Ly Pisith
What is your full name?
Ly Pisith.
What is your first name?
Pisith.
Where were you born?
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Where do you currently reside and work?
Cambodia and Singapore.
What is your educational background?
I studied at the École Supérieure d'Architecture, Arts Graphiques et Décoration (DECO GRAPHIC) in Bordeaux, France.
What are other details of experiences, work or otherwise, that have led you to your current work?
My path has not been linear, but each experience has shaped how I work today. I began in architecture as a model maker in Paris, working with studios such as Jean Nouvel and Bernard Tschumi. That experience trained my eye for structure, proportion, and detail, and taught me patience, building things by hand and understanding how ideas take form physically.
My time as a designer at Alain Mikli Lunettes brought me into a more creative environment. I worked across the Alain Mikli and Mikli par Mikli collections, and on collaborations with designers such as Jil Sander and Philippe Starck. I was involved in designing and developing prototypes for optical frames and fashion accessories, learning to balance creative ideas with technical constraints and production realities.
Later, in the medical field with Siemens, I moved into production and training. Working on custom-made hearing aids required precision and consistency, and a respect for craftsmanship, even within an industrial setting. Training people from no experience to skilled technicians was also an important part of that journey.
All of these experiences—in architecture, design, and production—come together in what I do now. Returning to Cambodia has allowed me to bring this way of working back to where I come from, and to build something of my own there.
How would you describe your practice/business?
Garden of Desire is a contemporary jewellery practice rooted in craftsmanship.We design and make our pieces mainly in Cambodia and Southeast Asia, working with silver and natural stones. The work is shaped by form, structure, and memory, often drawing from Khmer heritage and the natural environment. We work closely with artisans and train them over time. My master artisan, Soknard, has been working and training with me since 2008. It is important to us to keep the process hands-on and to maintain a consistent standard of making.
What are the highlight projects in your career so far?
The founding of Garden of Desire in Cambodia in 2008, together with my wife Agnes, is one of the highlights of my career. We started with a small workshop and built it into a practice with three galleries across Cambodia, and most recently, a space in Singapore in 2023. Along the way, we have trained and worked closely with a team of artisans. It has been a long and steady process of building something of value, both in terms of design and craftsmanship.
What are you currently working on?
I am working on new collections, continuing to explore form and materials. It is an ongoing process that never truly ends. At the same time, I am focused on the workshop: training, refining techniques, and improving how we produce whilst keeping the work entirely handmade.
Instagram: @gardenofdesire
Website: www.gardenofdesire-asia.com