Astri Holthe was the daughter of the goldsmith Emil Ager-Wick and she followed in his footsteps and became a goldsmith. She started out small with jewellery after her own design. She registered the company in 1943. At the time it was difficult for the women to get jewellery.
Just after the war there was great shortage of materials, but Astri Holthe used the time to travel out in search of inspiration for new methods and materials. She brought the ideas and contacts home with her, where she expanded the production rapidly.
The first building in the Barbu valley was ready in 1949. The factory was enlarged in 1954, 1967 and 1973. In 1969 the factory had 90-100 employees.
Astri was the designer, while Gerhard was the technical and business leader.
She was very inspired by traditional Norwegian jewellery design and let it shine through in many of her collections.
She designed and produced pewter Christmas plates, too.