Bugs, butterflies, ships in a bottle: Whatever you collect, it likely serves as a reflection of who you are, and that’s what the all-female team at Tatty Devine wanted to explore in its latest collection, the Cabinet of Curiosities.

It’s an odd collection, to be sure, but that’s the point, says Rosie Wolfenden, cofounder of the London-based Tatty Devine brand. Tatty Devine is one of the U.K.’s most collectible art jewelry brands, and it is making a renewed push to become an American favorite as well, Wolfenden says.

Its latest collections—including the Cabinet of Curiosities, the Halloween-infused English Gothic, an homage to artist Frida Kahlo, and its Autumn Infusions line devoted to all things fall—are not only expressive and beautiful but certainly ideal for Instagram and other social platforms. In other words, they feel just right for an American audience that wants signature looks worth saving and sharing.

“The one thing Tatty Devine does well is it starts conversations; that’s why it works on the political side or expressing yourself,” Wolfenden says.

Wolfenden and cofounder Harriet Vine launched Tatty Devine in 1999 after graduating with degrees in fine art from the Chelsea School of Art. The two were “obsessed with collecting,” Wolfenden says, haunting secondhand shops for anything unique or vintage. Those days and the things they found became one of the inspirations for the Cabinet of Curiosities, Wolfenden says.

“We took our collections and made them into necklaces,” Wolfenden recalls. “What we wanted to do was make stuff that people could wear that explained who they were.… Frida was always doing that—she curated herself. She embellished herself so she could explain and express who she was.”

Neither Wolfenden nor Vine has any formal jewelry training, Wolfenden says. But their jewelry soon had a cult following with people collecting it and talking about it to their friends, helping build the brand before there was anything like Facebook or Twitter, she adds.

They started making seasonal collections and showing their work at London Fashion Week, gaining retailers including Saks and luxury department store Harvey Nichols in London along the way. They also have become more political during these past two decades, working with artists to create signature collections that make a statement as well as protesting when their work was copied without permission or pushing for British newspapers to end sexist features like the Page 3 girls.

For the Cabinet of Curiosities, Vine wanted to delve into the idea of sharing knowledge and starting a conversation from what you choose to collect, Wolfenden says. These seasonal collections are limited-edition with about 50 to 100 created, and “once they’re gone, they’re gone,” she explains.

“It’s an indulgent process,” Wolfenden says. “Harriet turns off her email, turns off her phone, shuts the door, and draws.”

For next year, Tatty Devine is already working on its spring and summer collections, but the color spectrum will be decidedly the opposite of what you see in Autumn Infusions, English Gothic, or the Cabinet of Curiosities, Wolfenden says.

“We want it to be about happiness and everything that makes us happy within a color spectrum,” Wolfenden says.

Top: Tatty Devine’s Cabinet of Curiosities collection includes the baroque garland statement necklace ($530), which creator Harriet Vine describes as “a wearable piece of art.” It is inspired by intricate hand-carved frames and traditional gilding techniques (all photos courtesy of Tatty Devine). 

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