Lladró kickstarts in Sri Lanka after a break of 15 years

By Melissa Perera

The world’s foremost creator of handcrafted porcelain sculptures Lladró, unveiled their flagship store in Crescat Boulevard recently. Director of Exclusive Lines Hiru Surtani expressed his excitement on the collaboration with the legendary Spanish brand Lladró .

“We are very excited to introduce this great form of art to connoisseurs in Colombo and believe will be greatly appreciated in the market.”

“Even though Lladró didn’t make it 15 years ago, I have a positive feeling about it this time. That together with Pee Bee Group and Exclusive Lines, Lladró will be able to stand firm in Sri Lanka. I believe that there will be a secure place in the local market for Lladró because Sri Lanka is a far more developed country now. Due to the vast development of economy in the country, the art of living and living standards are high. Therefore, we thought that this is the perfect time to bring Lladró back.” Surtani explained.

Lladró General Manager Helen Kang stated, “I am honoured to bring back Lladró to Sri Lanka after 15 years. The reason why we chose Sri Lanka is because many of our customers around the world are Asians of whom more over are Sri Lankans, therefore, Lladró  thought of re launching in Sri Lanka because we saw the desire for art and cultural values which is rooted in the veins of Sri Lankans.”  She also stated that Lladró has its products in 4,000 shops in 120 countries around the world. “We are proud to be the first international handmade art business in Sri Lanka,” she added.  A connoisseur in the field, Francisca Sanjuan Molla demonstrated live as she sculptured her piece. The opportunity was given to the spectators to try out and sculpt a simple flower with her. Sanjuan Molla started her career with Lladró at the tender age of 14 after taking Lladró’s exams, and saw her artisan skills blossom at the flower department. She has spent nearly 40 years making flowers and over 30 years as an instructor, showing her colleagues how to make each new model.

Lladró sculpts their products to express one’s day-to-day life and every piece is characterised by excellence. “Each different porcelain has its unique colour, therefore we never add artificial products to bring out the colour of a sculpture. The packaging is 99% totally secured so that you wouldn’t damage the sculpture,” Molla said.

Upul Abayasekara