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Our incredible jeweller, Vixie, invited us into her Aladdin's cave of a studio for a cup of tea and a chat.

V :
I cannot remember a time when I was a kid and I wasn't making something or other. I was forever writing and illustrating tiny books, weaving friendship bracelets or making tiny clay food for my Sylvanian Families!

P :
And what about the jewellery, how did that start?

 

V :
The jewellery fascination came when I was about 10 and my mum took me to my first bead shop - I saw all of the shiny things and I was instantly hooked.

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P :
You've done such a wonderful job on our jewellery collection this year. Do you have a favourite Palava piece?

V :
Oh my, it's so hard to choose! I love all of the pieces in different ways, but I think the most fun to wear - and the one that gets the most compliments - is the tiger statement necklace.

P :
Ah, yes, we love that Tiger too! Were there any big challenges when making our jewellery?

V :
Every project has challenges and this one was no exception! There were a few tricky things I had to work out, like getting the weight of the dangle earrings right and determining the placement of the leaf charms on the toucan and flamingo necklaces, but my biggest challenge is almost always the same - knowing when the sparkle limit has been reached! Some of the pieces I make for myself can be covered in glitter and rhinestones, but when you're working on someone else's designs there can be a fine line between sensibly shiny and utterly kitsch. Having said that, I'm pretty confident that the SS19 collection has just enough sparkle to make everyone happy!

P :
Haha, we agree!! We know you're a collector of beautiful and quirky things. What is it about objects (apart from sparkles!) that catches your eye and makes you want to collect them?

V :

I think I must have been a magpie in a past life, I love anything shiny! Other than beads and the sparkly materials that I make my jewellery with, I have lots of cute collectibles like Tokidoki Unicornos and Funko Pops, but my most beloved collection is my kitsch snowglobe collection - it started about 10 years ago when I went interrailing around Europe for 2 months. I had one rucksack and a handful of clothes plus a bit of money for food and hostels, but I made it a mission to get a tacky touristy souvenir from every city I visited on that trip... it ended up being nearly 30 cities and amazingly every single snowglobe that I bought survived the journey home! Ever since that trip I always get one whenever I travel abroad, and obviously I try to find the most kitsch one I can find!

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P :
We love listening to podcast and records at the Palava studio. Do you listen to things when you work?

 

V :
I am forever listening to music and podcasts - I can barely get anything done if I don't have something to listen to while I'm working! I listen to a few different things depending on what I'm doing... When I'm doing business admin (I am obsessed with spreadsheets!) I like to listen to fun podcasts - a couple of my favourites at the moment are "How Did This Get Made?" and "Can I Pet Your Dog?". When I'm designing I like to listen to electronica like Above & Beyond or Pendulum, and when I'm painting or making jewellery pieces I like to listen to great sing-along music like Weezer, She & Him or Marina & The Diamonds.

P :
And finally, a very important question... are you a tea or coffee girl?

 

V :

My go-to hot beverage is almost always a tea. I love all black teas but Russian Caravan is my absolute favourite. When it's a busy day or I have a lot of stuff to get done on a strict deadline I need something rich and sweet, and that's when I take a stroll into town and get myself a Caramelatte from Caffe Nero. Once I've had one of those I'll be good to go for hours!

P :
Ooh, Russian Caravan sounds lovely - we must try that! Thanks so much for your time Vixie! We'll let you get on. Looking forward to the next project with you already :-)

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