In his desire to produce silverware of lasting distinction and functionality, Walter Storr relies on the inspirations of the material itself to elevate his concepts to a level beyond pure craftsmanship.

Traditionally lauded as the material from which skilled hands would fashion items of unrivalled beauty and elegance which would be passed down through many a generation, silver has always excited the imagination of artists and craftsmen alike. Countless are the families in which some treasured piece of silver has come to define, in its own unique way, the very heritage from which the generations have sprung. Great great grandmother's sterling-silver tea set lovingly preserved since her wedding day late last century, or that silver table setting brought out and polished only on the most auspicious occasions. Precious links with the past; such items are revered and admired both for what they represent as much for their own sakes. "Only a well-laid table the shape of a coffee and tea pot always creates the atmosphere - the ambience," explains Walter Storr, designer with renowned German Silversmiths, Wilkens. "Even though the other items are of considerable importance the coffee and tea set are the absolute centre. This could be considered the reason why I enjoy creating coffee and tea pots so much.

Since 1810 the name Wilkens has come to represent some of the finest examples of the silversmiths art, an art exemplified by a tradition founded on the extraordinary vision of one man; Martin Heinrich Wilkens. Born in 1782, Wilkens was thirty-two before he realised his ambition to establish a silversmith tradition in West Germany to rival the best in the world. Infatuated by the very nature of the metal; soft, malleable, and infinitely adaptable to the artist's conceptualisation's,. Wilkens found in silver a ready release for his prolific creativity.