People are born with an instinctive desire to design and create things, not only for practical purposes, but for aesthetic value as well. Art exists and has existed in every known human culture, and consists of objects, performances and experiences that are intentionally endowed with a high degree of aesthetic interest. I invite you to a sensory immersion in art, history and romance to learn from an exceptional woman who transformed a small business in splendid pieces of sculpture that enhance every spot you place them. As a graphic artist raised in an artisan family, I have always been curious about the many artists and artistic styles out there. In March, my boyfriend, Simon, and I visited his family in Mexico. Since this coincided with the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak across the world, we have had to remain in this beautiful country until the skies reopen for travel. During the last few months, I have had the opportunity to get to know my boyfriend's family, and aside from developing a close bond with them, I learned a great deal about the family business. I was amazed to learn the history of the business, designing and creating exceptional sculptures made of gold, silver and copper. I am inspired to introduce you to this wonderful company called D'Argenta, founded by Ernesto and Sima Abraham, Simon's grandparents. Sima and Ernesto Abraham having dinner at a wedding, in 1980. (Courtesy of D'Argenta) About Sima Simona (Sima) Mendelejis was born in January 1942 in Mexico City. Her grandparents and mother moved from Poland to Leipzig, Germany, and they lived there until three months before the outbreak of World War II, when they were able to escape to Mexico. Her father was born in Uman, Ukraine, where he and his father took part in the Russian Revolution until the Bolsheviks kicked them out of their house – forcing a move to Mexico in 1928. Her parents met in Mexico, where Sima was born, as were her two siblings. In 1960, Sima married Ernesto Abraham, a chemical engineer, and they had four children – Eduardo, Jorge, Lotti and Janet. Despite her great affinity for the arts, Sima's education was not in this field. She got into the art world following D'Argenta's foundation. Nevertheless, art was part of her family, which included a cousin by the name of Leonardo Nierman, a Mexican artist known for his beautiful paintings and sculptures. As D'Argenta's founder and a role model for women artistic entrepreneurs, Sima has always made sure to work closely with the artists in every detail of their creations carrying the D'Argenta brand name, applying her personalized quality control every step of the process. When I asked about her Judaism, she said, “I was raised in a traditional Jewish family. I feel Jewish even though I'm not religious. I'm proud of being Jewish. I think Israel is the best place in the world and I would love to live there some day! “I'm grateful to Mexico as a country that welcomed my family and gave us a place to live well. I like the Mexican culture, artistry and culinary arts. I'm proud of this country as well.” D'Argenta: The early days D'Argenta (Latin for “of silver”) was established in Mexico City in 1976, a realization of Ernesto and Sima Abraham's dream. Their vision was to share with the world the hidden secrets behind the beauty and dexterity of Mexican sculpture and art. It all started a year before they got married. Ernesto Abraham began working with his brother-in-law, an engineer named Alfred Wolmuth, at a factory under the franchise of Camin Laboratories, which belonged to Samuel Fialkoff, a friend of theirs. They manufactured metal molds for plastics, based on electroformed metal with a chrome-plated finish. Electroforming is a process of electro-deposition of thick metals that reproduces perfect shapes and textures impossible to obtain via other methods. Wolmuth didn't want to keep working with the franchise, so he offered it along with the business to Ernesto, who agreed – unaware that there was a very large debt attached. In the beginning, the business was very successful, and Ernesto took out loans to buy machinery and pay off the debt. Everything was going well until the workers went on strike and Ernesto was obliged to close the factory, leaving behind everything, selling his house, the car and anything he could to pay his debts. He was cleaned out, left without a peso in the bank. A friend, Julio Garcia, tried to help Ernesto, and gave him a room on his premises where Ernesto was able to get his business restarted by providing chrome thread guides and molds. The business continued to grow for many years thereafter. For two years, Ernesto and Sima lived like gypsies until her father sold his house and divided his money among his children. With that money, Sima and Ernesto were able to build a house and a chrome factory, which they named Cromadora Nicromex. It required a lot of effort and being available 24/7, meaning that Ernesto, and his growing family, had to make sacrifices to successfully build the business. (From left) Alan, Jorge, Eduardo and Simon Abraham at the entrance to D'Argenta's office (credit: Simon Abraham) Soon after, around 1972, as the children were growing up, Sima began working at the company with her husband to help him where needed. One day in 1976, Sima