There are some childhood books that catch something in the collective spirit or offer such magic that they become part of kid canon—and Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has become one of them.
Knowing Mackesy personally, Loquet London founder Sheherazade Goldsmith says these characters were not only charming and beautiful, but also that their individual stories within the larger book resonated with people in real ways. To honor this, Goldsmith recently debuted her series of charms and jewelry inspired by Mackesy’s book.
Each charm takes on a part of the story, which follows the unusual friendship that develops between an inquisitive boy, a greedy yet enthusiastic mole, an emotionally vulnerable fox, and a wise horse as they go off on an adventure to find the boy’s home.
The tale centers on love, kindness, and friendship, Goldsmith says, so she worked with Mackesy to create replicas within a fine jewelry context.
For example, there’s a delicate snowflake, a sapphire-topped cake, and two charms in Mackesy’s own handwriting that say “cake” and “kind.” Each of the seven charms is intricate and helps tell the story in a heartwarming way.
“When I came across Charlie’s work, it really resonated with how I felt in my own space in my head at the beginning of the pandemic,” Goldsmith says. “This [partnership] happened when COVID happened, and that changed so many of us.”
To honor both Goldsmith and Mackesy’s partnership and their mutual values around the partnership, 50% of the profits from this charm and jewelry collection will be donated to Young Minds, a charity focused on children and young people’s mental health.
“It is a phenomenal organization that supports adolescents struggling with their mental health and provides them with the assistance they need. I hope these charms will bring much joy to all who receive,” Mackesy said in a statement.
Mackesy is a British author and illustrator; his work as a cartoonist became popular in The Spectator. His first book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, was published in October 2019 and quickly became a hit. To date, it holds the record for the most consecutive weeks on the Sunday Times Non-Fiction chart and as a No. 1 New York Times best seller.
Goldsmith says she met Mackesy when a mutual friend introduced them. She says she found the artist to be modest and original—he wrote something that meant something to him, and everyone else found it just as compelling.
“It’s as philosophical as much as it’s a children’s book,” Goldsmith says. “It’s simplistic, and it comes from such an honest place. It’s easy to resonate with it. It was beautiful to watch, certainly in the U.K., a huge collection of people discover this bit of art.”
Goldsmith says she wanted to turn it into jewelry so people who connected with these characters could carry them with them always.
“Charms are the storytelling of your own life…so we wanted to incorporate his characters into our own charm collection,” Goldsmith says. “Each character resonates with a different person, different facets of them. I’m excited for people to find the book and his work through our charms and vice versa.”
The collection is sold exclusively at Loquet London’s Elizabeth Street boutique and on its website. Each charm is hand-crafted with 18k solid gold and enamel detailing. They retail for $310.
Top: The wise horse is one of seven charms Loquet London created in partnership with author Charlie Mackesy, whose The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has become an internationally beloved children’s book (photos courtesy of Loquet London).
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