Why craft?
Growing up, we were both surrounded by craft— our mothers made a lot of our clothes, not to mention the soft furnishings around the house. Although we both studied Fine Art, we have both always been drawn to the act of making, its inherent tactility and the importance it has within culture.
What we studied
We both followed subjects we were interested in or were good at. We both had career advisors at school who weren’t very helpful as we were both pointed in the direction of teaching. There wasn’t much understanding of the vast array of directions art could take you in. Neither of us had a fixation on what we wanted to be, and there was very little encouragement to explore creative fields, which is odd seeing that we are both very creative. We both studied Art at A level, Harriet also studied Classics and Art History. Rosie also studied Geography, and Theatre Studies.
Our career path
Tatty Devine has been a high-speed journey! In 2019, we will have been working together as Tatty Devine for 20 years. Our products, the team, the business and the brand have all developed enormously over this time period and there have been many experiences and opportunities. We are both very positive people and have always seen these moments as milestones on the journey.
When we left college and started making things to wear together, we didn’t have any money and we just didn’t want to look like anyone else and so we created an identity quite quickly.
One night we found bags and bags of discarded leather sample books outside a furnishing company, we dragged them home and made some leather wristbands which we sold at a couple of markets. This was actually a brilliant way to pay the rent while we worked out what we wanted to do with our lives before deciding to find a studio together in 2000. We discovered 236 Brick Lane, which quickly became our studio and not long after, our very own shop. A year later, we showed at London Fashion Week which gave us an industry and framework from which to work and it enabled us to start selling wholesale all over the world. In 2003 we opened our second shop in Soho (now relocated in Covent Garden) and Tatty Devine began to gain momentum. We were fortunate enough to have signed up to the local Business Centre right at the start, which helped guide us through running a fashion business and gave us much needed support along the way.