Larklife issue 1 'Best of British'

life ISSUE 1 – SPRING 2015

Featuring Sir Terence Conran 1

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@larkinsurance

LARK life – SPRING

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arklife. We have given our PC magazine a new name because it really has taken on a life of its own. We’ve got a Best of British theme focusing on great design and the arts which are both subjects close to our clients’ hearts.

The Lark team meet so many inspiring people through the course of their work that we have decided to share some fascinating stories in our new-look publication.

Sir Terence Conran, founder of the Design Museum, talks to us about his life-long passion for design and we introduce mechanical engineer Morwenna Wilson who not only features in the museum’s Women Fashion Power exhibition but is transforming King’s Cross into a must-have postcode.

We meet garden designer Jo Thompson who will be creating a quintessentially British garden for M&G Investments at RHS Chelsea 2015 and is set to make natural bathing pools the new cool.

From gardens to houses we will reveal how one of our clients managed to lure ‘Budapest’ singer-songwriter George Ezra into her stunning home. And, talking of talented young musicians, hot off the press is exciting news about our first Lark Music Scholar Joe Devalle, plus a warm welcome to our new scholar Alexandra Lomeiko.

We also keep our eye on investment trends with an expert view on why buyers are diving to buy natural pearls and how the rise in buying art online has affected traditional businesses. We also give a nod to the cruise industry which has seen the highest growth in the competitive holiday market.

Keeping in touch with our arty side, Lark is proud to support a community summer exhibition of art where guest speaker Dr Ian Collins will enlighten guests about the life and work of 20th century artist John Craxton. We hope many of our clients will join us at this exclusive event and several others highlighted in our Lark Ascending column.

Contact us at larklife@larkinsurance.co.uk with your stories, feedback and to subscribe for future editions.

Phew!

David Foster, managing director private clients

Front cover: Sir Terence Conran, see pages 4-5

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D E S I G N DESIGN A way of life

Sir Terence Conran, 83, says when you are involved with things you are passionate about 'you find energy comes naturally' Credit: Julian Broad

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Sir Terence Conran tells Lark deputy managing director Lisa Smith how his mother set him on a creative path and also reveals his favourite means of escape

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can’t really remember a time when design wasn’t a serious part of my life.

As a small child my favourite present was a bag of wooden offcuts and nails with a pretty basic tool kit.

hotels so I really do know how very lucky I am that my long career has offered me such a rewarding, diverse and exciting style of life.

After much pestering, my mother gave me a space for a small workshop and allowed me to set up a wood-fired pottery kiln. There is no doubt this was the point where I began to develop the curious mind of a designer.

Despite the diversity of my interests, first and foremost I have always considered myself a designer because it is where all our activities meet and encompasses everything we have ever tried to do. It has been about using design to create a style of life that people can afford and enjoy.

My mother was a terrific influence on my sister, Priscilla, and I from a very early age.

She always encouraged us to express ourselves and provided us with the means to do so and if she had grown up in a more progressive era she would certainly have been an artist or a designer.

Obviously, as with any designer, I have been affected by events surrounding me, but I hope I have remained true to my fundamental aim. I’m a plain, simple and practical sort of fellow. What I’ve done all my life, and continue to do, is design and promote affordable, useful products.

She made sure that creatively we never wanted for anything, whether that was materials, opportunities or guidance. We really do owe her so much for setting us on a creative path.

The belief that my generation had is that design can improve the quality of life for everybody because good design gives you pleasure and improves the quality of life through products or buildings that work well, are affordable and look beautiful.

But I also like to think I also always had an entrepreneurial side. I remember exchanging a wooden battleship I had made for a potter’s lathe and being extremely proud with my side of the deal.

I’ve always had that spirit in me and it was no different when the opportunity came to make a little bit of money and sell some of my own designs – it’s a strong instinct I have that drives much of what I do. I have ideas, passion and want to make things happen.

My lifetime in design has been the most fantastic journey I could have ever imagined and continues to give me immense pleasure.

I began my career as a textile designer with aspirations to become a product designer in a very grey and austere Britain in the 1950s.

Since then our design group has designed everything from skyscrapers to cottages and interiors for anything from airport terminals and department stores to small shops and cafes. We have designed cars and teaspoons, iPod docks, lights, furniture, homeware, lighting, aircraft and boat interiors.

We have also opened and operated our own shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs and

Timeless design that endures and improves with careful use over time is the most appealing quality and I suppose it is this belief that has driven me along the way during my long career in design – the idea that intelligent design makes the world in which we live a more interesting, enjoyable and comfortable place.

Great design should be useful, beautiful and make you smile.