told her husband that the work finishing the chrome pieces they were producing was really nice but it was unpleasant having to deal with clients all day. She came up with the idea of doing something that would have a more decorative artistic feel to it that would enable them to expand the company and become involved in the artistic sculpting scene. She gave Ernesto an ancient Mayan head artifact to use as a prototype for a new design concept. About six months later, one day when Sima was sick in bed with a very high fever, Ernesto came back home with a Mayan head made of nickel in his hands. His wife was astonished and impressed with what she saw. Ernesto had understood her and transformed her vision into a work of art! Her idea hadn't been bad at all; on the contrary, the sculpture looked beautiful. When they got an invitation to visit Chicago, Ernesto thought it would be a good idea to take the Mayan head to the Chicago Trade Fair. They had just the one Mayan piece with them and they were competing with glasswork and porcelain. It wasn't as successful as they had hoped. Ernesto was disappointed and ready to give up but Sima motivated him and gave him the strength to carry on. After a few days, they traveled to New York to meet his former business colleague and friend, Samuel Fialkoff, and show him the Mayan piece. As soon as they got out of the car, a group of passersby gathered around in awe of their stunning piece, wanting to buy it. They had already promised it as a gift to Samuel but the reaction was all that Ernesto needed to believe in the future potential of the business. They returned to Mexico and began producing sculptures. In the beginning they kept the name of Nicromex Chomer, but in 1980 they separated this part of the company from Chromer and named the sculpture department D'Argenta International. Sima Abraham frequented the National Mexican Museum of Anthropology to get permission and borrow their original pieces of art to reproduce them in the same way they did with their first Mayan head. This would enable the Abrahams to have a greater variety of sculptural pieces and enable them to sell their new work to collectors worldwide. Next, they contacted the National Institute of Foreign Commerce which loved their sculptures and and invited them to display their work at an international fair called “Mexico Comes to Rotterdam” in the Netherlands in 1976. Amazingly, within 10 minutes of the doors opening, their products had sold out and they had received countless orders. Thanks to these events – and to Sima's love and inspiration – Ernesto felt proud and was eager to keep working on this new business. The legacy expands In the late 1980s, Ernesto's now very close friend, Fialkoff, was interested in retiring. He presented Ernesto to his main client, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA. Samuel felt that Ernesto's group would be the best candidate to continue his work. Specialized components were required for their rockets to work, mainly dealing with the cooling mechanism interaction with the hot exhaust gases of the combustion chamber. A copper core was produced with channels that allowed liquid oxygen to flow through them and be used as a coolant before entering the combustion chamber as the oxidizer. These parts were used for NASA's legendary rocket engines. Ernesto – with his two sons, Eduardo and Jorge – spent a whole year learning the process and techniques required to work for the space administration. After two years of successful work, NASA asked them to open a factory in the US in order to keep the project secure in the country. But after careful consideration, the family concluded that the it entailed some major risks and no assurance that NASA would keep buying from them and so they decided to discontinue the project. In the late 1980s and early '90s, it became cheaper to produce industrial chrome pieces in the US rather than in Mexico, and their chrome business began to slow down. However, the family kept both factories working simultaneously and while D'Argenta was growing, the chrome factory showed a steady decrease in sales. By 1991, they decided to close down the chrome factory and began focusing solely on D'Argenta International. Over the years, they exhibited their products in different trade fairs like the biannual one in Frankfurt, Germany – where they participated for three decades. Other fairs where they had a presence included Tokyo – which they attended for eight years – and Atlanta. Eventually the family decided to prioritize activities and focus on production. Nonetheless, to this day, they maintain a presence at a local art fair called Zona Maco, which takes place twice a year in Mexico City. Ernesto Abraham always believed that there were more people interested in buying expensive and luxury objects than cheaper or disposable ones. That's why he concentrated on creating exclusive, large sculptures for connoisseurs. Ernesto Abraham passed away in September 1999. Three days later, his family received a fax from the Frankfurt Art Fair granting them a permanent stand to exhibit their products alongside well-known brands such as Lalique, Lladrף, Baccarat, Christofle, Mikasa and Waterford. Today, D'Argenta and Ernesto Abraham's legacy are stronger than ever. D'Argenta is still in the hands