Playfulness is a thread that weaves through Sheherazade Goldsmith’s world. From the Elizabeth Street store of her jewellery brand Loquet London – modelled on a Victorian sweet shop she visited near her grandmother’s house as a child – to the brand’s whimsical yet intricate charms – and her love of Miu Miu and Prada.
Her joyful narrative is also reflected in hints of contemporary interiors and a vast collection of modern art, including works by Tracey Emin, Charlie Mackesy, Lucian Freud and Grayson Perry hanging at Burford Priory - the Grade I-listed 17th-century property in the Cotswolds she shares with her partner, Matthew Freud, founder of Freud Communications.
Growing up in London in the Eighties, Sheherazade was deeply influenced by her uncle, an antiques dealer who first traded in Portobello before establishing himself at Grays Antique Market in Mayfair – then considered the pinnacle of the antiques sphere. "I spent much of my childhood going to his stand at the weekends, chatting to all his friends and playing with the antique jewellery," she tells HELLO! when we meet.
"There are a lot of objects that have been on a journey with me throughout my life"
She was particularly drawn to the detail of Victorian innovations: their charms, clever mechanisms and tiny details. "It had a sense of humour – and obviously lockets were huge in Victorian times and they were the most meaningful thing that you could gift at that time," she says.
Influenced by these early memories, Sheherazade launched Loquet London in 2012. The concept is simple: you start with a solid-gold frame designed to hold charms, which can be chosen individually and added to, to mark a memory – anything from an initial or name to a dog paw or an octopus.
"I'm not somebody that spends a lot of time putting myself together, I'm always in a hurry," she says. "The joy that I’m wearing a locket is really sentimental, because it’s full of things that make me feel very proud and just make me smile a lot."
Despite insisting that she spends little time on herself, she looks impeccably polished when we meet at her 11-bedroom country home, which sits within extensive grounds overlooking the River Windrush.
There is a south-facing garden, a walled vegetable patch – fitting, given that she trained in horticulture at the Chelsea Physic Garden – along with a swimming pool, croquet lawn and mature trees. It makes an idyllic playground for the couple who, between them, have eight children and two grandchildren, along with a whippet, a labrador and a flock of buff orpington hens.
Between Monday and Friday, she works from her office in Shoreditch. "I’d love to say I split my time half and half, but it’s only the weekends, sadly," she says.
Back in the Cotswolds, we photograph Sheharazarde in her study, which is as spacious as a medium-sized apartment, complete with its own kitchen. "It is my creative sanctuary. In the office day to day, I've got a lot of different questions going on at any one time, and so when I need a space to run away to, I might go back early Friday morning or late Thursday night and spend the day doing a creative piece.
© Kate Martin"You need to switch off your phone and find that moment to be able to get out of the business side and find the space where you're really in touch with the product – understanding the jewellery and finding the emotional connection with it."
The space is filled with sentimental treasures she has collected over the years, which, like her charms, carry personal significance. "There are a lot of objects that have been on a journey with me throughout my life, whether that's something my kids have made me or a photograph.
"It’s a bit like reading a book for the first time at 16, then again at 21, and again at 30. Different elements stand out each time, and the lessons you take from it change depending on where you are in life."
Growing up in Chelsea, Sheherazade wanted to become a journalist, "My childhood dream was to be this amazing writer," she says. She did a master’s degree in journalism at City University and went on to contribute for The Sunday Times and the Telegraph newspapers.
During her early career she also worked for the luxury fashion curator and retailer Club 21, which had the franchises for Prada and Armani, and at 22 she was a PA for the legendary Joan Burstein, who has owned and run the London boutique Browns since she founded it in 1970 with her husband, Sidney. "That was incredible, I was working in British fashion at an amazing time.
© Kate Martin
© Kate Martin"Mrs Burstein is such a legend. At the time, she was bringing in John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. She discovered all these designers – it was in that moment of… Britain couldn't be cooler, as far as the fashion movement was concerned."
Whilst working as a writer, she started developing Loquet almost by mistake. "I really just made it for myself and, thanks to the support that we had from journalists, it took off really, really quickly."
As she changes into a full Miu Miu look from her own wardrobe, she says: "I'm a big fan. It was such a revelation when Miuccia Prada gave permission to women to be successful and playful with their wardrobe at the same time, because that didn't exist before."
She tells us she has pieces of Prada in her wardrobe that she bought in 1998, and they are still contemporary today. "My kids now are like, 'Mum, that's so vintage', and I'm like, 'What?'"
The lesson she likes to pass on to her children is that less is more – a philosophy she feels they’re already embracing. "As far as an aesthetic is concerned, and actually just generally in life, to make sure that the things that they are doing are done with intention. And luckily for me, they are very much into vintage clothing, they do a lot of recycling and look for very special things."
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