I know I am exceptionally lucky that everything I do in my business life I would also do for pleasure. Designing, writing, eating, drinking, shopping, travelling, visiting museums and galleries, collecting objects that I love, gardening – even smoking cigars –are all connected to my work in some way and I cannot think of anything else I would rather do.

When you are involved in things you are passionate about you find that energy comes quite naturally. And if I am feeling a bit down I escape to the greenhouse and smoke a cigar, read a good book and enjoy a glass of vieille prune - my long lifetime in design allows me that small luxury.

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Artist's impression of the gasholder triplet – 21st century apartments within iconic Victorian structure

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LARK life – SPRING

N1C

The new must-have London postcode

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y 2020 there will be 500,000 people working, living and studying in King's Cross. The Central Saint Martins College of Art has already moved in and London's former red-light district is fast becoming the capital's red hot cultural and creative hub.

Victorian industrial buildings are being restored and unique homes being built – some inside the iconic triple gasholders which will overlook the Regent’s Canal.

With the best transport links in the country, King’s Cross is the new must-have postcode N1C. It is the first time in more than 150 years that such a large site in central London has been developed in one master plan. The 67 acres will comprise one-third open space with the rest made up of boutique shops and restaurants, hotels, offices and residential property.

The centrepiece Granary Building is vast and embraces the past and future with a mix of gritty Victorian engineering and shining new architecture. A pedestrianised public street runs through the middle symbolising the King’s Cross mission to be a place for people.

The powerful property overlooks Granary Square and its 1,080 fountains leading to steps that go down to the canal and parks.

Mechanical engineer Morwenna Wilson, 32, has been tasked with ensuring the area’s heritage is respected and preserved while former goods yards and stores are transformed into 21st century cultural focal points.

As senior projects manager for property developer Argent her assignments have included overseeing the restoration of the Great Northern Hotel and the rebuilding of Gasholder No. 8 which has been a feature of the King’s Cross skyline for 150 years.

The 25-metre circular frame of 16 cylindrical cast iron columns and iron riveted lattice girders was taken down and painstakingly refurbished by specialist engineering firm Shepley’s in Yorkshire. It has been re-erected on the north side of the Regent’s Canal under Morwenna’s watchful eye and Gasholder Park will soon fill the frame’s heart.

Morwenna said: “The refurbishment of Gasholder No. 8 was quite a challenge but underlines our commitment to preserving the industrial heritage of King’s Cross and creating interesting spaces for people to enjoy.

“We did have one puzzle though, how to get some of the parts back together again – we realised the Victorians would have sent children inside the frames to tighten the bolts.

We found a good solution and put bolts on the

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King's Cross is a model of constructive conservation that captures the special quality of London as it has grown over the centuries English Heritage

outside instead – cleverly-designed so they would not really show.”

New York to connect Granary Square and Gasholder Park.

Morwenna is now part of a team working on the adjacent triple gasholder which is set to become one of the most soughtafter residential developments in London.

Apartments will be built within the decorative frames and they will have views over Gasholder Park and the canal.

Lewis Cubitt Park will feature the UK’s first natural bathing pond. The King’s Cross Pond Club will open in April to accommodate more than 100 bathers in water that will be cleaned and purified naturally, using wetland and submerged water plants as a filter.

Morwenna said: “The gasholder has one common spine so the build will be complicated but the result should be absolutely stunning.

It will be totally unique. Most decommissioned gasholders across the country are being taken down but we are focusing on preservation.”

Canal boats on John Nash’s waterway from King’s Cross to Regent’s Park no longer bring coal to the railway stations or grain to the flour mill (now Kings Place) but the towpath allows Londoners to walk or cycle to work or use the transport infrastructure.

More than £2bn is being invested to make King’s Cross the best-connected hub in Europe with six underground lines, two national and one international station, plus Euston is five minutes’ walk away.

This chemical-free pond is a piece of experiential art called ‘Of Soil and Water’, the creation of architects Eva Pfannes and Sylvain Hartenberg who have worked with artist Marjetica Potrč to symbolise quality of life at N1C.It seems everyone will want to bathe in the next chapter of history at King’s Cross N1C. King’s Cross is also home to the London Sinfonietta and its mission is to place the best contemporary classical music at the heart of today’s culture through inspiring performances and taking risks to develop new work and talent. Lark is delighted to announce its forthcoming sponsorship of the London Sinfonietta. Read more at www.larkinsurance. co.uk

Victorian brick arches where coal was transferred from rail wagons to road carts will, in a few years, be part of a pedestrianised shopping area with boutiques, restaurants, galleries, markets, music venues and street festivals.