of Sima Abraham whose two sons and two grandsons work with her – three generations united in keeping the world captivated through art, innovation and design. She says her legacy is the company, her ideas, designs and collections. Sima hopes her sons and grandsons will continue her work when she is no longer able to do it. D'Argenta today After D'Argenta's early years, Ernesto and Sima moved away from working on most of the archeological reproductions and started working with renowned national artists, creating new works and collections. The created sculptures mainly made of gold, silver and copper, sometimes using gemstones as well. There's an art collection called D'Argenta Elite, that consists of a selection of renowned artists' iconic works including such names as Frida Khalo, the Mexican painter, and Ramirez Vazquez, the Mexican architect, designer and crystal sculptor, who personally asked D'Argenta to reproduce his work. D'Argenta also received authorization from Gala – the Salvador Dali Foundation of Spain – to use the work of the Spanish surrealist painter. Sima says, “Everything that has life is a masterpiece of beauty.” She has learned to love nature and is inspired by it; that's why she has dedicated her life to trying to replicate it with her sculptures. She has a fascination for nature and animals, which is why you can see many floral and animal designs among cultural, religious and home decor sculptures. They have gained an international reputation through their products because in their own words, “The uniqueness of D'Argenta's design is that every sculpture is specially handcrafted, focusing on every detail until it's perfectly done.” Abi Sima, as her family calls her, tells me that in her view, this is “the most challenging time” that D'Argenta and the world have experienced. But her secret in having the legacy of a family business like this for so many years is the importance of having your family close, working hard, being sensitive and focused, keeping yourself and the company updated with the latest trends and technology, and being stubborn enough when necessary to do what it takes to get things done. Her advice for new entrepreneurs and designers is that “they must love what they do. If they don't, it is better to look for something else to do.” What makes Sima Abraham proud today is recognizing everything she has now, including her beautiful family, and admiring how they are working together to keep improving every day and to better serve their clients. Sima says that even though in her 78 years she has never seen a situation like this before, she remains positive that the world will be better soon and she will be able to go back to the factory and keep working with the artists and designing new collections. D'Argenta sells through retail stores, jewelry stores, hotels, and nowadays – in keeping with the times – it has refreshed its website to make it more user friendly. When you purchase something at a store, there is an emotional aspect to it, but the world has changed and probably will keep changing. Because of this, customer service plays a key role at D'Argenta. They have customized their service to create a pleasant experience and help people find that memorable gift – with a special gifts concierge and an exclusive D'argenta Collectors Membership that offers privileges for sculpture lovers. They make luxury corporate and business gifts as well. Companies like Coca Cola, M&M'S, Tequila Patron, and others have ordered their employees' awards at D'Argenta. In my opinion, these unique sculptures and pieces of art complement every decor and add that extra little bit of personality to your home. They can act as a means for you to break up a room and fill bare surface space, or they can contribute a certain style and charm, and become a conversation piece. For me, no home is complete without the presence of art. We no longer live in times where sculptures could only be admired in museums or in the home of an art collector. Nowadays, the line between a beautiful object in the home and a functional sculpture is blurring; many contemporary artists have mastered the art of creating functional objects for the home that look as marvelous as sculptures. D'Argenta is not about formality, status symbols or showing off, it's about expressing yourself and this is what at the end of the day customers, especially modern customers, are all about. Your home is that special place where dreams are made, where moments are shared with your loved ones. And, to make it more special, and add your own identity, you need some creativity and to choose items that are decorative as well as functional. D'Argenta clearly believes that it is time to make room for some beautiful pieces inside our own homes and they have many exclusive sculptures that will enhance the decor and add that special ambiance. n You can get to know D'Argenta and check their sculptures at their website www.dargenta.com. As a special gift for 'The Jerusalem Report' subscribers, enter the code JERUSALEMREPORT at the checkout to receive a 25% discount (available until August 20). The writer is the art director and graphic designer of 'The Jerusalem Report,' who has been working from abroad since the outbreak of the coronavirus. She can be contacted at www.danielagleiser.com
