When Harriet Vine and Rosie Wolfenden finished art school little did they know that within fifteen years their jewellery range, originally sold on a market stall, would be one of the biggest names in accessories. To celebrate this feat, Tatty Devine have set up a pop up shop in Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Shop which will showcase both the Classic and Seasonal ranges. Each week the space will also host a drop-in jewellery making workshop where customers can embellish their own piece of Tatty Devine history.
We catch up with Harriet and Rosie to talk Tatty Devine from the beginning.
Tell us a bit about how you both met and Tatty Devine was born?
Harriet: Rosie and I met when we were studying Fine Art at Chelsea School of Art. When we graduated, we didn’t want to get ‘proper’ jobs so decided to make things to sell on a market stall.
Rosie: We both had part time jobs to pay the rent, I worked in a vintage shop and Harriet worked in the Camden Arts Centre. It went incredibly well and before Christmas in 1999 we were selling to Harvey Nichols, Whistles and Urban Outfitters. We were also featured in Vogue, the Telegraph and Evening Standard. We opened our Brick Lane shop in January 2000 as after working from our bedrooms we could see that we needed a studio space to grow from.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your collections? How have your inspirations changed from 1999 to today?
Harriet: Each collection starts as a series of conversations. In the lead up to this we both keep sketch books, diaries, notes, cuttings from newspapers, programmes from music gigs, theatre, art galleries and just a general feel for what is new and interesting. Music has been and always will be a key inspiration for us. We are perpetually inspired by everything around us without even realising it.
How does a piece of jewellery come into existence? What’s the journey like from idea to fully formed product?
Rosie: Harriet and I start the design process through conversation. We each share experiences, ideas and current obsessions and start brainstorming jewellery ideas. Harriet makes lots of drawings to illustrate our thoughts and ideas and then the sampling process begins in our London studio. Quite often the jewellery is informed by the new materials we have found, and other times we have to source specific materials to be able to make our designs. Over the last 15 years, we have created a language, which is helpful when designing as it gives us parameters and guidelines. When we’re happy that the design is perfect, it goes into production in our workshops where it is laser cut and made by hand by our skilled jewellery makers. There are many processes involved from peeling to polishing involving bending, embellishing, attaching jump rings and jewellery findings and finishing the piece off to the high standard we like our jewellery to have.
You’re most famous for your use of Perspex in your jewellery – what was it that initially drew you to use this material?
Rosie: We first discovered acrylic on a trip to New York in 2001 and instantly fell in love! So far we had just made jewellery out of found objects like tape measures, guitar pics and cake decorations. We were starting to sell more pieces than we could find components for so needed to find a way to manufacture the items. We were both drawn to the bright colours of Perspex, and also the fact that we could cut out any drawn shape in it. We couldn’t afford to get moulds made to manufacture at high volume, so the idea of laser cutting Perspex and being able to either make 1 or 100 of something was very appealing. The aesthetic has definitely been informed by the limitations of Perspex, and we constantly strive to do different things with it.
Everything is made in your studios – is this handmade quality a key feature of Tatty Devine for you? Why is this important to you both?
Rosie: We are proud to manufacture in our own studios because it gives us ultimate control and our turn around times can be very swift, which is not the case when manufacturing abroad. It is cost and time effective as we do not have to travel abroad to manage our manufacturing and it ensures the high quality that Tatty Devine has become known for.
Harriet: It also enables us to have a local work force that we can train which means we know exactly who is making the jewellery and how skilled they are. We don’t outsource abroad as one of our main values is manufacturing in Britain. We’re passionate about supporting the British economy and also representing good quality original design.
Every collections seems to go a step further in design, how do you keep pushing the company forwards? Do you two have a motto?
Harriet: Every season we try to invent and learn new and innovative ways of beading, threading, and manipulating the materials we use to bring originality and freshness into the way we work. We like to push the boundaries of laser cut Perspex and constantly explore new techniques and styles. It’s not exactly a motto but we always bare in mind “Original, Fun and Innovative” when we make anything new.
You’ve said that your jewellery is all about expressing yourself, which piece would you each pick which you feel is most expressive of who you are?
Harriet: For me, every new collection is about who I am right at that moment in time. Having faith in yourself and being true to your interests is an integral part of Tatty Devine. It’s hard for me to pick just one piece from the past fifteen years that perfectly expresses myself. I love how our jewellery lets you express yourself differently depending on how you feel. Some days I feel like the Fortune Teller Statement Necklace and other days I’m more like the Dog on Wheels Brooch.
You have done a lot of collaborations across art, fashion and music with everyone from Peter Jensen to Belle & Sebastian. What do you feel collaborating brings to the table? Who or what would be your dream collaboration?
Rosie: Collaborations are a really great opportunity to create something that you wouldn’t otherwise make, bringing two visual worlds together. I love the meeting of minds and creating something completely new. It’s amazing to get to work with our musical heroes like Belle and Sebastian, fashion designers like Ashish and Louise Gray and inspirational artists like Gilbert & George.
What are your most popular pieces? What does it take for a seasonal piece to make its way into the permanent collection?
Rosie: Our Name Necklaces are very popular where you can design and watch your necklace being made on the spot in our stores and concessions. It’s amazing to be able to show our customers how skilled the work is and how much love goes into every piece of jewellery. Other than that, our Dinosaur Necklace is a real classic and ends up on a lot of wish lists.
Harriet: Our seasonal collections are sometimes a bit off the wall in terms of subject matter. The jewellery taps into something magical that is so much a part of who we are. It just has a unique Tatty Devine-ness about it! When we first developed the Classic collection, we wanted to showcase certain pieces that exist outside of seasons. We’ve always seen our jewellery as something enduring as opposed to simply coming and going with fashion’s whims.
What’s next on the horizon for Tatty Devine?
Rosie: We’re always striving to make new and exciting work. We love new challenges and collaborations, whether they’re fashion designers, artists or musicians. I can’t wait to for our collaboration with Kit Neale to launch!
Harriet: I’m really looking forward to seeing Tatty Devine fans taking part in our jewellery workshops at Southbank Centre every weekend in September, too. Most of all, I’m always excited about the next piece of jewellery which is currently resting in my subconscious!
http://www.tattydevine.com/
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