Keep It Safe: Tatty Devine and Rob Ryan

Have you fallen for our exclusive Rob Ryan collection yet? Last summer, we teamed up with our friend, paper cut artist Rob Ryan to create our dreamiest collaboration yet. The most ordinary of objects became precious pieces of jewellery in the imaginations of Rob and Harriet. Recreated in Rob's signature style, miniature keys and padlocks are imbued with heartfelt significance and translated into delicate rings, earrings and necklaces. Just before the collection launched, we joined Rob and Harriet on the set of our mini film and heard first-hand about the design process. Harriet explained: “Before we began designing, we sat down together and went through Rob’s entire back catalogue. It took many morning meetings, cups of tea and plenty of biscuits! I’ve loved his work for years, but it was really amazing to look at it all together. 

We pulled out bits here and there and focused on the details that are really ‘Rob’. I think you can really see that in the finished pieces, especially the Keep it Safe Locket Necklace. It captures all the sentiment of Rob's big pieces and reminds me of precious memories.”

Rob agreed: “I make big, complicated, elaborate works and it’s hard to encapsulate that in tiny pieces of jewellery. Imagine condensing all that meaning into visual things and a few words...! The precious metals are more like paper cuts. It's so straight forward and monotone. You can say what you want with a simple, shadow-esque shape, like the Keep It Safe Locket Ring:

Harriet said, "I usually have complete control over product development, but for this collection, we worked with a jeweller in London's Hatton Gardens. We don’t usually make jewellery in silver and gold and we needed their expertise and technology. The quality of the jewellery was really important to us. There was no to-ing and fro-ing on that. We wanted the best quality, especially with the beautiful flat surface of the jewellery. It would have been impossible to achieve that anywhere else. I bought my wedding ring in Hatton Garden!” Rob said, “Me, too. It feels like a really special place and it’ll always be there!” Keys are especially significant symbols for Rosie, Harriet and Rob. Back in 2011, we laser cut oversized keys in walnut wood especially for Rob's shop, Ryantown. Poetic wording from Rob's paper cuts, screen prints and ceramic tiles adorned the heart shaped bit of each key, making them very special indeed! You can still get your hands on one of the laser cut keys in colour pop Perspex from Rob's website! Fallen for the Keep It Safe Keys and Locks? Discover the full Tatty Devine and Rob Ryan collection now.