No doubt, the Twin team are a busy bunch and none more so than Twin’s Commercial Director Kat Barry, whose jewellery line Kat&Bee is fast becoming a fashion favourite.

Twin spoke to Kat as her new Brazilian inspired collection launches…

So Kat, who is Bee?
There’s no official Bee! It took us a while to get to the name, but here are the reasons why…

– My full name is Kathryn Anne Barry so abbreviated it is KAB which is the same as Kat&Bee.
– I am a twin (and also the Commercial Director on Twin!) so there is always that feeling that there are two of me..
– I also once brought a vintage yellow and black checked shirt of which my god daughter Lila called me god mother Bee

How did your trip to Brazil influence the new collection?
The boldness and playfulness of colour was a huge influence. As was the sophistication of style within Rio in particular. The collection fuses the two together with the fun pop of colour and also the more delicate pieces such as the inspiration for the

Life and death seem to lurk in your pieces in the form of flowers and skulls – why are you drawn to these motifs?
The flower and skulls were first inspired by the Mememto Mori – the Mexican festival of the dead. Memento means the moment and Mori is death. I just love the fact that it makes you re-asses life and think what ever is happening at that moment in time we are all human and we need to chill out! It is a reminder that we are going to die at some point but embrace life and stop worrying and deal with it!! I also love the beauty of the!skull and flower together. It makes me smile.

Where are your pieces made and what materials did you use in the new collection?
Everything is made in my studio in East London. I am pretty anal about the making of each piece and love the fact that I can monitor and quality control each piece that is being made. I do often make a lot of the pieces which is one of the best bits of Kat &Bee! Some chilled music and making is a blissful afternoon!

All pieces use 14ct gold or 925 sterling silver fill wire and the flowers are fimo – what kids use! I love the nostalgia that the fimo flowers conjur up.

 

Each piece has a beautiful and inspiring Portuguese name – what came first the design or the name for each?
The design for sure. I have habit of giving people other names – probably because I am one of those people that is terrible at remembering names and from this I wanted each piece to have more of a personality and identity. Each piece is hand –made and has its own distinct identity that a name to compliment is essential in my world!

Your pieces are chaotically intricate – how do you set out in designing/making each piece?
A lot of the designs have come about from experimenting with different elements and seeing what works together. Often, I will make a design which I love and then it takes me a fair few attempts to be able to replicate it. Trial, error and time are key!

What part does jewellery play in your own style?
My style is very much jeans and a t-shirt or shirt and I always wear at least 2 Kat&Bee rings for that injection of colour and also an Alex Monroe bee necklace to represent the bee with my new Kalida skull necklace, meaning warm and ardent.

Where and when can we get our fingers on Kat&Bee’s new collection?
We are stocked in no-one Shoreditch, Kabiri, Opening Ceremony and on my website.

Any thoughts yet on inspirations for the next collection?
I am experimenting at the moment with a different material to mix it up a bit and I will be introducing more necklaces and possibly bracelets. I will still use the wire wrapping but a different take on it…. I love love LOVE Ibiza so this could be another inspiration ….

katandbee.co.uk

 

Tags: Kat Barry, Kat&Bee