Conservation through Creativity

Patrick carved a pair of rose earrings for Catja, his soon-to-be wife. She wore them to her hair salon, where the hairdresser admired them and asked for a pair of her own. Soon, other ladies followed. A tender gesture of love marked the beginning of the Mavros story.

Patrick’s first silver elephant marked the beginning of an enduring fascination with these extraordinary creatures. Shaped by hand in wax before being cast in silver, the sculpture explored the elephant’s distinctive form, character and quiet presence - the first in what would become a growing herd within the Mavros collection. 

The first Mavros studio emerged in the garden on the edge of the Umwimsi Valley. For Alexander and Forbes, it was the most extraordinary treehouse imaginable. Here, their father’s creative world and their childhood merged - a fusion of family, imagination and craftsmanship that would endure for decades.

Hartley, a charismatic African Grey parrot, arrived at Mpata Farm and quickly found a place within the family. His vocabulary expanded at an astonishing pace, despite everyone’s insistence that they had taught him nothing improper. Soon, his colourful personality made him a cherished presence in Mavros law.

A small, orphaned elephant, named Boy, was found in Gonarezhou, “The Place of the Elephants”, and came to live on the Mavros property. Several years later, Boy joined a larger family of orphaned elephants, finding companionship and a new sense of belonging. 

Alexander, Forbes and Patrick Jnr participated in the capture and relocation of a python, beginning a lifelong fascination with snakes for Patrick Jnr. With abundant water and prey, the property provided a natural haven for large snakes, and the children grew up in close company with wildlife.

When a little elephant became trapped in the mud at a drinking pan, Patrick came to his rescue. The orphaned baby elephant named ZoZo came to live with the Mavros family. ZoZo’s courage and resilience left a lasting impression, sparking a tale that would remain close to Patrick’s heart.

Patrick Jnr’s Dachshund, Ant, became the unwitting star of a bushveld engineering experiment. Concerned for his beloved dog’s safety around the local pythons, Patrick Snr fashioned an anti-python helmet from an upturned soup ladle, six-inch nails and an elastic chin strap. The family was never short on imagination!

At Falcon College, Alexander learned calligraphy from Art Master, Alan Taylor, who had taught his father Patrick Snr many years before. A quiet tradition passed from one generation to the next, as Alexander learned the discipline, precision and elegance of the written word - an idiosyncrasy that would quietly find its way into the Mavros story. 

The new studio in Zimbabwe marked a new chapter for the Mavros family and an evolving world of creations. Here, silver and gold continued to take shape as reflections of Africa, guided by Patrick’s imagination, family heritage and generations of craftsmanship. A place where tradition and invention could meet, and exciting new possibilities began to emerge. 

After surviving a goshawk attack, Hartley the parrot was lovingly nursed back to health by Catja. In recognition of his remarkable recovery, Patrick Snr made him a small silver medal - a tender gesture that became part of the Mavros family story, and of the extraordinary creatures that shared their lives. 

The London Flagship Store brought the beauty and grandeur of Zimbabwe to Fulham Road, creating a destination unlike any other. Behind its doors, exceptional jewellery and objets d’art found an extraordinary setting - intimate as a family home, yet elevated with the elegance and distinction of a private gallery. 

Forbes took the Mavros story to Mauritius, opening the family’s first jewellery studio on the island. Drawn to its lagoons, coastlines and mesmerising marine life, a new creative language began to take shape - where the forms, textures and curiosities of the Indian Ocean found their way into silver and gold.

The family journeyed into the Zambezi Valley, a place they had long regarded as their spiritual home. Its great river, untamed wilderness and beautiful views became deeply woven into the family’s imagination - informing the distinctive visual language that would become such an important part of the family’s legacy.

On Boxing Day, a zebra from the wild followed the donkeys into the stable block - and promptly made himself at home. Named Boxer, he developed a taste for the finer comforts of domestic life: a stable, horse food and attentive grooming. The family, naturally, rather admired his style!

With fond memories of travels through Kenya, the family opened a boutique in Nairobi. Steeped in the energy of East Africa, the space brought together stories of the landscape, a spirit of discovery and the unmistakable world of Mavros - creating a new chapter in the family’s journey. 

In Matabeleland, Benji discovered an abandoned baby zebra and gave her a home. Named Abby, she was welcomed as the latest extraordinary arrival in the Mavros family menagerie, another unforgettable presence in the family’s remarkable history.

Forbes and his wife Kate unveiled the Mavros Atelier at Beau Plan, giving a historic former foundry new life as a living expression of imagination, beauty and craft. Here, shells and marine creatures guided sculptural forms in silver and gold, finished with lustrous pearls and precious gemstones.

Alexander’s son Maximos joined his uncle, Patrick Jnr, on his first python capture and relocation experience. The moment marked a quiet passing of the torch: the same untamed landscape that had made such an impression on Alexander and his brothers was now being discovered, with equal wonder and curiosity, by a new generation of the Mavros family.

During Patrick’s 2020 Lockdown Storytime series, he recalled how the Mavros family rescued twin pookies, the Zimbabwean name for lesser bush babies, after a spotted eagle owl attacked their thatched nest. The tiny survivors were precious family members for the next 17 years, living alongside them at Mpata Farm.

At the invitation of his Royal Patron, Prince William, Patrick Mavros Jnr began creating the trophies for the Tusk Awards. Sculpted in silver, each trophy honours a singular story of dedication to Africa’s conservation, bringing together artistry, purpose and legacy. Each year, the Mavros family joins Tusk and Prince William to celebrate those whose work is helping protect Africa’s extraordinary natural heritage. 

The Windhoek boutique brought the Mavros world to Namibia, a country long woven into the family’s imagination. Framed by vast desert horizons and Namibia’s remarkable fauna, the space offers an exceptional expression of the family's creativity - where African luxury silver and the traditions of the family come together with effortless elegance. 

The Victoria Falls Boutique opened in the presence of Mosi-oa-Tunya - the “Smoke That Thunders” - one of the world’s great natural wonders. Livingstone wondered whether angels had gazed upon such a sight. Beneath the mist and thunder, the Mavros boutique found its own cast of characters, from curious warthogs wandering nearby to mischievous baboons making their presence known.

Walter the warthog joined the Mavros family, bringing his own brand of bushveld mischief. Before long, he was racing through the ducks, interrupting morning coffee and wandering into the studio as though he had always belonged there. Another bushveld personality settled naturally into daily life and the broader family of animals inhabiting the Mavros home.

The Mavros family opened its Cape Town boutique at the V&A Waterfront, where Table Mountain rises above the harbour and the Atlantic meets the horizon. Hard to imagine a more extraordinary setting anywhere in the world, it is a place where the grandeur of Cape Town and the quiet allure of African luxury meet. 

The Mavros family found a second home in Victoria Falls, within the renowned Victoria Falls Hotel. Steeped in more than a century of Mavros family history, it is a wonderfully serendipitous setting - where grand gardens, heritage and African luxury meet, with the mist of the magnificent Falls drifting beyond.