Fish and Coal buildings along the curve of the canal were built as offices in 1851 within Lewis Cubitt’s design for the Goods Yard. Here clerks monitored incoming freight but in the 1980s the buildings were gutted in a fire. They now come under Morwenna’s remit and the Jamie Oliver Group will be moving in to use the space as offices and studios with restaurants at street level.

John Nash’s waterway from King’s Cross to Regent’s Park

The Art Fund has already moved in to the area and other businesses have confirmed they will be occupying offices. Louis Vuitton, Google and BNP Paribas all want to be part of this central London revival.

The new open spaces and squares include a Viaduct which will echo the Highline in 8

'Of Soil and Water' the natural bathing pond

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Dress for the job you want not the job you have

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s one of few women in her trade, awardwinning Morwenna Wilson was invited to be one of 27 women to contribute an outfit to go display at the Women Fashion Power exhibition at the Design Museum.

She is in good company alongside fashion icons including architect Dame Zaha Hadid, singer Lady Gaga and designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, who all share their personal style philosophy in the exhibition curated by fashion commentator Colin McDowell and Donna Loveday, the museum’s head of curatorial.

Morwenna says she was surprised and delighted to be chosen and revealed that she picked up her best tip on what to wear at work when she was at school.

She said: “I remember one of my teachers ‘Dress for the job that you want, not the job that you have’ and that is what I do. I always dress in something that I would feel confident wearing in the Argent boardroom because you never know who you will be required to meet.

“I am a creature of habit when it comes to clothes and I’ve developed a work ‘uniform’.

Jackets are important because I am petite woman, yet one with responsibility and authority, often with a team of people more experienced than me. They give me an air of formality and maturity, and make me feel like I have more physical presence and give me the chance to be bold, through strong colours and prints.

“A bright pop of colour makes people notice you and when you have their visual ‘attention’ they can be more open to listening.”

Morwenna, who subscribes to Vogue magazine, has a passion for vintage jewellery and scarves.

She wears one or both every day to ‘liven up’ her everyday work outfits.

She said: “For me it’s about the rarity of the items I own: I know I won’t see them on anyone else and they often provoke comment.

I search out pieces wherever I can, especially on holiday. I bought several pairs of early Chanel earrings and a 1960s Omega De Ville watch when I was in Tokyo and another pair of earrings, at a bargain price, in the South of France.

“I have a collection of vintage silk scarves by designers such as Gucci, Ferragamo, Hermes, Dior and Cartier. I love finding them at car boot sales and antique fairs and so I don’t pay anything like the price they are when new.

My real favourites are vintage Varuna wool Liberty of London scarves from the 1980s.

They are huge, like picnic rugs, and I use them like a coat in spring and autumn to keep me warm when the temperature drops.”

Morwenna, who is also an accomplished violinist, and a friend have recently started to create silk scarves using photographs of places and events that mean something to them. She said: “It’s such a buzz wearing something that is unique. I love being able to say ‘I designed it’.”

Morwenna Wilson will be a guest at the Lark private client Women Fashion Power event at the Design Museum on March 17

Brunel is in the blood Mowenna Wilson’s distant relative Isambard Kingdom Brunel was one of the greatest engineers in British history, designing and building railway lines, bridges and ships including ss Great Britain.

As senior projects director at Argent, Morwenna, who was a top mechanical engineering student at the University of Bristol, is charged with renovating parts of King’s Cross which were designed by one of Brunel’s contemporaries, civil engineer Lewis Cubitt, in the early 1850s.

She said: “Brunel was an inspiration. It definitely runs in the family because my grandfather was also an engineer.”

Brunel would be proud to know his descendant, who worked on the Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge which was awarded the 2012 RIBA Stirling Prize, is now carrying on with the work he and his peers started.

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Artist's impression of The Retreat

Pool of

tranquillity 2015 looks set to be the year for natural bathing ponds as Jo Thompson creates a watery haven at RHS Chelsea

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o Thompson’s exquisite jewel-like planting has catapulted her into the A-list of RHS Chelsea garden designers and this year she will be creating The Retreat on Main Avenue for show sponsor M&G Investments.

The garden will be quintessentially British with a large natural bathing pool framed by masses of ‘soul-stirring’ planting. There will also be a two-storey oak-framed building to echo the writing rooms of Vita SackvilleWest and Harold Nicholson in the tower at Sissinghurst Castle Garden.

Jo, who lives on the borders of East Sussex and Kent says she has been ‘truly inspired’ by Sissinghurst. She said: “I always thought how lovely it was to have such a wonderful place

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for relaxation and restoration of the soul.

“The Retreat will be a place to unwind; a private, timeless space, partially hidden by trees and lush planting. I want it to be ‘a timeless hang out’ to think, read, snooze or star-gaze.”

