Cameron Silver visited me several times when I had my humble shop on 25th street in Manhattan, and over the course of our meetings we got to know each other and we became friends. One day, in 1998, Cameron asked if I would like to have a Georg Jensen show in his store DECADES on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles, to which I said, “I would love to!”.
I contacted Georg Jensen’s granddaughter Ea Jensen, who lived in Rye NY. She was thrilled of the idea, so my wife, Alice, Ea and myself sat down and made plans for the show. The girls took the responsibility for making a catalog for the show and I gathered a number of Jensen pieces from clients and of my own, so we could show a variety of jewelry, flatware and hollowware.
Cameron offered his parents guesthouse in Hollywood for us to stay in. A great idea we thought. Cameron generously paid for everything with the show in his store, showcases decoration material, advertising and all sorts of things, and I would like to point out, he was quite generous and elaborate. Everything he arranged was the best.
On the opening night Cameron arranged a fantastic event. Valet parking, waiters in tuxedos served fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate plus more. The store was packed with people the whole evening, and the press came to write about the show.
The show was open daily for 2 weeks, and I was in the store every day and met people who stopped by to see the show. One day I meet 2 gentlemen, very kind and most interesting in a Georg Jensen flatware set. I'm sorry to say, they did not buy the set, however when they left Cameron asked me if I knew who they were, I told him I had no idea.
He said it was Tom Ford and his friend.
I said, “Oh Ford from the car family.”
“No, no....” Cameron said, “Tom Ford is the designer for Gucci!”
I am most thankful to Cameron for everything he did. It was a lot of fun and gave me good memories.
Here is a link to cameron’s store if you would like to visit.
