How It's Made: Spaceship Statement Necklace

It's time to explore the galaxy with our new Spring Summer 2014 collection. Our intergalactic new jewellery was born in a star sprinkled haze of sci-fi films, TV programmes and comic books. Slip on your space suit and be prepared to experience zero gravity as we discover the design process behind the Space Ship Statement Necklace...

It all started one hazy summer's day back in 2013. Yes, we really do work a whole year ahead of ourselves! Team Tatty knew something very exciting was happening when Rosie and Harriet headed out of the studio with a copy of Tron (1980) stowed in Harriet's satchel.

Harriet says, "I was fascinated by the use of perspective in retro space ship design and really wanted to capture it in the jewellery. The highly stylised interiors of space ships in sci fi movies from the 70s and 80s were a key point of reference, too. I kept being drawn back to films like Logan's Run and Gerry Anderson's brilliant series, UFO."

Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson wasn't just a dab hand with puppets. UFO, a British TV series about the alien invasion of earth, was his first foray into fully live action TV. We love the inventive use of space in its other worldly set design! Just take a look at the concertina-like walls of this corridor:

UFO's sets were completely visionary - we'd love to walk through this panelled corridor: Check out those purple bobs! Harriet worked a similar look all the way back in 2011 at the launch of our book. Gerry Anderson's vision of the future did come true after all... We liked trying to guess the purpose of the control panels on the wall of their ship. What could those flashing lights possibly mean? Are they monitoring extra terrestrial activity on those screens? After spending a special design day away from the studio, discussing their current obsessions, what mood the collection should have and what they wanted to make, Rosie and Harriet returned, full of excitement! Sometimes the idea for a piece of jewellery is already fully formed in Harriet's mind - the idea for our Aviator Goggles Headband in Autumn Winter 2010 came to her in a dream! Harriet and her assistant Siff got to work creating a beautiful mood board full of amazing imagery, Perspex samples and colours to display in the workshop and inspire them as they worked. Here's a sneak peek at our Spring Summer 2014 board (you might even be able to spot some samples of upcoming pieces!): With this beautiful backdrop behind her, Harriet started sketching out initial ideas in her sketchbook. It's one of the most precious things in the whole studio as it holds the secrets to new jewellery that has yet to be released...! Luckily, she gave us this special sneak peek at an early concept for the Space Ship Statement Necklace:

Next, Harriet recreated her sketch on the computer and after playing with scale and design, our team laser cut a sample to try on. It’s really important that the final product is as perfect as it can possibly be, so a piece can end up looking very different from an initial sample or sketch. .. 

Ta-da! Here's the first ever sample of the Spaceship Statement Necklace - now it's time to add some detailing:

Memories of toys from Harriet's childhood were a big influence on the colour of the Spaceship Statement Necklace:

"Do you remember those space themed pin ball machines and plastic games consoles where you control a space ship? They're referenced in the almost industrial Perspex colour ways of the Spaceship jewellery. There's a nod to the old Airfix plastic toys that I shared with my brother when we were little, too."  

Harriet spent a lot of time adjusting the size of the panels, working out if anything should be changed with the artwork and trying the piece out in different colour ways:

Our new luminous neon green and metallic silver Perspex was the perfect for capturing a sense of futuristic engineering and detailing on the panels of the Spaceship Statement Necklace. We can just imagine them glowing and shimmering as Tatty Devine's very own spacecraft hurtles through the galaxy!

Our time honoured method of testing the durability of new jewellery? Jumping up and down whilst wearing it! The Spaceship Statement Necklace passed the jump test and headed into production in our workshop.

Each piece was carefully hand made in our East London workshop by our highly skilled team. The individual elements of the necklace are covered in a protective plastic film so that they aren't scratched or damaged when they're being laser cut or during the making process. Once they were peeled and given a final clean and check by Annick, Sarah and Becki, the Spaceship Statement Necklace was ready to fly into our stores and website!

Here it is - the finished Spaceship Statement Necklace in Silver! Graphic grey Perspex panels are layered with matt silver, neon green and gunmetal detailing for a contemporary take on 1960s sci-fi style. We'd team this with metallic fabrics to add a futuristic touch to our wardrobes:

Channeling Barbarella this summer? The gold colour way of the Spaceship Statement Necklace was made for you! Graphic apricot Perspex panels are layered with matt gold, neon orange and cream detailing:

Get your go-go boots on and back comb that beehive - it's time to discover the full Spring Summer 2014 collection now!

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