The watery haven will be a first at RHS Chelsea. No other designer has attempted a natural bathing pool and Jo is acutely aware it will be under great scrutiny from the judges, the 150,000-plus visitors and 2.2m television viewers.

She said: “I am very excited about the pool.

It will take up quite a large part of the garden but I love the idea of using natural ecology to create clear, healthy water for bathing.

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I want the garden to look really established with an abundance of planting; gorgeous, romantic tumbling roses and peonies in a palette of British garden colours Jo Thompson is a Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers and a member of RHS Gardens Committee. Picture: Ian West

“It will be absolutely natural – with no chemicals or filtration systems – just marginal and aquatic planting to oxygenate and biologically filter the water. Fairwater, of West Sussex, are experts and will help me ensure it looks amazing and inspires visitors.”

timber-framed writing room and curving bench as well as mellow Purbeck stone for the paths. The stone will also be highly polished to bring out its natural colours for seating at the water’s edge. I lived in Dorset as a child and just love this special fossilised limestone.

Jo is the first woman in five years to create the show sponsor’s garden, following in the recent gold-winning footsteps of Cleve West, Andy Sturgeon and Roger Platts. She is also one of only two women designing a Main Avenue show garden this year.

“Most of the plants will be grown in Kent. Roger Platts, who runs a nursery in Edenbridge, will supply the bulk of shrubs and perennials – he has won a handful of RHS Chelsea gold medals and so the quality of his plants is always gold standard!

The single mother-of-two also has a ‘secret weapon’ at RHS Chelsea - an all-women group of friends who fly in from all over the world to help her achieve ‘sublime planting’.

“Simon Sutcliffe at How Green Nursery is going to supply some annuals including Ammi magus and Gypsophyla elegant Covent Garden which I am particularly excited about. No grasses or cow parsley for me!

Jo said: “These women are dear friends, they do it for love and that always shows through.

They are the best and I am very lucky as they understand the exacting standards required by the judges while retaining my signature style.

“I have chosen soft pinks, lavender blues and creams with the occasional splash of deep wine colours from roses Comte du Chambord and Rosa Chianti. Familiar plants will be complemented by a few unusual ones and to bring ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’ from the visitors.

“I want to make the visitor think about seeing plants in a new way – perhaps a smattering of the pinkiest orange against more traditional combinations.”

She added: “There will also be lots of trees.

River birch and acers will bring shade and elegance while the soft planting will move from cool woodland to fresh, water-loving plants to edge the pool.”

Jo will be using craftsmen, materials and nurseries from the South of England to create The Retreat.

She said: “There will be Sussex oak for the

Roger Platts, who is a RHS Chelsea judge, will not be able to vote on Jo’s garden but says he is delighted to be growing plants for her garden.

He said: “Jo has an extraordinary design talent.

Her gardens are always so inspiring and she is often very brave with her ideas.

“When she created the DEFRA garden to highlight the problems of disease spreading through British trees she used six dead trees!

Her Caravan and Camping Club garden was a real hit with Doris the Airstream caravan catching visitors’ imagination. The Demelza House garden, a children’s hospice, was a full of jewel-like planting so I am sure The Retreat will be another RHS Chelsea winner.”

RHS Chelsea opens to the public from Tuesday, May 19 to Saturday, May 23.

Tickets in advance only from www.rhs.org.uk Jo Thompson will be a guest at the Lark private client Women Fashion Power event at the Design Museum on March 17

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Lights, Camera, Ezra Welcome to the house of fun

Brit Awards nominee George Ezra sings Cassy O’ in Caroline Partridge's kitchen.

Credit: Agile Films

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LARK life – SPRING

Singer-songwriter George Ezra's 2015 tour sold out in 10 minutes. How jealous would his fans be if they knew he had been having fun in Lark client Caroline Partridge's bedroom?

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ore than five million people have had a good look around entrepreneur Caroline Partridge’s bespoke home.

It’s likely millions more will follow, as they unwittingly enter her exceptional contemporary property which has become a popular location for music videos and luxury brand film shoots.

Click on YouTube to see four-times Brit Awards nominee George Ezra playing guitar and singing in his distinctive angel-cum-Bob Dylan voice in Caroline’s indoor pool complex, in the bedroom, in the living room and the black gloss kitchen where models fool around in the catchy Cassy O’ music video.

Vogue magazine has also hired the house for a fashion shoot and Rolls-Royce brought in two top-of-the-range Ghost II for a recent press launch. ITV have also been filming and there are plenty more bookings for 2015.

Caroline, who oversaw the build of the six bedroom property in 2009, did not sit back and relax when her £8 million home was ready for the family to move in.

The former banker quickly realised the uber-cool house, in the commuter town of Sevenoaks, in Kent, could work for her.

