An Adventure Into Alchemy
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 favourite pieces to wear and one of their bestselling items) to now be honoured 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 passiorectly 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
Shops 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.
