Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2011 | Page 141

BUSINESS

“To verify the provenance of each
item, its production and the materials
used, we source directly and in
person with the artist, craftsman or
family enterprise who created it. And
wherever possible (or permitted!) we
take photographs of the person who
made each item, and then display
the photos so customers can see who
actually made each piece.”
Stepping into one of the Drift
shops is like taking a mini-trip
through Europe, Asia and beyond.
Not only is there fabulous jewellery,
but such breathtaking items as
Hebroni glass made on the Gaza strip,
Armenian pottery, gold-decorated

Burmese lacquer, Russian shawls and
hand-woven Lao silks.
John emphasised: “We source
exceptional items, we’re not interested
in finding ordinary, branded,
high-street items. Wherever we go
in the world we find extraordinary
treasures made by extraordinary
people. That’s what we try to bring
back for our customers. Much of
our jewellery is made specifically for
us; Katia designs all the hand-bags;
our Zardozi wallhangings are rare
and of museum-quality; and we
commission dhurries (Indian rugs)
from antique designs and to customers
requirements.

John and Katia, formerly an
accountant and an aeronautical
engineer respectively, always travelled
in their previous jobs. But John
explained: “Although we travel perhaps
even more now this is different. We
go off the beaten track because if you
want authentic hand-made goods
you don’t find them on the generic
High Street. We bring back opulent,
exclusive and gorgeous.
"We are not going to make a fortune
from what we do. We just want to
make a decent living, see the world,
meet some fantastic people, and find
things that are extraordinary.”

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