Caroline said: “I mentioned to a friend that the house would be great for a film location and before I knew it a photographer was here and I went on the books.

“While the children are at university or working there is plenty of opportunity to use the house for filming. I give clients almost a free rein and they are generally very respectful.

“I only have one rule: If you smoke, use an ashtray.

“The house has a fun element and is perfect for entertaining. I love to see it full of people.

It’s on three levels - a basement was created to house a pool, gym, games room, crash-out area, cinema and wine cellar. There’s plenty of room for everyone and clients have use of the leisure facilities during breaks.

“Actually, I really created this house with the aim that my children will never want to leave!”

A perfect backdrop for the Rolls-Royce Ghost II

The concrete, steel and glass house replaced a detached 1930s property and has views over Knole Park. A huge terrace and balcony wrap the house overlooking gardens landscaped by award-winning designer Philip Nash who has added swathes of grasses and dogwood for easy maintenance while retaining a magnificent magnolia tree.

Lucie Knock, of jjLocations, said: “The house is an incredibly unique property in a very desirable location inside the M25.

“Caroline has large sections of glass around the house which let in huge amounts of natural light.

“The angular design and streamlined interior are hugely appealing – but what makes all the difference is that Caroline is very relaxed and does her upmost to ensure clients get the best from her property.”

Lark client and risk director Julie Webb said: “I have worked with Caroline for many years and if other clients are thinking about using their property as a film location they should not hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to offer advice. Just email me at Julie.Webb@larkinsurance.co.uk

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PEARLS of wisdom

By Julie Webb, client and risk director

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atural pearls have long been objects of desire and Vermeer's 17th century masterpiece Girl With A Pearl Earring epitomises their purity and seductive beauty.

They are also a symbol of wealth and their increasing rarity, due to sea pollution and overfishing, makes them all the more valuable. Exceptional natural pearls with uniform shape, lustre and blemish-free skins, do not appear on the market very often.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is the latest in a long line of British royals to favour the lustrous gem and she often chooses to wear a string of pearls or drop-earrings.

In turn, pearls have become highly fashionable and they are hitting record sums at auction.

Dress jewellery featuring the finest-quality natural pearls represent an alluring investment and buyers are diving in to pay vast sums if an item is unique or has an interesting provenance.

Jewellery specialist Patricia Law of Dreweatts & Bloomsbury, in London and Newbury, says natural pearls are ‘the original gem’. She said: “There is no man-made interference like diamonds which have to be cut and polished.

Natural pearls ‘glow’with a beautiful lustre like no other gem and they are achieving headline prices.

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LARK life – SPRING

“Nothing much happened to prices over the 20th century but during the last five years there has been an appreciation of natural pearls which has been stimulated by the Chinese and Indian markets.”

Bonhams auction house seen record sales including a single-row pearl necklace that sold for £110,000, more than 10 times its pre-sale estimate of £7,000-£9,000.

Jean Ghika, head of jewellery in the UK and Europe at Bonhams, said: "Pearls were once seen as perhaps the preserve of an older generation, but we've seen a change and a younger fashion set is now at home wearing classic pearl earrings.”

X-rays confirmed Jonathan’s thoughts and the pearl was dispatched to scientists in Geneva who reported that it was a 33.147 carat natural gem of rare and exceptional quality.

Jonathan said: “The owner was surprised and excited when I told him. We estimated the pearl’s value at £80,000 to £120,000, but when the auctioneer opened the bidding at £30,000, a phone bidder offered £300,000.

International jewellery dealership David Morris secured the pearl for £680,000.”

So, hunt out those old pearls that have been left in the family jewel boxes – there’s never been a better time to do it!

It is not just London auction houses selling high-quality pearls. Woolley & Wallis, of Sailsbury, in Wiltshire, sold what was described as "the largest round natural saltwater pearl offered at auction" for £680,000 in May 2014.

Jonathan Edwards, head of the auction house’s jewellery department, looked at a pair of earrings brought in for valuation and felt that one could be a natural pearl. He said: “The pearl was presented in part of a pair but there was a difference between the two because one had an outer layer of about one millimetre and the other seemed to be solid.

“It is difficult to tell if a pearl is natural or cultured just by looking and you can never be 100 per cent sure unless you have it X-rayed.”

Jewellery expert Marielle Whiting examines the huge natural round pearl which was sold for £680,000

WHAT IS A NATURAL PEARL?

WHAT MAKES THE PERFECT PEARL?

They say that if you irritate an oyster for long enough, instead of lashing out, it will produce a rare treasure!

