Thursday 25 April 2013

Mr Darcy in Steampunk Wonderland



Rod Barker Benfield

What would Jane Austen, or Lewis Carroll for that matter, have made of Rod Barker Benfield naming his steampunk-style wares after them, and of his market stall inside a lovely old London pub?  

It would have seemed a strange, if entertaining, Wonderland indeed.

Lewis Carroll brooch £12.00

But to me, as I arrived at the Boutique Market at the Rocket Pub in Acton, it all made perfect sense. An atmospheric Victorian pub setting, a beautiful sunny day and Rod selling his delicately reworked old watchworks. Alongside him, other stall holders selling everything from Spanish doll brooches to naughty underwear biscuits decorated with lace-fine icing to general bric-a-brac.

Rod is the sort of guy who welcomes you with a warm friendly bear hug and a bushy-beard-brush on the cheek! First and foremost a photographer, he has a creative mind, a good business head and a clever idea - the watchwork accessories are unusual, extremely well-priced and truly desirable.

Lady Emily Pendant 16.00
Mr Darcy Cufflinks £24.00

He sources old broken watches from eBay, flea markets and jewellers, extracts the innards or individual components.


He then effectively reinvents them to produce these intricate pieces of costume jewellery. 


The inspiration for names came as he was reading a Dickens novel prompting  him to think along literary lines. He unexpectedly discovered that fans of Steampunk enthused over the accessories and he's more than happy to accept this embracing of his work. His cufflinks, brooches and pendants retail for between £10.00 and £30.00 and seriously, they make fantastically good gifts.

Lady Anne Earrings £24.00
Rod plans to extend the range to use computer parts and even discarded board game components. He'd also like to use watches like Rolexes to produce a more financially rewarding item that could be sold through higher end stores like Selfridges.

Lewis Carroll brooch £12.00
Lewis Carroll brooch £10.00
Creatives like Rod deserve our support: producing attractive costume jewellery by adapting discarded wristwatches.  

You've just got to love it back. And buy one.


Monday 22 April 2013

Upcycling tiny tea-stained thieves



Grace Lane and two of her mice
I spotted Grace Lane and her collection of hand-made animals at the hugely popular Crafty Fox Market at the Dogstar in Brixton just before Easter.

Perhaps a little diffident, she has an attractive, almost fey presence which works well in tandem with her magical array of animal characters, "A Threadbear Production".  The animals aren't just magical, feckless even! They all look entirely capable of "borrowing" a button off your coat, a few stray hairs off your collar or the silver paper off your chewing gum wrapper. This is because they are modelled after miniature thieves.

Count the items Grace has "recycled" on her borrowing bears!
Grace has long been inspired by her passion for Mary Norton's book "The Borrowers" about a family
of tiny people who live by borrowing off the Big People. Each animal is unique and kitted out in once grand (now threadbear) materials that might well have been snitched from an aristocratic pile of cast offs. The vintage fabrics include Harris Tweeds, silk velvets and organic linens. They are all accessorised with "found" objects.  Grace makes clever use of discarded junk like old match boxes and minuscule silver foil hats and she distresses and stains the fabrics with tea to achieve that long-lived in look!


Grace is in her last term of university at London College of Fashion studying Costume for Performance.  She enjoys playing with scale and finds second hand, vintage and recycled materials have a much richer quality to them that works well. Her artistic relations often lend a hand in the creation of the animals; her mother with the sewing, and her uncle by providing the odd bit of vintage fabric or embroidery. By the way, the standard animals sell for around £170-£200 although commissioned ones may cost a little more.

Grace has plans for "A Threadbear Production" and may animate a few of the characters so remember, you read about her first, here!