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Romain de Tiroff was a Russian born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, which is the French pronunciation of his initials R.T. He adopted the name to avoid embarrassing his Russian father, a high ranking naval officer who wanted Romain to continue in the maritime family tradition. Erte is my absolute favorite designer!

He was a diversely talented 20th century artist and designer who flourished in an array of fields including fashion, jewellery, graphic arts, interior design, costume and set design for film, theatre, opera, and interior decor.

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My father often recounts how in the 70’s he realised vintage fashion magazine covers were a mine of inspiration and while researching Harpers Bazaar discovered Erté, thus opening his eyes to Erte’s brilliant mind. He became almost obsessed and wanted to know and discover all he could within the treasure chest of Erté’s portfolio. There seemed to be no end to his creations and he discovered that between 1915 and 1937 Erté designed over 200 covers for Harpers Bazaar and that his illustrations also graced publications such as: Illustrated London News, Cosmopolitan, Ladies’ Home Journal and Vogue.

Erté was perhaps best known for his elegant and fashionable designs which were iconic manifestations of the Art Deco era. His delicate figures and sophisticated glamorous designs are instantly recognisable, and his ideas and art still influence fashion to this day. When I now pick up a book of Erté’s works I experience the same thrill and excitement that my father must have felt when he first discovered his creations.

I am not sure whether it is because it is the most modern of the eras which has defined our creative process or just because of my love of straight lines but the Art Deco era has always been my favorite era. One can see its influences still today in popular culture as well as design and architecture.

Art Deco is an era that takes the best out of Victorian decadence and the romance of Art Nouveau mixing them into something timeless, modern and still to this today futuristically evocative. One only has to look to the skyscrapers of New York such as the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings’ to see the awe inspiring effects of Art Deco.

Art Deco is an eclectic artistic design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally until the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design including architecture, interior design, fashion and jewellery.

Art Deco Fashion and Society gave rise to the liberated female of the roaring 20’s who became one of the leading icons of the age. With this liberated female came the designers who wanted to empower and embolden the female form such as Erté, the father of Art Deco whose designs have indeed inspired my favorite designs in our collection.

It is hard not have ones imagination captured by this era and its thirst for living life to its fullest in a shifting world in terms of society and values. Art Deco was the backdrop for prohibition and the rise of the Speakeasy and fun time gals, the Wall Street Crash, the FBI, flapper girls and such gangster folk heroes as Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger and Arnold Rothstein

The term Art Deco was first used widely in 1966 in commemoration of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris.

Art Deco still to this day represents elegance, glamour, functionality and modernity .

Growing up on the road and at exhibitions, going from showroom to stand, country to country and seeing this vast amount of what we both called treasure, I guess you can become slightly desensitised to all the shine and bling and kind or take it for granted – my brother and I thought everyone had their own Aladdins Cave of treasure just like us! I can even remember now the bed time story of Alibaba and the 40 thieves and all their treasure that our dad used to tell us at night…

Since our father created this business and still very much is at the heart of things even today it was hard to find the same passion as he did – for him all the designs were like his creations and mini children but for us they were just pieces of silver for the most part. I do remember, however, the few occasions when I could say I fell in love with the collection myself too…. Again, it was probably mostly down to the passion with which my father talks about his inspirations that probably affected me but when he described the artist Mucha to me and showed me how some of his designs were inspired by Mucha and the Art Nouveau design period something clicked and I too began to fall in love with the romance of Art Nouveau. I remember my favourite pieces were these pewter statues of Art Nouveau style ladies – I just thought they looked cool!

So what is Art Nouveau I hear you ask?

The name Art Nouveau is French for new art and was derived from the Maison de l’ Art Nouveau which was the name of the gallery opened in Paris in 1895 by art dealer, Samuel Bing, which exclusively featured modern art. This style was known as Jugendstil which is the German for ‘youth style’ so named after the magazine Jugend which promoted the Art Nouveau look. Interestingly enough in Britain, Art Nouveau had a close kinship to what we called the Arts and Crafts movement, where artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh found fame. The Arts and Crafts Movement had begun some time before the Parisienne inspired Art Nouveau movement.

Art Nouveau was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only by flowers and plants but also by curved free flowing lines. Art Nouveau artistry and theory challenged the belief that art could only be a painting, drawing or sculpture and instead advocated that the design of everyday objects, from chairs to tea pots could also exude artistic appreciation.

Can you think back to the time you saw your baby for the first time? You still remember the exact pose they had, whether they were blinking as if in protest over their new environment, or they had their eyes intensely shut like they were content to be home at last.

Maybe the image that comes to mind is of the serene, subtly smiley face of a baby you saw, maybe a friend’s baby, and how it seemed to magically make the aura in the room peaceful. What you would give to see that face again.

Now, imagine that you or someone else took pictures of the baby at that particular moment and captured those priceless emotions and images. You would have a permanent point of reference whenever you longed to relive those moments.

