We've known Bec & Rosa for a number of years now, both super talented jewellery makers who share a studio in Bristol. Alice spoke to them about their friendship, their work &, of course, their favourite H&B pieces! First up is our chat with Bec AKA Dakota Rae Dust.
Thank you so much for chatting with us! It’s great to have you as part of our series of portraits. You both make dazzling, flamboyant jewellery. As a real magpie myself, I've always loved both your work and you are both such splendid H&B wearers! I'm always so touched by your loyalty to the brand so it made sense to delve a little deeper into your creative lives.
Bec, I first came across you at The Frome Independent I think, you were wearing our ‘Pink Honeycomb’ Playsuit so well. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Bec wears Andy Dungarees in 'Swirly Pants on Blue'
BD: Ahhh yes! I have been trading at The Frome Independent for about 10 years now, it was my first market as ‘Dakota Rae Dust’ so it has a special place in my heart. And that playsuit was my first H&B purchase!
I grew up in Bath so am definitely West Country at heart, but I spent 5 years in London after completing my degree in Textiles & Surface design. I started my design career working at a swatch studio designing prints and embroideries for womenswear, which I absolutely loved. We used to hand draw embroidery designs which were turned into samples by a team in India and tape big sheets of paper to the floor and crawl around hand painting huge brushy prints. It was heavenly.
Bec, what was the inspiration for your jewellery? Have you always used textiles? How would you describe your work?
BD: I have always loved colour, pattern and texture. When I started my business I was embellishing sweatshirts, making clutch purses and hand stitching rosettes. These products all featured elements cut from my treasured secondhand and vintage textile collection. I really enjoy giving something old a new lease of life, and the contrast between an old vintage print and the bold, often fluorescent, glittery or iridescent detail I vinyl print onto them.
I began making jewellery initially for practical reasons, I don’t drive and lugging lots of embellished garments and clutch bags to markets was proving difficult. But I soon realised it was a very accessible and affordable way for people to own and wear a piece of my work. Jewellery is a great way to update your wardrobe and add a pop of colour to an existing outfit.
My jewellery making skills are entirely self taught and my construction techniques are heavily inspired by my background in textiles. I still hand stitch all the jewels onto my designs and machine stitch the components into place on my Jazzy Plectrum style earrings.
I was lucky enough to visit your studio recently, have you been there long? It must be so inspiring being in that lovely, colourful creative space.
BD: Oh gosh, I am in love with our current studio. We rent a small retail space in Bristol with a shop window which we share with two other makers. It is primarily a workspace but we occasionally host open studio events which give people the opportunity to look around and shop our wares in person. It’s been really fun having this joint creative project that we all contribute to that enables us to showcase our work.
How did you meet each other? Was it an immediate friendship?
BD: I THINK we met while trading at a fair in London and we did a small business swap, one of my sparkly embellished sweatshirts for a couple of pieces of Rosa’s gorgeous jewellery pieces, then I properly ‘pounced’ a couple of years later when I heard Rosa was planning to move to Bristol! We have traded at lots of festivals together since then & I really value having Rosa in the studio. She’s great for bouncing ideas off, having a moan about all the usual small business gripes with and most importantly getting together and coming up with creative ways to make business life more fun!!!
Can you tell us a highlight of your jewellery career so far?
BD: A pair of my earrings appeared worn on a guest on BBC’s Repair shop. They are very bright and recognisable so I received a flood of messages and screen grabs from people letting me know they’d spotted them. It’s fun when that happens. And in 2019 a bride who got married at Glastonbury festival wearing a pair of my statement tassel earrings appeared on BBC news, resulting in a similar response from friends. So, basically seeing my creations out in the wild being enjoyed and helping people express or celebrate themselves always feels really joyful. I get that feeling every time a customer tags me in a picture or sends a message about how they styled, or where they wore their purchase. In person encounters are EVEN more satisfying. I was filling my water bottle in the rain on Sunday night at Shambala Festival when I was approached by a lovely person who recognised me and stopped to say “Thank you for brightening up a lonely lockdown period with my earrings” … Giving me the opportunity to say “Thank you right back, for keeping me busy and sharing in the mutual colour jOY!” Those are 100% my highlights.
And when you're not creating amazing jewellery, what else do you get up to?
BD: Running a small business can be all consuming. I’m trying to carve out more time off for myself at the moment. I went on a week-long yoga retreat this Summer with sound healing and art workshops. It was a luxurious break from work and time to focus on myself. Other than that . . . probably DIY! 10 years after moving into a one bedroom attic flat we have pretty much remodelled the whole place. Moving walls, the bathroom and the kitchen, extremely slowly without using any proper trades people!
And you live & work in Bristol? How would you describe Bristol and the creative community there?
BD: I’d describe Bristol as colourful, rebellious and creative. We have a vibrant creative small business community which I feel very lucky to be a part of. There’s lots of scope for collaboration and reaching out for support. It’s a good place to be small!
How did you first come across Humphries & Begg?
BD: One of my very early encounters was trading next to you at Wilderness back in 2019. Seeing so many stylish people trying on your wares definitely secured H&B in my mind as the ultimate festival wear. The comfort of a jazzy patterned cotton playsuit and a playful pair of statement tassel earrings can’t be beaten in my opinion.
Bec wears Quilted Frankie Jacket in 'Up & Down'
If we could make you your favourite item of clothing what would it look like?
BD: My most used piece of H&B is definitely my giant tote, it comes everywhere with me and feels like a jazzy piece of jewellery. I’ll take a box set please with a different one for every day of the week!!!! That OR a neon H+B patterned playsuit.
What excites you about 2025? Do you have any exciting new work or projects on the horizon?
BD: WELL, we might have an exclusive for you . . . we are currently looking into running some workshops using offcuts of our materials to embellish / upcycle clothing - stay tuned for more details. Other than that, I have plans to team up with a friend and local screen printer to research ways to reduce the vinyl (plastic) in my embellished sweatshirt designs and hopefully bring those out of retirement.
And finally, where can our readers find your work both online, and in person, over the next few months?
BD: I have a website which I regularly update with new pieces of colourful statement jewellery www.dakotaraedust.co.uk and will be trading at The Frome Independent on the first Sunday of the month until Christmas. We are also planning a series of late night shopping events and Open Studios in the coming months at our workspace in Old Market, Bristol. We’re keen to make the most of our cosy, colourful premises and do less wet and windy outdoor trading this year. Shopping in person, directly from the maker is always fun and we’re busy scheming up some fun festive ideas to tempt new visitors down.
You are VERY welcome to pop by and join us for a browse and a glass of fizz or cup of tea and a biscuit at one of those, Alice!
You can find Bec's work at: https://www.dakotaraedust.co.uk/
Photographs by: https://www.