The fabulous house of Lotus Arts de Vivre finds a permanent home in Kuala Lumpur
Opulent and unapologetically flamboyant, it’s hard not to notice an item from Lotus Arts de Vivre. This Thai-based Asian luxury house has found an appropriate home in Malaysia, the result of a partnership with Bakhache Luxuries.
Christened The House of Lotus Arts de Vivre, this retail boutique is located along Bangsar’s Jalan Maarof. The space features the atelier’s latest collections across jewellery, home decoration, accessories and co-creations with artists, in a setting as impressive as the merchandise.
The second generation of the German-Thai von Bueren family are key players in the intricacies of the company. Sri, the elder son, is a trained goldsmith and handles the design aspects while Nicki, previously in the finance industry, takes care of the business side of things.
Nicki reveals that the synergy with Bakhache Luxuries grew from the moment they hit it off with Antoine Bakhache. “We’ve done quite a few private events here successfully and there was a desire to do something more permanent, but finding the right partner is a big part of whether something succeeds. Then we met Antoine and he offered us a home, which is something we preferred rather than a mall environment because we believe our home items are better displayed this way.”
Inside the serene bungalow, the lavish style of Lotus Art takes centre stage. The fabulous objets d’art range from an intricately carved scarlet lacquer bowl to astonishing sculptures which fuse metal and driftwood or even an exquisite egg guarded by a fierce dragon. Dramatic statement jewellery nestled among black velvet are dotted strategically across the house and jostle for attention in this cave of wonders.
This fabulous meeting of the East and West is what Sri attributes the brand’s longevity to. “We are continuously reinventing ourselves, finding new products and new angles. The international appeal of our brand is how we meld the East and West and our quality, look and feel, not to mention being different to everything else on the market. Our designs are always a conversation piece and nowadays, we even get people recognising our particular style, which is great.”
From their new Malaysian base, Nicki and Sri wish to offer an even higher quality of service to existing customers and reach out to a new group of aficionados. After all, Lotus Arts de Vivre has earned itself a fiercely loyal clientele who move within a highly individualised global niche of art lovers, globetrotters and collectors of luxury jewellery. “We would like them to come to this location and discover a retail experience which matches what we are selling. We plan to introduce artists whom we represent and artefacts that are part of the lifestyle concept for a series of events. Customisations, whether it be for jewellery or home decor, are a very big part of our repertoire as well, and we’ll be offering it right here in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.”