We say permanent because with the many digital options that allow you to infinitely store photos in the cloud today, you can keep copies of these photos on the cloud and have access to them for as long as cloud storage exists.

Frame the physical copy you have at home or on your desk at work so that you can readily see it without having to go through a huge photo album first.

A silver baby photo frame provides a home for your precious baby pictures and gives you a platform to not only safely store photos of your baby, but also display them for the enjoyment of others.

One of the greatest advantages silver photo frames have over other types of frames is their natural aesthetics and shine, and durability. And because silver blends well with other colors, the frame will be a good fit, whatever your room decor.

Have your sterling silver photo frame engraved with the baby’s name, initials, family name and baby’s initial, or any other symbol that is of significance to your family to make it more personalized.

You can also place a couple of crystal costume jewellery next to the frame either on each side of the frame or on one side. Choose costume jewellery with a baby theme or a related theme for a coordinated look.

Or if you prefer a more eclectic feel, go for crystal costume jewellery in whichever design or theme you like. Costume jewellery is versatile and can be incorporated in any room to create a funky look and enhance the creative dimension at play in the room decor.

They say everyone, man and woman, deserves at least one good piece of jewellery. How many times have you stepped out of the house and thought how much better your outfit would look if you had added a brooch, necklace, tie bar or cufflinks?

Having quality jewellery that you can reliably turn to anytime you want to look more stylish can minimize the number of bad outfit days you suffer or eliminate them altogether. Consider investing in sterling silver jewellery and accessories and you’ll have your own fashion ammo to get you through every season. Silver tie bars, silver chains, a silver pillbox, whatever you need.

Save up and get a few pieces of designer sterling silver jewellery. Here’s the deal about designer jewellery. It’s unique, completely different from any jewellery you’ll see people wearing on the street and it’s of a significantly higher quality. The cut is more precise. The design, whether simple or elaborate, is exquisite. It is flawless. Best of all, you can have it custom-made just for you.

If having custom jewellery is important to you, check whether your favourite jewellery designer can custom design a silver piece for you before buying any of their pieces. Many should be able to. You’ll pay more for the piece but it is worth every extra pound you spend to have it made. There is an unmatched thrill and satisfaction that comes with knowing no one else in the world owns that exact jewellery.

What makes sterling silver different and an excellent choice of metal for jewellery?

Sterling silver, like any precious metal, is beautiful. But what makes it stand out is its brilliance and shine. It’s shinier than many other metals, a quality that lends it a captivating appearance.

Unlike some of the noble metals like gold and platinum, however, sterling silver is far more affordable. If you thought you would never be able to save enough to buy excellent jewellery, ditch that thought. You can afford several excellent pieces if you choose sterling silver jewellery.

Silver is also very resilient. It lasts and lasts for what would seem like an eternity. It really does. When investing in jewellery, you want to buy something that you can wear with confidence over the years and silver jewellery is it. Just polish it regularly to maintain its trademark brilliance and pristine look.

Silver jewellery goes well with outfits of all colors and designs. You’ll never have trouble finding clothes that are suitable to wear with your silver bracelets, bangles, earrings, pendants, cufflinks or watch.

If you were to randomly think of something you use or interact with daily, say, like cufflinks or the framed family photos you pass on the hallway on your way out, would you say there was anything remarkable about them? And yet, they occupy your space and are part of your life.

Without some of these items, it would be obvious that something was missing. Going back to the cufflinks, how quickly would you adjust to wearing your shirts and suits without cufflinks? If this is part of what defines your everyday look, you can’t imagine going into a meeting without your cufflinks in place.

Maybe it makes you feel like you were walking around in sagging jeans. No offense to the youngsters for whom saggy pants are a fashion statement. But because cufflinks are such an intricate component of your signature look, they become more than an accessory. They are a necessity.

The real question, though, is: Are your cufflinks working for you or are they taking away from the image you’re trying to put across?

Ordinary cufflinks will have folks taking one look at you and saying, “Oh, well, just another businessman trying to make it.”

But sterling silver cufflinks UK designed and made, now those will elevate you to a status where people stop and take notice. You go from trying to get people’s attention to commanding favourable response and reactions. The results: More authority, more business, more success. Isn’t that what we all want?

Let’s focus on the second item mentioned earlier that’s commonly found in our homes and offices: The framed photo.

The reason we display framed photos of ourselves, our family, friends, colleagues, pictures we took with important people, or certain objects is because these images hold meaning for us. Otherwise, we wouldn’t bother putting them up.

You can make your photos pop by using a personalised silver photo frame. Nothing says, “Hey, look at me!” better than a sterling silver photo frame. It’s classy, timeless and its reflective nature draws attention to the photo.

If you want an even more unique look, take it a level higher with an engraved silver photo frame. By adding a custom message, signature, monogram or other symbol, you transform the frame into an heirloom that lives long after you.

And because it’s made from durable sterling silver, you can be sure the photo frame won’t be getting disposed of in the near future.