonds in a modern day lab environment. I searched, researched and tested across the globe to find you the perfect diamond alternative that is made with diamond. The remarkable similarity between the MiaDonna Diamond Hybrid® and an earth mined diamond is unbeatable. It perfectly matches the diamond crystal structure and looks virtually identical to a mined diamond because you are looking at diamond. I personally love and wear the MiaDonna Diamond Hybrid® and I know you will too.

At the same time, I started by sponsoring a 9 year old boy in Liberia, Africa just after the Liberian civil war and it was through letters with him that I first had the idea to start MiaDonna® and The Greener Diamond Foundation (TGD). The idea was simple, supply consumers with eco-friendly diamond options to be the sustainable funding source for charity projects. At MiaDonna® we wanted to raise the ethical bar and help reinvigorate our love affair with diamonds without the feelings of guilt about where they come from and how they are sourced. At MiaDonna® you can find the most beautiful, affordable, eco-friendly lab created diamonds, gems and fine jewelry where a portion of the proceeds from every sale are passed onto The Greener Diamond Foundation where it is directly reinvested in those communities that need our help the most.

What a success this idea has become...

I am personally involved in every aspect of The Greener Diamond at the grassroots level by working directly with diamond miners in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In 2010 I visited The Greener Diamond Farm in Sierra Leone, Africa. This is our first 100 acre agricultural farm that is solely funded by diamond consumers purchasing eco-friendly products at MiaDonna.com. It is ran by over 500 reformed child soldiers and local youth in the Kono district of Sierra Leone which is prime diamond mining country. The local youths shared with me that they are tired of mining, poverty and conflict; they realize now that mining will never prosper them and they want a brighter future for themselves and their families.

I am fully committed to the modern diamond consumer, the environment and global societies. With my experience in the fashion industry and the business world, I promise to continually source the hottest styles set with the most beautiful advanced lab created diamonds that guarantees your jewelry to be conflict free. Every single piece of jewelry hand crafted at MiaDonna® is of the finest quality you’d expect and you deserve. After all, I never send out anything that I wouldn’t be happy to wear myself. That way you know you’ll always be proud to show off your MiaDonna® Diamond jewelry and receive non-stop compliments.

Please look for MiaDonna®, The Greener Diamond and me on Facebook and visit our sister site TheGreenerDiamond.org for more information about what we are accomplishing here at MiaDonna&Co.