Ethical Fashion in the Age of Austerity

We were thrilled when new craft company The Papered Parlour invited us to run a workshop at their  Ethical Fashion in the Age of Austerity mini-festival. It was held at the V&A Museum of Childhood -  just a hop, skip and a jump from the Tatty Devine studio! Armed with hoards of vintage jewellery found at Spitalfields Antiques Market that morning, along with plenty of Tatty Devine charms and lots of beads, buttons and bits, we were ready for a very crafty night. And of course, we had all our tools: rainbow-coloured pliers, drills and glue guns: We were super overwhelmed that both our workshops got booked up within half an hour of opening. We had to start keeping waiting lists! We asked participants to think about the colours they like to wear and style of jewellery that suits them best. Everyone then chose pieces they would like to work with from our stash: Then we sat round and got crafting! Our tables were packed with people busy upcycling everything into new jewellery... Tatty Devine designer Harriet Vine was on hand to help (Rosie, the other half of our design duo, was away at Paris Fashion Week). After learning top tips from Harriet, people got to work on their projects. A lot of concentration was involved! It's great when an idea starts coming together: We love this combo of Tatty Devine Popcorn Packet Brooch with a picnic blanket check shirt:

Kilt pin brooches are a great way to show off lots of little trinkets:

Charm bracelets were a popular choice: We love this big bow chain brooch. The plectrums hanging down at the end of the chains give a neat finish. Kawaii! Lots of charms added to a ring makes for jingle-jangly fingers: Delicate pink heart and star charms were added to a chunky gold chain for this statement necklace: Simple but cute! Button earrings: Someone even re-vamped sunglasses! Thank you to the museum, the Papered Parlour, and everyone who joined in. Our next workshop is at the British Museum, and this one is especially for teenagers. So if you're aged 13-18, come along to Jewellery Design with Tatty Devine on Saturday 21st May between 11am and 2pm. P.S. Thanks to our super press intern Sophie for taking the photos. We just had to snap one of her, too: