Tatty Devine
Tatty Devine is a brand name for a jewellery company based in the East End of London. Tatty Devine is owned by Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine who started the company 1999. They have two shops in London's Brick Lane and Covent Garden. They make acrylic-based jewellery which is handmade in the UK. In 2013, Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine were awarded MBEs for Services to the Fashion Industry.[1]
History
Tatty Devine started out in London's Portobello and Spitalfields market selling leather cuffs. They then began to make their name from making jewellery from found objects like cake decorations and guitar plectrums. After featuring in Vogue magazine and showing their collections at London Fashion Week they opened a studio and shop space on London's Brick Lane, later followed by a shop in Brewer Street, Soho, which moved to Monmouth Street, Covent Garden in November 2009.
Collaborations
Tatty Devine have collaborated with musicians such as Berlin electro group Chicks on Speed and Peaches, and produced tour merchandise for them both. They have also worked with Robots in Disguise,for whom they produced a ring in the shape of a tear, a lipstick necklace, and the fan club robot necklace. Belgium-based band Cobra Killers and the indie bands Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura.
They have designed ranges for the Tate galleries across the UK, Victoria and Albert Museum, South Bank and the Baltic Gateshead where Tatty Devine created 'Angel of the North' jewellery for artist Anthony Gormley. Limited pieces have also been made for the artists Mark Pawson and Rob Ryan,[2] and Basso & Brooke,
Designers Peter Jensen, Ashish,[3] and Basso and Brooke have worked with Tatty Devine on their fashion collections.
The De Young Gallery in San Francisco commissioned Tatty Devine to design a collection of jewellery celebrating British Artists Gilbert & George to coincide with the Gilbert and George exhibition at the gallery. The pieces are based on well known Gilbert and George[4] art works and the collection includes Gin Cufflinks and Hope and Fear Brooches and Necklaces.
Tatty Devine also made London Department store Selfridges' 100th birthday cake which was cut by London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Collections
Tatty Devine produces two collections a year as well as a 'Best Of' collection, which features pieces from previous years. Their first collection was called Come Dancing which was a range of charm belts inspired by equestrian activities. The first major collection was called Wish You Were Here which was shown at London fashion week. It was inspired by the 1970s and pieces regionally around the UK, such as rubix cube,bracelets, and hair bands.
Welcome to Hotel Tatty in 2003 was Tatty Devine's first clothing range which featured their first collection of perspex jewellery. It also featured plectrum bracelets which they still sell today, as well as rosette brooches and tape measure belts. A second clothing range Unreal Life followed in the autumn-winter 2003. The collection was shown at Fashion East, an initiative set up Lulu Kennedy. Fashion East was set up in September 2000 as an off-schedule London Fashion Week event. It was set up to provide a springboard for three young designers each year.
In 2004 Tatty Devine created 'Join The Circus' which included pieces they still make today including the Horse and Carriage necklace, Trapeze Necklace, and their Dinosaur necklace. Their friend and artist Rob Ryan screen printed a small selection of clothing with Price Tickets printed on.
In 2005 Tatty Devine experimented with solid silver, enamel, and diamonds in the shapes of plectrums, swallows, and shoes. Nautical pieces featured in the 2006 spring-summer collection with themes of treasure, sea creatures, and compasses. The Intergalactic Hedgerows collection was inspired by outer space, and the great outdoors. Wooden animals, autumn leaves and berries, spacemen, and star constellations featured heavily in the range for autumn-winter 2006/2007.
Colour Me In for spring 2007, was a collection reminiscent of growing up with colour, games, rollercoasters, patchwork and kisses. Dark Stages came out for the autumn-winter of 2007. It featured again circus themes, with tigers and magic, as well as disco elements. Medieval inspiration also featured with Knights in Shining Armour Necklaces, feather tips, wooden arrows, and plumage.
Movie Mayhem followed Dark Stages with popcorn beads, lolita glasses, and 3D glasses that really work as well as being an accessories. The designers Harriet and Rosie were inspired by giant things which became the inspirations behind Autumns 2008 collection, Attack Of The 50 ft Jewellery. It featured giant zips, ink splats, and pencils.
In 2009 two collections were produced: Leisure Pursuits, which had plimsolls, ping pongs, and telephones all turned into jewellery; later on in the year, Button Up which was inspired by the Pearly Kings and Queens of East London, where Tatty Devine are based. They worked with the Pearlies and donated A Pound to the Pearlies for every pearly man brooch and necklace sold. Sundae Best is Tatty Devine's spring-summer 2010 collection, which features fans, doily hearts, cocktail umbrellas, anchors, and bunting.