Posted by Amaranth on 23rd Nov 2015
An Adventure Into Alchemy
23 November 2015
I’m
sure it comes as no surprise that I have long been a fan of Alchemy
Gothic. From the time I saved for months to buy my first piece (which
was the Gothic Ankh incidentally, and is still one of my favorite
pieces to wear and one of their bestselling items) to now be honored
and welcomed as part of the family.And
recently I got to peek behind the curtain. To visit them in their home
in Leicester in the heart of England. I’ve always love the fact that
this is one of the companies that embodies the ethic of goth. Our dark
subculture started underground with a very much DIY artistic flair to
it. We now have a wealth of jewel and cloth available to buy (thankfully
as my own skill at sewing and dexterity jewellery making leaves much to
be desired). However I like to still procure from fellow dark souls who
put the passion directly into their wares and imbue them with the magic
that helps me build my amour to face “the real world”. And even though
Alchemy has grown from the two brothers drawing and forging the pieces
themselves, you’ll find no “made in china” here and each person who
works for the company – from accounts to the very artists themselves
continue pour that passion into what now adorns us.
It was great to get a tour and see first-hand the process from idea,
to drawing, to prototype to production. Did you know that with each
collection there are numerous designs suggested and only a selected few
make it into production? I would love to see all the weird and wonderful
ideas their designers come up with! Perhaps if we ask nicely they’ll
let us vote one day ;) I also got the chance to work with the fantastic Stu Williamson,
whose lighting set up made me wish I could cram it into my makeup bag.
Light is the photographer’s paint and he’s a skilled artist. His vision
was precise and the dark art that resulted was in true keeping of his
dark designs.
While Alchemy and I played dress up, pairing their fabulous new collection (a unicorn seahorse and winged ankh – how did I not know I needed these in my life??) with attire from The Gothic Shop and Burleska (and the handiwork of my mother whose been my source of gothic clothing long before I had access to such great shops). And check out the ship headdress! They have a creative pixie holed up in the attic of their warehouse who finds and fixes and mixes and matches bits and pieces and trinkets and trophies creating their sets and backdrops and inventions such as this – I swear, it’s true, I saw it with my own eyes ;)
Hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed making them, and know that when you wear a piece of alchemy –that you’ve too become part of this dark, beautiful, unique family.
Words by Lady Amaranth
Photography by Stu Williamson
Shop for the beautiful pieces Lady Amaranth has adorned herself with in these stunning photographs and our entire new collection at Alchemy England. This breath taking new range includes the Wings of Eternity [P748] and matching earrings [E367] the unique Aequicorn [P743] set with blue Swarovski crystals and the Temp De Sentiment pendant fob watch [AW26] with it’s ornate pewter detailing and red Swarovski crystal set in the key to your memories of past times gone by.