Specialist Patricia Law says it is true, natural pearls come from an oyster at the bottom of the ocean. They are a cyst, caused by an irritant which annoys the oyster - a small sea creature or drop of sand catches in the shell and the oyster smooths over the small intrusion with the layers of aragonite and calcium carbonate that make up the pearl.

Specialist Patricia Law says the perfect pearl should be truly round and high in lustre and ‘glow’ although there are exceptions - a pair of pearshaped pearls for earrings will also be highly prized.

The longer the pearl has been in the oyster, the thicker the layer. If it is too thin it can crack, which is especially noticeable around the drill holes where it is threaded onto a necklace. A thin layer would also reduce the lustre, making the pearls little more than white beads.

CULTURED PEARLS Cultured pearls are made through human ‘interference’.

A bead is placed inside an oyster or a piece of mantel tissue inside a mussel and although the pearl will look similar, its interior will not have layers. Cultured pearls were developed in the late 19th century. Kokichi Mikimoto (1858-1954) was granted a patent to develop round, cultured pearls from Akoya oysters in Japan. By the 1950s these cheaper, cultured pearls had conquered the fashion market.

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A P O E T I C E Y E Lark is proud to announce its support of the 18th Pilgrims Way Arts Summer Exhibition in the historic Tithe Barn, in Lenham, Kent.

The exhibition will showcase 30 local artists, potters and sculptors who will put more than 350 works on display.

Art writer and curator Ian Collins will be the guest speaker at the exhibition preview and Lark clients are invited to Dr Collins’ talk, A Poetic Eye: John Craxton’s Journey from Kent to Crete.

Year-on-year the summer exhibition has been attracting more artists and visitors. Hayley Avis, divisional director at the Lark office in Maidstone, said: “We are thrilled to be involved with this popular event.

The Tithe Barn, Lenham

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“The 14th century grade I listed barn is in a wonderful village and it could not be more idyllic. It is only used on an occasional basis and all income from events is used to maintain the barn so we are very happy to be associated.

“We know visitors will love the exhibition and anyone who would like to attend the preview should contact me.”

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Still Life with Three Sailors, 1980 – 85, Tempera on canvas, 122x151cm, Private Collection (photo courtesy Christies). Copyright Craxton estate, DACS all rights reserved.

Flame of passion

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an Collins is author of the John Craxton Monologue and many other books. He has curated exhibitions including Masterpieces: Art and East Anglia, a creative survey from the dawn of time to date, which won the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich a short-listing as 2014 Museum of the Year.

Dr Collins is working on books and exhibitions for Yale and for the John Craxton in Britain, Cyprus and Greece. His Craxton show runs at Dorset County Museum in Dorchester until September 19.

Dr Collins said: “It will be wonderful to come to Kent, a place that was close to Craxton’s heart; the county lit his passion for art.

“Craxton (1922-2009) painted for pleasure and lived it, too. He seemed to know everyone - Picasso, Francis Bacon, David Attenborough and Margot Fonteyn. He lived a charmed existence, once cycling with Lucien Freud from West Malling to Trottiscliffe to visit mentor Graham Sutherland.”

The Pilgrims Way Artists Summer Exhibition preview on May 14 is by invitation only.

Contact Hayley Avis at Hayley.Avis@ larkinsurance.co.uk. Exhibition opens from May 15-25, 10am-6pm (closes 4pm on May 25).Admission is free, exhibition brochure 1.

Homemade teas available and plenty of parking.

More details at pilgrimswayartists.org.uk

Inspired to start buying art? In many ways there has never been a better time as traditional auction houses and galleries step up to the bar to compete with new online traders in a market that is worth an estimated £1bn.

The days of walking in to a gallery to peruse and buy fine art or spending time at the auction house are not over but a growing trend for ‘sight unseen’ buying means traditional auction houses and galleries are having to rethink their sales strategies.

Many new buyers, in their 20s, and those who may have been intimidated by walking into an art sale are now increasingly browsing and buying online.

The figures speak for themselves - Christie’s online auctions rose from seven in 2012 to 49 in 2014 and Sotheby’s saw a 45% increase in online bidding after its website underwent a redesign in 2013.

Both auction houses have had to respond to competition from new online auction houses such as UK-based the-saleroom.com which hosted 3,147 live auctions and sold goods to the value of more than £74 million.

Research by insurance expert Hiscox reveals a new generation of buyers with a strong preference to buy online - 25% buy without seeing the physical item.

The Hiscox Online Art Report 2014 also highlights 39% of respondents find buying art online less intimidating than stepping into a gallery or auction.

But a bricks-and-mortar presence boosts confidence with 90% of online buyers having already bought from a physical space before buying online. Therefore traditional auction houses and galleries have an opportunity to build on their brand and translate it into online business.

