Behind every purchase, there is a story.
A mother providing for her children. A young woman learning a new skill. An artisan discovering confidence, community, and opportunity.
Headquartered in Dripping Springs and handcrafted on the Thailand-Myanmar border, Sojourn Studio creates porcelain jewelry, ornaments, and home goods that connect women across the world through beauty, craftsmanship, and opportunity.
The ongoing war in Myanmar has displaced millions of people and created profound challenges for families seeking safety and stability. Along the Thailand-Myanmar border, many young women are working to support their families, care for loved ones, and build brighter futures despite limited access to education, employment, and opportunity. Their determination is extraordinary, but pathways forward are often few.
Sojourn Studio was created to help fill that gap.
Through dignified employment, skills training, mentorship, and community, women gain the opportunity to earn income, support their families, and pursue goals that once felt out of reach.
Sojourn Studio seeks to reflect the love of Jesus through the way women are valued, encouraged, and supported. What begins with clay becomes something much greater: confidence, stability, leadership, and hope.
Every piece of Sojourn Studio jewelry reflects that journey. Each design is carefully formed, painted, and assembled by skilled artisans whose craftsmanship helps strengthen families and create new opportunities for the next generation.
This summer, model and philanthropist Sharina Gutierrez traveled to Thailand to meet Sojourn Studio’s artisans and experience the work firsthand. Inspired by the strength, creativity, and determination of the women she met, Gutierrez is now partnering with Sojourn Studio to help grow a community of creators and advocates who use their influence for good.
This fall, Sojourn Studio will unveil a newly redesigned website and refreshed brand experience in partnership with Austin creative Whitney Runyon. Through platforms like ShopMy and Shopify Collabs, supporters can shop, share, earn affiliate income, and help expand dignified opportunities for artisans and their families.
Because style can be more than self-expression: It can create opportunity, strengthen families, and help write a better story.
SojournStudio.org
Meet the Founder
Ashlee Heiligman is the co-founder of Sojourn Studio. A social worker with more than 20 years of experience in child welfare and family strengthening, she has spent much of her career serving vulnerable children and families throughout Southeast Asia.
After years of working along the Thailand-Myanmar border, Heiligman saw a critical need for meaningful employment opportunities for young women and mothers seeking to build stable futures. In 2017, she helped launch Sojourn Studio to create dignified work, economic opportunity, and community through handcrafted porcelain jewelry.
Today, Sojourn Studio employs and trains women artisans who handcraft each piece while earning income, developing skills, and supporting their families. What began as a small artisan initiative has grown into a thriving social enterprise connecting women in Thailand and Myanmar with customers across the United States.
Based in Dripping Springs, Heiligman is passionate about helping consumers understand the impact behind their purchases and demonstrating how business can create lasting change. Through Sojourn Studio, she hopes to inspire women to use their influence, creativity, and purchasing power to expand opportunity, strengthen families, and help others move toward a hope-filled future.
Each design is carefully formed, painted, and assembled by skilled artisans whose craftsmanship helps strengthen families and create new opportunities for the next generation.