If I could assign fashion a “$64,000 question”, it would probably revolve around the age-old debate of whether to share the excitement of a new discovery with everyone in your contacts list–or keep it safely tucked under your hat for as long as humanly possible. In no area does this temptation to “plead the Fifth” seem greater than accessories– where the quest to find a statement-making bag that will keep its cool long after the latest “it” bag has said its goodbyes is still considered a challenge.

Lucky for us, Ria and Yiouri Augousti, the husband-and-wife team better known as R&Y Augousti, are up for the task. If the label doesn’t ring a fashion bell, that’s because the line’s focus has been rooted in small furniture and home accessories design since launching in Paris in 1990. Influenced heavily by their love of the Art Deco era–a period known for taking creative carte blanche in using rare and extravagant materials–the couple adopted a similar sensibility, using exotic skins and shells to create striking pieces with a distinctly “modern vintage” flavor, as they call it.