To read the full story go to larkinsurance.co.uk

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Searching for a soul

By David Foster, managing director private clients

Lark Music Scholar Joe Devalle Picture: Will Tisdall

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LARK life – SPRING

It’s been a massive relief to have support from Lark, they have taken a genuine interest in my development and it has allowed me to keep working on the music

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hen potential stars of the music world leave education without access to musical instruments most have to beg and borrow before a performance. More time can be spent worrying about how to secure an instrument than actually playing.

Joe Devalle, our first Lark Music Scholar, will complete his Master’s in Performance at the Royal College of Music School (RCM) this summer and he, too, has been facing the same fate.

The Lark team have not only witnessed Joe develop into a fine musician over the past couple of years but have enjoyed getting to know him on a personal level.

Joe has worked so hard and made such incredible progress that it seemed unthinkable to leave him with such a dilemma so I am delighted to announce that The Stradivari Trust has agreed to assist him source a violin of outstanding quality so he can continue to perform to the best of his ability.

The trust supports and promotes excellence in the field of classical music and its chairman Nigel Brown, has arranged for an expert to accompany Joe on visits to a number of violin dealers to look for a good 18th century Italian violin.

SO WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME? The cost could be around £250,000 and once a violin has been chosen, Nigel will contact his investor network and an individual trust can be set up.

Joe is now in the process of producing a biography which will be sent to investors and, for Lark’s part, we will arrange showcase concerts to promote Joe’s talent. The first will be on April 16 at the RCM. Fortunately, Nigel had already met and heard Joe play. He totally agreed that we were ‘square-on to a major problem’ if we did not help Joe find an instrument to take him to the next level.

Joe has been talking through everything with his parents and he said: “When Nigel agreed to help me look for a violin it was the sort of push I needed.

“He said I should keep an open mind on what violin I try to secure but the sooner I can find one and start building a relationship with that instrument the better, so I can make that connection.

“It’s been a massive relief to have support from Lark, they have taken a genuine interest in my development and it has allowed me to keep working on the music - but this continued commitment and persistence to get me this back up has been amazing. ”Now all I need is a violin with a soul.”

It all started with La Cathedrale

R

etired financier Nigel Brown has been responsible for putting together syndicates of like-minded individuals to buy fine stringed instruments for the exclusive use of exceptional musicians, on the understanding that they would redeem the ownership of the instrument over the course of a 10 to 20-year trust.

Nigel, who has received an OBE for his services to business, said: “Joe Devalle is a pretty talented violinist and certainly needs something to take him to the next level.

Nigel’s first musician-violin match was in 1984 after he had attended a Brahms concerto. Nigel Kennedy was playing a Guadagnini, made by Giovanni Batista.

Nigel said he asked Kennedy why nobody had bought him a Stradivarius.

“Nobody’s offered,” Kennedy told him.

Nigel told Kennedy he would find something and two years and a half years later he had secured La Cathedrale Stradivarius 1707.

To read the full story go to larkinsurance.co.uk

Meet our new Lark scholar Alexandra Lomeiko in the next edition of LARKlife or visit larkinsurance.co.uk 19

B R I TA N N I A rules the waves More than 1.7 million Brits took a cruise in 2013, bringing ÂŁ2.5 billion to our economy. It's the fastest-growing holiday market niche and dazzling new ships are attracting first time cruisers, writes travel journalist Lesley Bellew 20

LARK life – SPRING

H

er Majesty the Queen wept openly at the decommissioning ceremony for her beloved yacht Britannia. It was the only time she has shed a tear in public so what wonderful news, as LARKlife goes to press, that she has agreed to christen P&O’s new flagship Britannia, at Southampton, on March 10.

The 3,600-passenger ship, pictured left and right, is the biggest built for the British market and it will be easily recognised with the world’s largest contemporary version of the Union Flag emblazoned on her bow plus two distinctive blue funnels.

Southampton will be the five-star floating hotel’s home port from where will sail around the British Isles, the Mediterranean and the Norwegian fjords before she cruises to the Caribbean.

Crystal Room with rich wooden dance floors, glistening chandeliers and collection of dance memorabilia will put a spring in their step.

More glitz comes in the atrium with a giant starburst sculpture and spiral staircase.

There’s a seriously stylish spa, theatre with LED wall, four pools, a gym and a £1m art collection featuring many new British artists.

P&O is part of the Carnival Group which also owns Cunard, Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line and Holland America Line.

Executive vice president of operations at Carnival UK, David Noyes, said: “Britannia is making P&O accessible for new customers.

There is a lot of interest and bookings and since we launched the new ads, we are on track for our biggest ever wave for P&O.”

