Arden Siarot

“True art is a mastery of the combination of creativity and technique,” says ARDEN SIAROT, the artist behind Arden’s menagerie of stunning decorative art pieces.

The son of sculptor Agustin Siarot, the artist grew up amid the quiet labor of his father in his workshop as the sought-after craftsman created oversized stone dragons for Chinese temples, and religious statuary and decor for different Catholic churches. His incessant desire to learn motivated Siarot to study and take up a vocational course in Don Bosco, where he also worked to raise his tuition fee for college. For seven years after he graduated, he learned to fabricate industrial machinery for a variety of purposes.

Siarot’s passion for quality attracted an Italian firm that specialized in the production of jewelry. Little did he know that this entirely new discipline would prepare him to discover his extraordinary talent that remained dormant until it was awakened and inspired to flourish.

Armed with experience and knowledge, he, along with his wife Jen Elizabeth, established Arden Classic in 1993 and started the production of miniature furniture. Eventually, Arden Classic became the foremost subcontractor in wrought iron furniture. For nine years, Siarot sharpened his skill in metal work as he created the most intricate designs for demanding foreign principals and clients. By 2000, having gained a mastery of metal, Siarot gave in to the intense creative forces raging from within: he started creating metal art in combination with seashells – a line of art décor called simply ARDEN.

Siarot’s expressions of beauty have found audience here and abroad. His works have been carried by some of the world's most prestigious art and decor houses, and select international outlets. For his pioneering spirit and creativity, Siarot has received numerous accolades and awards.

In 2002, he received the President Ramon Magsaysay Award for Outstanding Filipino Worker in the Self-Employed Category. In the same year, the Department of Trade and Industry bestowed on him the Golden Shell Award for Manufacturing Excellence. In the following year, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce named Arden as Entrepreneur of the Year. Five years later, in 2008, he was chosen as one of the 50 Men and Women of Science by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

But above possessing a keen business savvy and a foresight for future trends, Siarot believes that it is his passion for art that has propelled him and his company forward. “To create a thing of beauty that gives joy to every beholder is my foremost and God-given responsibility. True art, after all, should resonate with the harmony and joy that come from Nature’s beauty,” he says.