The Scarab collection, a series of ornaments, jewellery and decor items are the ultimate in luxury. Inspired by none other than Her Majesty, the Queen of Thailand and her use of scarabs in her personal collection of jewels, this line has elevated the revered scarab even higher.
Photos by Lotus Arts de Vivre
The Buerens were among the first foreigners in Bangkok who built classic Thai wooden houses as homes. They entertain their guests there, sitting on the floor in the traditional manner, thus expressing Thai cultural traditions in all aspects of living, dining and entertainment.
The Bueren family lives together in a cluster of traditional houses in a lush compound in the middle of Bangkok. The new generation sons Sri and Nicki, have already taken the reins of the family business and together of handcrafted artistic creations- thus preserving a slice of old Siam, Asian tradition and the beauties of nature as long as this is possible.
Being a family company adds a very distinctive element to the designs, materials, and products and is important to the clients as well as in family enterprises. For the Buerens, artistic considerations often take precedence over profit considerations- thus resulting in the fabulous designs known as Lotus Arts de Vivre
The Story of Lotus Arts de Vivre
Lotus Arts de Vivre began as a hobby business of Helen von Bueren in Bangkok when her sons left home to study abroad. From its start as a personal hobby, the company has flourished to become the success story it is known today, an international brand name synonymous with one-of-a-kind creations of rare and exquisite beauty, sold in elegant Lotus Arts de Vivre boutiques located in some of the world’s top luxury hotels and famous jewelry stores such as Fred Leighton and Bergdorf Goodman.
With almost no advertising, Lotus Arts de Vivre achieved success mainly through word of mouth. Early patrons of Lotus Arts de Vivre products who received admiring compliments on their uniquely designed jewelry and accessories were keen to recommend Lotus Arts de Vivre to others.
The key factors in the successful rise of Lotus Arts de Vivre are the artistic design, the uniqueness of the materials used, and the superior craftsmanship of its products
Inspiration
Lotus Arts de Vivre strives to produce its creations from as many natural materials as possible, including even the simplest of nature’s forms, with the aim of bringing some of the elements of nature’s beauty into urban homes.
Lotus Arts de Vivre’s use of such a wide range of natural materials, such as seeds, claws, nuts, coconut shells, stingray leather, scarab wings, ebony and teak woods, sea shells, bamboo, and rattan is possible because of the highly skilled craftsmanship available in Thailand. The use of natural materials nowadays is limited because the diverse shapes of natural materials do not allow the application of industrial processes. This is where Thai skills-as well as the Thai character- adds ingenuity, as the Thai nature is highly individualistic and prefers inventiveness rather than repetitive work.
And this is the core value that is so fundamental to Lotus Arts de Vivre, Thai-ness. When Rolf von Bueren first arrived in Thailand in 1962, one of his first impressions was the abundance of food and natural resources, and the intricate skill applied to minute aspects of daily life, such as traditional Thai fruit carving that creates “art one can eat”, the painstakingly delicate preparations of the famous Thai flower garlands, and the excellence and artistic presentation of the cuisine. Rolf recognized that the casual manner of the Thais when they carried out such a high degree of artistry in their everyday life was a reflection of a very refined culture.
Thais, like other Asians, are often so immersed in their own extraordinary customs that it takes the objective eye of a foreigner to see them, and apply these unique practices in another fashion.
Lotus Arts de Vivre owes a great to Thailand and Asia: frequent travels to all parts of Asia further the mix of Thai and Asian design and materials, adapted to Western usage with unique Lotus Arts de Vivre creative flair.
It is important that Thailand still has a functional Royal Court that remains a focal point of society. Her Majesty the Queen remains the strongest force in preserving the country’s cultural heritage and traditional craftsmanship, and Lotus Arts de Vivre tries to follow her lead.
The Lotus Creation
Craftsmanship has become rare in the west and Lotus Arts de Vivre also owes much to Thai and Asian craftsmen whose precious artistry can become lost in contemporary industrial societies. Lotus Arts de Vivre is proud to have resisted the temptation to enter into mass production, and instead remains a producer of mainly single-piece jewelry and accessories. Lotus Arts de Vivre has contributed its share in preserving some of the traditional skills that were under siege from machine-made factory products.
In addition to the one-of-a-kind pieces, Lotus Arts de Vivre also covers every aspect of elegant living, from home décor to cutlery, travel accessories, sunglasses, new and antique furniture, shoes, belts, carpets, superior Kashmir products and great paintings from all over Asia. Lotus Arts de Vivre tries to enhance every aspect of living-a highly challenging undertaking.
And the rewards are huge. First of all, the tremendous fun experienced while producing the numerous items injects a passion into the Bueren family routine which is difficult to describe. Then, there are the glamorous clients, who range from royalty, to heads of state, to movie stars, captains for industry, and high-profile celebrities, many of whom are often friends as well as clients.
Excerpts from an interview Rolf von Bueren , founder of Lotus Arts de Vivre
What inspired you to use the scarab as a motif to base this collection on?
- Scarabs are available all over the world but Thailand is blessed with quantity - the scarab itself has a rather short life cycle and it was HRH the Queen of Thailand who used the wings in her support foundation pieces and who inspired us to follow her.
The scarab wings have exciting characteristics of color, fluorescent with different shades of blue, green, orange, purple etc. lasting 100 years and more. Rolf von Bueren considers this another miracle of nature and considers it better than the man-made substitutes of lacquer or enamel.
What kind of jewels and stones are used in this collection and where are they sourced from?
Lotus Arts de Vivre has used various stones along with Scarab to create magical designs For e.g. Diamonds from India, Pink Tourmalines from Thailand, Jades from China and Myanmar, Red Lacquer beads from China, etc.
We particularly loved the green necklace from this collection. Can you tell us something special about it?
Adorning the beauty of nature, Lotus Arts de Vivre turns nature into this necklace with its body covered by the thorax of scarab beetles. This necklace is made of Sterling Silver and enhanced with White Diamonds. The Circumference is #15" and it is Iced Diamonds: 7.830 cts. The scarab beetle was holy in ancient Egypt and China because of its remarkable reproduction process. Each piece is carefully selected according to colour and is shaved to the desired thickness and then carefully glued on. The colour of each piece is extremely fast and will last for several hundred years. It will also change from green to blue depending on the light. This is an exotic and magical set of jewellery which requires great skills to produce.