Victoria's Tatty Treasures

Sometimes the same name pops up again and again on our Instagram notifications... ‘@victoriapenrose took a photo of you’. We’ve pretty obsessed with Victoria’s insta feed - not only does she take amazing selfies in our jewellery, she gives us a serious case of wanderlust with her incredible snaps of her home in New York!

We caught up with Victoria to take a closer look at her treasured Tatty Devine collection...

Tell us a little bit about yourself... Hi, I’m Victoria and I live in NYC. I’m originally from the Isle of Man (a tiny Island in the middle of the Irish Sea) and before moving to the States I lived in London. I’m the Customer Care & Operations Manager for a company called ONA Designs and in my free time I love  exploring this great city, discovering new street art and eating as much brunch as I can! I also enjoy photography, crafting & dragging myself to the occasional spin class.

When and how did you first discover Tatty Devine? I first discovered Tatty Devine when I was at university. I’d always loved wearing unusual jewellery, and one day I stumbled upon an article featuring Tatty and I’ve been obsessed ever since! However, it wasn’t until May 2012 that I purchased, and actually made, my first piece - the Bunting Necklace. I think it was actually the first or second Tatty Devine workshop ever and I love the little “Made by Me” tag.

How many Tatty Devine pieces do you now own? I think my total is currently around 135-140 individual pieces of Tatty… I sadly misplaced a few when packing up my childhood bedroom last summer but I’m not losing hope that they will one day resurface!

What a collection! How do you store it all? I’m ashamed to admit that I keep my collection in piles of large Tatty Devine boxes scattered around my bedroom, with no organization and zero idea which piece is where. When I moved to NYC I had to leave behind all of the smaller boxes, and collate multiple pieces into the bigger boxes. I’m yet to figure out/take the time to (as I’m forever telling my husband) “find a better system” for everything. The dream is for a walk-in closet like the one Mia has in The Princess Diaries 2, with all the drawers to store her shiny tiaras – swoon!

Which pieces get the most wear? Most recently I’ve been wearing my Parakeet Large Necklace and the Neoclassical Bust Necklace from SS16 the most. Other pieces I wear regularly are my Tiger Necklaces (both white and orange), my Frida Necklace and the crown necklace I picked up at this year’s sample sale.

Most treasured design? My beautiful Parakeet Large Necklace from the Classic Collection! I was back in London in April for my birthday, and very luckily the sample sale too. Sadly, all the statement parakeets had gone by the time I got in there but after a visit to the Brick Lane store my husband treated me to him for my birthday gift. It was actually the first piece of Tatty he’s ever bought me!

Latest addition to your collection? The Dental Bling Necklace – it was a bit of an impulse buy that I wasn’t sure would really suit me, but after wearing it a few weeks ago for the first time I realized what a great piece it is (plus: if it goes with stripes, it’s a keeper!).

Favourite Name Necklace? My large billboard “Victoria” in the dreamy Marble print, as soon as I saw it I fell in love with it – I’m a complete sucker for marble! I have plans to bag some more in it before it goes!

What in your wildest dreams would you like us to design? Oh this is a tough question! I would LOVE more colours of the large parakeets, and animal faces in a similar style to the leopards and tigers. Black swirly panther with bright yellow eyes, anyone? Oh, and I wouldn’t say no to the iridescent dino being brought back on a larger run ;-)

Best wishlist find? My Aviatrix Brooch! I love reading about awesome women and, when possible, wearing jewellery featuring awesome women too. I had a saved eBay search set up for the longest time for this piece and my heart raced when I finally got to bid on one – it’s definitely the most I’ve ever spent on a brooch.

Check out Victoria’s Instagram for even more snaps of her incredible collection!

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