Here at M.P. Levene, it’s been a year of great change.
They say change is good for the soul, and that may be so in the long run. But the last six months here have been rather difficult for us all.
Colin Levene, Managing Director of M.P. Levene 1970 – 2014
On 29 April 2014, my father and our Managing Director, Colin Levene, suddenly passed away. It was cardiac-related and it all happened very quickly.
My dad had been working here continuously since he joined his father back in 1953. The business was his life, and to a great extent, his life revolved around the business. He even worked a full day on his last day.
His passing away was a great shock to us all. We closed for a week as a mark of respect, and then quietly returned to pick up the pieces. We were overwhelmed by messages, emails, letters and phone calls from clients around the world. My father had a huge international footprint, and people were shocked at the news.
In the summer, when all the dust had settled, I took a good look at the business. After long and detailed discussions with members of the family, I took the decision to close our retail shop in South Kensington. The combination of high rent and business rates made it increasingly uneconomical to continue in a bust central London high street.
So we left at the end of August, and I have now set up a fully functioning office in north London. And I’m pleased to report that we’ve been rather busy since we started. In fact, there’s nothing we can’t do here that we used to do in the shop.
We don’t carry a stock of antiques any more. Instead, I am offering a sourcing service. If you are looking for something in antique silver or in twentieth century silver, then please let me know, and I’ll find it for you.
To be honest, it’s a natural extension to what we’ve increasingly been doing over the past fifty years. It often seemed that whatever we had in stock was never what the customer wanted! If we had a pair of round base silver candlesticks, the client wanted square. And so on.
We are also expanding our services to make even more new, bespoke silver. Looking for a fantastic service of handforged silver flatware, made in the pattern of your choice to your own specification? Our English-made flatware is the finest in the world.
From the elegance of gilded Chased and Pierced Vine to the understated subtlety of Early English, we offer a variety of designs. And because each piece is hand-hammered into shape by our English craftsmen, they are more pronounced and heavy in the hand than conventional machine-made alternatives.
Perhaps you’re looking for that special, once in a lifetime gift? How about one of our bespoke, handmade scale silver models? From enormous superyachts to private jets; from Army masterpieces to giant international landmarks, we can make anything in silver.
Our English craftsmen work from plans and photographs to produce a faithful replica each time. Send us a picture and suggest a size; then we’ll email you a quotation by return.
I’ll come onto our silver cufflinks and gold cufflinks in my next blog. All made here in England, we have a terrific selection to offer you.
We still ship all over the world. Please get in touch if you’re interested in anything, antique or new, in the finest English silver.
