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From the age of 16 Armand SERRA has been a professional guitar player, playing dance halls at weekends or Hard Rock with his first band “Mad Brain.” The rest of the week found him at the Lycée Jean Jaures in the town of Castres, France. Armand spent a lot of time drawing in comic-book style both at home and during school hours. However, enticed by “guitarist wanted” adverts in the Melody Maker, Armand then decided to move to London. In 1982 he took a part time job in London’s Carnaby Street. Despite having no formal jewellery training at all Armand saw the potential of combining his drawing skills with his musical influences to develop what was soon to become “Classic Rock & Roll Jewellery”.
By 1986 Armand’s jewellery creations started to generate press coverage. After “Sounds” music magazine wrote an article titled “Armand the Frog,” followed in 1989 by “Kerrang,” and, in 1991, MTV’s Headbangers Ball, Armand was introduced to the rock world as the “Jewellery designer” par excellence, by then having created over 100 classic pieces. Armand also played guitar meanwhile for PANAMA, a rock group in the Van Halen vein, and he was endorsed by Jackson Guitars, demo-ing their guitars at trade shows.
But the wind of change was blowing. It was time to turn the page. In March 1992 Armand with his girlfriend Jeannette Austin opened CRAZY PIG DESIGNS, right in the heart of London’s Covent Garden. With this newfound freedom, creativity and new ideas came flooding in nonstop.
To date CRAZY PIG DESIGNS have showcased over 1200 unique and original designs.
Since 2001 Jeannette Austin – now Jeannette Serra – has brought in inspiring new ideas and designs, creating a softer, feminine component in our portfolio. Absolutely every single piece is hand made on the premises. We control every step of manufacture, from designing, carving, casting in silver, gold or platinum, to stone setting and polishing every single item. We never use computer programs or 3D printers.
You will invariably have spotted our jewellery worn by A-list celebrities in movies, videos, concerts on stage and magazines.
Armand has also released two solo CDs and, in 2017, published a super, deluxe-quality book titled GUITAR EXP “The Ultimate Collection,” showcasing one of the greatest rare guitar collections in the world. Forewords were Kindly written by Billy Gibbons and Rick Nielsen. Expect a new double MUDHOG album coming out soon with celebrity guests.
In 2017 CRAZY PIG DESIGNS opened a new flagship store in Tokyo. This was to cater for our huge fan base in Japan that has been growing since 1992..
