The result of a friendship between two women in love with silver and design, with an eye for fine detail, a shared vision and a passion for travel, La Sirenita de Plata (The Salon to the Silver Mermaid, if your Spanish isn’t up to scratch) is the joint venture of Hungarians Éva Rasheed and Adrienne Pintér.
Éva’s interior design and cast iron furniture making background, and the fact that Adrienne was deeply inspired by time spent in Mexico and Costa Rica, is clearly evident in the intimate city store, just off Andrássy út, a short walk from Oktogon, giving it an endearingly personal air. Anything but stuffy, a faceless, multinationally branded affair this is not. Instead, hand-crafted furniture, warm purples and rich tourquoise tones make for a particularly cozy spot, ideally set up for what the pair intended it to be: a place where you can take your time over pieces on display, accompanied by a tea at the Mediteranean style table in the window and a chat. OK, so a lot of places offer the tea and a chat lure – but they actually seem to mean it. It’s clearly a labor of love, and one filled with some pretty impressive jewelry to boot.
The hand-selected pieces (which are usually in editions of no more than three) hail from Spain and New Zealand, and selected Hungarian designers are also showcased. High-quality silver dominates the collection, combined with the best of what nature has to offer; coral, onyx, shell, turquoise and obsidian are used in pieces inspired by nature’s designs, as well as clean lined, contemporary offerings.
For a small salon, the selection’s extremely wide-ranging, in both design, material and color, spanning rings, pendants, bracelets, bold statement pieces and delicate, finely crafted items – think hand-made, silver hair pins by a local designer. Some unusual, hand-crafted Spanish jewelry manequins are on offer, too. Prices are surprisingly reasonable (3,000-20,000 HUF), and adding to the independent atmosphere of the place, gift bags are crafted by none other than Adrienne’s highly creative mother.
Not perched amidst shopaholics central, Váci utca, or in one of the city’s fairly style-vacuous malls, La Sirenita de Plata offers something these places don’t tend to. Expect ultra personal touches and an attention to detail brought about by TLC and a desire to make people happy through the power of fine jewelry and genuinely friendly service. Treat yourself or a well-behaved loved one – they’re happy to take as much time you need when it comes to advice (jewelry related, of course!)
La Sirenita de Plata Tel.: +36.20.315.5116 Open Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m-7 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Sun. midday-6 p.m. (Sundays only before Christmas) www.portotex.hu