Celebrity chefs James Martin, Marco Pierre White, Atul Kochhara and Eric Lanlard have signed up as Britannia’s ‘Food Heroes’ and will be making guest appearances on the ship as well as being represented in the restaurants, cookery school and market café.

For those who love to dance, the glamorous

CRUISE VIRGIN Richard Branson has stepped into the ring for a piece of the cruise action. The UK travel entrepreneur has confirmed the launch of Virgin Cruises with $1.7m (£1.2m) funding for two new ships.

It was perhaps inevitable he would enter the foray to get a full house with Trains and Boats and Planes, just like the 60s hit.

Branson promises to change cruising for ever although a start date for operations has not been announced “for competitive reasons”.

The ships will be based in Miami or Fort Lauderdale for cruises in the Caribbean and Branson said: “We plan to shake up the cruise industry and deliver a holiday our customers will absolutely love. They’ll be sailing on the latest ships offering great quality, a sense of fun and exciting activities all delivered with the famed Virgin service.”

For those who prefer to charter, Branson’s 105ft luxury catamaran Necker Belle is available from around £73,000 a week.

STAR TURN Viking River Cruises also sails into the ocean cruise market this year with Viking Star, a new 928-passenger ship which will be launched in Bergen, Norway, in May. The luxury vessel is proving so popular it has already sold out for 2015 but two more ships, Sun and Sea, are on order so bookings should eventually become easier. Viking Star features an infinity pool at the stern and a chilled room in the spa with ‘real’ snowflakes falling through the air.

THE THREE QUEENS Ship-spotters should put May 25 in their diary to see Cunard’s three ships, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria sail in to Liverpool and rendezvous on the Mersey to mark the iconic cruise line’s 175th anniversary.

It is reassuring to know there is a doctor on board a cruise ship but check your insurance before you travel. Contact Lark’s travel insurance expert Mark Fraser on 01206 771 271 or email mark.fraser@larkinsurance.co.uk For details call Mark on 01206 771 271 or email mark.fraser@larkinsurance.co.uk

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LARK ASCENDING Lark loves a story

By Julie Webb, risk and client director

I

certainly thought there was something extraordinary about Morwenna Wilson when she was featured at the Women Fashion Power exhibition and, sure enough, it turned out she is a relative of the late, great Isambard Kingdom Brunel – no wonder she has such a talent for engineering!

Having been to Bristol on many occasions I am in awe of his feats of engineering from the Clifton Suspension Bridge to the steam ship Great Britain and salute him as one of the Best of British in this themed edition of LARKlife.

And how wonderful that Morwenna is overseeing the restoration of work started by Brunel’s Victorian peers. I just love finding those unexpected links.

It therefore did not escape my notice that a version of John Constable’s painting Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows sold for $4.5m at Sotheby’s in New York at the end of January.

It probably did not escape the attention of Lady Hambleden either - she sold it for £2,800 a couple of years back when the artist was described as ‘a follower of John Constable’ at Christie’s, in London.

This painting was in a collection amassed in the 19th century by William Henry Smith, founder of the High Street stationers. It had hung in Hambleden Manor, home to his descendants, until the property was sold in 2007.

Lady Hambleden sold the contents for a total of £1.7m, including this painting, but specialists didn’t spot that the painting was an original.

We don’t know who bought it at Christie’s but it was cleaned, restored, researched, re-attributed and soared in value. I wonder who had a feeling they were on to something?

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It’s these stories of exceptional finds, coincidences and hidden gems that I love to share in the Lark Ascending blog - I find it is often such a small world.

Do let me know if you have a story by emailing larklife@larkinsurance.co.uk I love my job and feel so privileged to be able to see such amazing things and meet some lovely people. Therefore, I do hope you will be able to join us at 2015 Lark PC events listed below.

Just let me know if you wish to attend by emailing Julie.Webb@larkinsurance.co.uk

March 17 – Women Fashion Power - Design Museum, Shad Thames April 16 – Royal College of Music/London Business Angels at the RCM May 14 – Pilgrims Way Artists Summer Exhibition private view at the Tithe Barn, Lenham, Kent May 15–25 – Pilgrims Way Artists Summer Exhibition open 10am-6pm (to 4pm on May 25) See the blog at www.larkinsurance.co.uk/ private-clients/lark-ascending or follow me on Twitter @juliewebblark

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT INSURANCE MADE TO MEASURE ADVERT

To discuss your insurance, contact: Claire Sanders 020 8557 2410 claire.sanders@larkinsurance.co.uk

WWW.LARKINSURANCE.CO.UK

@lark_MI

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PRIVATE CLIENT BROKER OF THE YEAR 2013 & 2014 INSURANCE BROKER OF THE YEAR 2013

WWW.LARKINSURANCE.CO.UK

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