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Brooch: Butterfly - Small

SKU: JEW-AS-BR-BF1
Sale price$166.00

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Annie Sherburne: Small sized Butterfly Brooch - historic semi-precious stones, glass & resin.

Annie Sherburne’s jewellery weaves an intricate tale that takes you across Europe, through World War II and into contemporary England.  Her jewellery is made from glass, beads and stones, sourced from Czech factories during World War II. Every piece is unique and made by hand in London.

As a designer with a background in fashion and textile design Annie spent decades encouraging recycling and sustainability. At one point 'Eco Annie', as Mayor Livingstone's luvvies dubbed the star of their recycling plan for London, is Britain's foremost proponent of sustainable textiles.

Many years on, her creations are made in different materials, but it is not surprising her work still embraces recycled and repurposed objects, whilst addressing issues of sustainability. Today Annie's jewellery is one of the most popular products sold at London's Victoria and Albert Museum shop.

"The designer whose witty accessories for Jean Muir made the dowager duchess of British fashion purr with pleasure." The Independent, 2007

Winner of the Peugeot and Elle Decor Prizes.

Alumni of St Martins  and Goldsmiths. Postgraduate Research, Textile Recycling, University of Kingston.

Please note:  Each item is unique and therefore comes in slightly different patterns and colours.  If the illustration is of more than one product we cannot guarantee exactly which one you will receive.

BACKGROUND

Annie Sherburne's late husband, Mark Gladwell, founded Pure Fabrication, a company specialising in recycling vintage materials. At its peak it employed 50 people, operating from Denman Street, overlooking London's Horseguard's Parade and Downing Street.

The origins of Annie's jewellery lie in the sourcing of the materials she still uses. In the 1980s her husband had a shop on Portbello Road, London where he befriended a German Jew called Wolfie, who had escaped the death camps in Germany.

Wolfie used to buy and sell 'things' and at one point he 'bid' on a train load of stones, findings and beads that had come from Czechoslovakia. The 'lot' came in World War II ammunition cases. Mark eventually purchased these and they were stored on the roof of his factory as the building was already full.

That summer US President Reagan was visiting London. Security was high since  London was suffering from the threat of bombs by the IRA. On the roof the sun was blazing and various arty types were taking their break when the building was raided by the SAS and armed police who rushed the building believing they were foiling a plot to assassinate the President!

The view from the roof was Many years later, Annie continues to make jewellery using this resource. All the pieces are unique one offs and hold interesting history. 

100 g

Standard collections full price items

Our products are handcrafted by our small team of artisans, many of which are made-to-order. If your product must be handcrafted especially for you, we will be in touch to inform you of this and advise you of an anticipated delivery date.

The Outlet at Cumbria Crystal discounted items

Almost all discounted items, which are featured in The Outlet, are in stock.

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