Linking up

Sometimes, a spur-of-the-moment idea can end up becoming a major success story. Links London is one such. Its creators, the husband and wife team of Anoushka Ducas and John Ayton, tell Geeta Somkumar how a pair of cufflinks launched a fashion legend

If you were to look at the range of jewellery and gift articles which now adorn racks at a Links London store, you would never guess that it all started from a humble pair of fish cufflinks.s

"Yes, our beginnings were truly humble," admit Anoushka Ducas, creative director, and John Ayton, chairman, the husband and wife team behind the success of Links London.

"Originally, we started with men's cufflinks. The first set that Anoushka designed was a pair of fish cufflinks, born out of the fact that her mother ran a fish business in London," reveals John.

Explains Anoushka: "My mother's business supplied to all the best restaurants. One day she asked me to suggest a gift for a chef." Anoushka suggested a pair of cufflinks shaped like fish. "Which is exactly what I did!"

Anoushka had several pieces made of the design, sold 60 pairs to her mother, and approached Harvey Nichols, the exclusive London fashion store, who loved the design, and asked her to design a whole collection.

They realised very quickly that "there was opportunity", says John. "Anoushka, in designing these novelty cufflinks, hit a fashion note. Cufflinks in the early '90s were very popular in that 'financial, big, wear-it-on-your-sleeve' culture of that time.

"We clocked into that very quickly, realising that no one was doing jewellery and gifts with a twist of humour attached to it. Today, 14 years later, we have a distinct view of the world, with no one else sharing our particular territory. Anoushka was very clever to visualise what our designs should look like!"

The first link
"We started the business as a men's cufflinks line in 1990. Our first store opened in London in 1992, and today we have grown with 40 outlets scattered all over the world," say the creators of Links.

It was only after the opening of their first store that Links began to branch out beyond a men's collection. Realising that there 'were a whole lot of girls out there who were on the lookout for interesting pieces of jewellery and gifts', Anoushka began a collection for them.

"Now, 60 per cent of the collection is women's jewellery, geared to women buying themselves a gift - a new phenomenon where women don't wait for the man to buy them jewellery. We are focused on the modern woman who knows what she wants, and goes out and gets it. The first year saw a turnover of $100,000. This year, we'll do $50million."

"We started it as a lark," recalls Anoushka. "There was no tension, and every week was better than the week before. We were very lucky, actually, and we took it step by step. It's been a lot of fun. When what you do is fun, you look forward to going to work, and it's been a pleasure drive all through!"

Ideas lurk everywhere
Inspiration could come from everywhere, says Anoushka. "Anywhere, everywhere, anytime of the day or night." Living in the country, a whole lot of ideas come from Nature.

"My designs are contemporary, timeless. Our four children aged 11, 9, 6 and 3, are a constant reservoir of ideas, with their inputs translated to life in our charms collection and much more. Our Sweetie Collection of charms and bracelets are based on that elastic necklace with sweets strung on, that children love. Often, very commonplace things make for the
best ideas.

"We like to design things that make you smile. All the animals in our collection are born out of names by the children on our long drives in the country when it was a family game to name the animals they saw along the way. There were a lot of animals, and it kept the children occupied for many hours, and is the inspiration behind the collection."

The travel game collection sprung from the fact that the family travelled a lot together. Fun games like Gatecrashers and Nodding Dog are absolutely credited to the children, says Anoushka.

Corporate gifts and accessories are another line that Links specialises in, she adds, with a lot of companies choosing to get their gifts from Links because they are different.

Dubai: a strong market
With John's strategy to make a presence and establish them in the key markets of the world, Links opened its stores in Hong Kong and New York, after London. "Dubai is an exciting market, becoming more and more sophisticated and important globally. It is the home to Links in the Middle East, through our association with the Rivoli Group. We have also opened stores in Beirut and Qatar."

Although they opened cautiously in this region, they are on a "bit of a roll, now", admits John. There's been an upsurge of sales in the watches and jewellery range.

"Dubai is a very strong market for women's jewellery, and we offer a very distinct viewpoint of Western and European designs, compared to what is available locally. Our diamond Coquette Collection is a good example of a contemporary feel, and not an in-today, out-tomorrow style."

Slowly creeping into the original silver designs are pieces in gold. "Gold has greater warmth and suits certain complexions. Our new Autumn-Winter Collection will see a lot of gold designs , as well." But silver will always remain a favourite, adds Anoushka.

The partnership has been an enjoyable one, they say. John, who has a background in law, took care of the marketing. Anoushka, with her creativity, complemented the link by looking after the creative side in designing the collection and some store interiors.

"It is an absolute dimension, that gives us something to talk about, a mutual interest, but, obviously, we don't talk about the business all the time. We have a large family, and various interests outside of the business," comments John.

The biggest challenge in any husband and wife team is to strike the right balance, and Anoushka says they have achieved it very well. "Work and home has been well prioritised; neither suffers, and that is because of our teamwork."

It's rare that the pair travel together on business, though. While John takes care of most of the travel to overseas stores and business, Anoushka is 'more of a home bird', choosing to stay with their young children at home.

"It's been a lot of fun, and we have learnt a lot along the way. I am not sure that we'd do it any differently were we to do it again," says Anoushka. "This teamwork allows for a tremendous amount of flexibility, that would have been impossible any other way."

Being a husband-wife team has been a huge advantage, comments John. "Anoushka is much more intuitive and impulsive in terms of understanding. I am much more commercial and logical," and the combination has proved perfect for their business, they admit.

Talking out every idea, 'we simply drop it if we disagree on some issue', they reveal. Today, a triumvirate runs Links.

"We have a managing director, who runs the business, taking care of today; I take care of the tomorrows and the entrepreneurial side, and Anoushka, with her creativity, completes the triangle. It has turned out to be a good thing. We feel the business has gone ahead well with this balance.

And as the success saga continues, Anoushka and John continue to 'have fun