LOTUS ARTS de VIVRE

Khao Lak Beach in Thailand is another prime example of lustrous natural beauty.

Here again, the brilliant cerulean color of the Andaman Sea is hypnotizing enough on its own; then combine a string of casuarina pine trees emerging from the honey-colored sand with the warmth of the sun's rays and you have found your own, private sanctuary.

Thailand is also the home of design team Helen and Rolf Von Bueren.


Ever since meeting his wife Helen, a native of Thailand, in 1966 German artist and businessman Rolf Von Bueren has lived in Bangkok.

In 1985, the couple established a luxury item company, Lotus Arts de Vivre, which features furniture, home decor, artwork, and jewelry.

"For years Bangkok was seen as a city for design imitation and cheap mass products," Rolf says, "On the other hand there is high creativity here and a tradition of talented tradesman craft lasting several centuries."

The Von Buerens' design center, located in the couple's group of traditional Thai houses, is an environment conducive to creativity. According to Rolf, "Psychologically for a Westerner to live in a Thai house is a fantastic initiation to the Orient. When you sit on the floor, it's a different perspective on life; everything looks different."

Skilled artisans in Burma, Nepal, Indonesia, and India create highly dinstinctive, one-of-a-kind jewelry for the company. Traditional jewelry-making materials such as emeralds, gold, diamonds, rubies, silver, and pearls are incorporated in the designs; however, more unconventional materials like shells, bamboo, wood, and coconut are also used.

The jewelry is rich with ancient, Asian symbolism like the Naga, a mythical serpent believed to live in an underworld of "terrestrial moisture" called Muang Badan.


The spectacular, statement-making "objects d' art" are sold in Singapore, Cambodia, India, Japan, and exclusively in New York at the AsiaStore in the Asia Society and Museum.

The company's clientele covers a broad spectrum from the Royal Family of Thailand to the Queen of Spain to Elizabeth Taylor, Goldie Hawn, and Sharon Stone.

In 2008, the company celebrated it's 25th anniversary with a retrospective held at Bangkok's Sukhothai Hotel.
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Photo 1 (top right): 18-Karat Gold Rimmed Flex Ring with Diamonds and Rubies
Photo 2 (bottom left): Hand-carved Ebony Ring with Oxidized Silver and Diamond-Encrusted Snake trimmed in 18-karat Gold