THE DOLL HOUSE JEWELLERY
HELEN TURTON HAS JUST LAUNCHED THE DOLL HOUSE, AN INDEPENDENT JEWELLERY COMPANY. EVERY PIECE IS INDIVIDUALLY DESIGNED, SOURCED AND HANDMADE USING DOLLHOUSE MINIATURES, CREATING A UNIQUE, KITSCH LOOK. ALMAZ OHENE MET HER TO CHAT ABOUT HER INSPIRATION, HER BUSINESS PLANS AND WHY SHE DIDN’T GIVE ALMAZ A PIECE FOR HER BIRTHDAY; SEE, ALMAZ AND HELEN GO WAY BACK…
We meet at a Sheffield bar. Helen orders pink fruit beer for both of us while I admire her outfit. She’s wearing… well, she places her hands in front of her on top of the bar, so that I can see her jewellery. On three of her fingers, she’s sporting dinner plate rings. Eggs, chips and beans on one hand, and a Full-English Breakfast on the other. About her neck is a rocking horse necklace. Clipped in her hair is a large, pink gingham bow, which, on closer inspection, forms the cloth of a tiny champagne picnic. This woman loves fashion – that much is obvious from her high-waisted tailored hot pants paired with floral print tights. Naturally, I ask her is why she chose to go into jewellery and not clothes.
“I started out modifying my own clothes, getting fridge magnets and gluing them onto shoes and generally trying to modify my own wardrobe.
“I like things to be unique. I’ve always had a passion for jewellery. The Doll House stemmed from having gone down to a little shop which sold miniatures for dollhouses when I was at college. I saw a little telephone and though that it would look amazing if I turned it into a ring. The whole thing just blossomed from there.”
I ask her where she sources all of the fantastic dolls house miniatures.
“I go into dollhouse emporiums, look around and decide which bits will look amazing if I turn them into jewellery. Sometimes, I come up with an idea and hunt down a piece, often through scouring free-ads pages or going to car-boot sales. I also find new and vintage material on eBay.”
As well as the themed collection ‘In The Kitschen’ and ‘The Music Box’, Helen creates individual pieces such as the Grandfather Clock Brooch, the Telephone Fascinator, the Rocking Horse Necklace and Teacup Earrings.
It was time for the inevitable question about her inspiration.
“There was no designer or person who I saw and then said, ‘Oh, right so I need to look like that.’ The people that inspire me are different. They include designers like Vivienne Westwood and like TigerMilk, who are some of my own friends. They spur me on and let me know that it’s cool to keep things different from everything else out there.”
She’s collaborated with photographer Holly Booth on a couple of promotional shoots which have a very distinctive style.
“We wanted to make the model look like a living doll. I had some crazy make up done by Lucy Engelfield, an amazing make-up artist. Holly and I worked on getting the right angles and the right lighting to make her look just like a Porcelain doll.”
Helen talks animatedly about the second ‘location’ shoot. She mentions a few different people who were part of that project; I wonder what it was like to work with a team.
“For the second shoot, I worked with Lotte Manson and Kirsty Mann, the TigerMilk girls, brainstorming ideas for backdrops. We had an idea for an Alice in Wonderland theme that eventually developed into something involving mirror and chandeliers in the woods.
“Having a crew made it more fun. Holly did some really good work, working out the best camera angles and the best lighting; angling the mirrors so the end product looked really beautiful.”
Helen’s jewellery is currently on sale at Syd and Mallory’s in Sheffield. I wonder how she sees her business developing from there?
“I got involved with Syd and Mallory’s quite recently. That was my first progression to taking the whole thing seriously, rather than just wearing my own jewellery. When I have more time I’m going to expand it, buy the materials in bulk and try to get more pieces finished. I really like little boutique shops but I’d like to branch out to other cities too.”
When pushed on the issue of her particular ethos she replies:
“I really like having clothes and jewellery that look different to what other people are wearing. My main idea is getting something kitsch and unique to everybody that wants to wear the jewellery. No piece of jewellery is exactly the same as any other piece; so when you buy a piece it’ll be completely different from anything that anybody else has.”
Words Almaz Ohene
The style of the models is also spot on with this kind of jewellery. Although some pieces are a little large for my liking, they are truly unique pieces.