Wolf & Moon: A First Step Down the Weddings Aisle
It’s the first step into the wide world of weddings for founder, owner and designer, Hannah Davis, of London-based jewellery brand, Wolf & Moon and we view it as a privilege to walk them down our aisle. Begun in 2009, Wolf & Moon has that London look, ready for it-girls to don the vivid, unique broaches, floral necklaces and fruity drop earrings they’re best known for. Hannah designs for all souls who align with her values, describing her ideal client as someone who is “—creative, colourful and love[s] to stand out from the crowd. They also care about sustainability and prefer to shop small wherever possible.” Now, with incredible pieces such as the Celestial available for those pulling together their wedding look, Hannah is ready to dress her first bride, or bridegroom!
Currently available made-to-order in mist, or dusk, the Celestial headpiece was originally a personal piece for Hannah. I’ll let her tell it: “I originally designed the headpiece to wear at my own wedding in July 2019, so it is a really sentimental piece. At the end of last year I fine-tuned it so we could finally make it available to buy. It’s the most intricate and complex piece that we sell and I’m pretty proud of the design!”
I mean, I would be!
Have a look at Celestial:
Hannah has always integrated the personal with the professional when it comes to designing—even her brand name came from an original design: “It was actually named after one of the first pieces I made - a brooch with a wolf and moon. I’ve always loved the moon and my partner jokes that he’s actually “Wolf”.” Cute!
Her inspirations are as many and varied as her collections, which boast everything from saturated hues to atypical shapes and a mixture of materials, including shell, enamel and wood. Hannah shared that she’s inspired, “…by many things including art, architecture and design (particularly mid century/modern), the natural world and experimentation with materials and processes. I also love playing with colour and texture which definitely influences the outcome of each collection.” She shares that the painting of Proserpine by Rossetti was a direct inspiration for her pomegranate collection and that a mix of inspirations came together to form the inspiration for her fruit designs, particularly botanical illustrations and the romantic still life paintings of the old Dutch Masters. With a love for flora and fauna evident in her collections, it’s no surprise to me that Hannah would choose to take up floristry if she weren’t a jewellery designer. “I live near Columbia Road flower market and love popping down there on a Sunday,” she tells me; I’m so very jealous.
I ask about the dreaded T-word: trends. For good, or for ill, trends insist upon being seen and heard. As a tastemaker, I wonder how closely Hannah follows or eschews trends when creating her collections. The key, she tells me, is to be intentional and aware of what trends are present in her work and if she wants to utilize them to craft her own designs. “I think it’s good to acknowledge what my customers want in a particular moment but I also don’t want my work to become too similar to other designers out there. I want my work to be original and have longevity—both pretty difficult if you follow trends too closely.” For example? “We have definitely noticed a trend for hoop-style earrings with charms over the last couple years and we’ve really leant into it. I absolutely love this style as we make the charms all interchangeable so you can have fun mixing pieces and wearing in lots of different ways.”
Hannah is far more interested in personal challenges than fashion trends, “One of the reasons I’m keen to be more involved in the wedding industry is that I really want the creative freedom to make larger, more elaborate pieces such as these headpieces—pieces that make a statement, [are] cherished forever and [are] hopefully worn again, or at least displayed on a shelf. I’m not a huge fan of very traditional weddings and strongly believe the day should be uniquely representative of the couple, their interests and personalities. I think that weddings (in my small part of the world at least) seem to be becoming more about that, more creative and less about traditions—it feels like a more inclusive direction.”
A champion of inclusion in her small business, Hannah works both sustainably and ethically; she’s a living wage employer and has worked with her staff through the pandemic to create a comfortable, safe environment in which their creativity can continue to grow without costing the earth, or her employees. She reports that productivity is actually up on the office side of the business, with meetings scheduled over Zoom allowing for a non-distracting environment to work in. “We do more meetings on zoom than we did in IRL so communication is actually better and more organised than it was before the pandemic!” Hannah has truly taken the pandemic’s hard-won lessons about flexibility and work-life accommodation to heart, but that’s not surprising, considering staff welfare has always been central to her business model. “…Staff happiness is my number one priority so paying at least the London living wage goes without saying. We also place a lot of emphasis on a good work/life balance and do the best we can in other ways to take care of and support everyone in the team.” Here is where inclusion goes off the page and becomes integrated into real life; it’s not just some word thrown around in an attempt to market to a wider audience, it’s an understanding that we are all unique humans with some shared needs.
“Inclusion in the small business community is about creating safe, respectful, supportive spaces and a level playing field for everyone. It's about striving for equitable workplaces with good representation within staff as well as in outward communications, and creating products that are also inclusive.
When spotlighting or collaborating with designers/brands/influencers on our platforms, I have a responsibility to make sure diversity and inclusion is always considered. One of the most positive things to have come from social media, is a space where pretty much anyone can build a business and be discovered. It’s also a really useful tool for social activism and educating people around inclusivity issues.”
Full disclosure: as a Wolf & Moon customer, I can fully attest that people who are loved, respected and paid fairly make the jewellery as there is a care and craft in them that is second-to-none. There’s no one who doesn’t love the aesthetic who won’t find them equal to their imaginings in real life, but there’s one particular person Hannah would love to design for: Björk! What bespoke beauty would Hannah design for the Icelandic singer-songwriter and fashion icon? “Probably a large, sculptural and surreal headpiece with a matching body piece or costume embellishments.” I would love to see it—Björk, if you’re reading this, slide into Hannah’s DMs!
While we await word from Björk, what’s Hannah working on now? “Over the past few months, I’ve been working on some personal projects using more traditional jewellery making techniques. At some point I’d love to launch a collection using solid silver and gold that still embodies the Wolf & Moon aesthetic and identity.” Hmmm…weddings…gold jewellery…is there a possibility that Wolf & Moon might become known for wedding rings in the near future? “I would probably say that a wedding ring collection is not something I have plans to do at the moment, but never say never!”
So it’s a no to rings, but an “I do!” to more alternative wedding pieces like the Celestial. “We’re hoping to launch a range of statement floral headpieces at the [Most Curious] show so I’m super excited about that. It’s also our first wedding show so I’m really looking forward to meeting other brands and generally dipping a toe into the wedding scene.” Hannah has let me know in advance—anyone who purchases on the day of the show will be offered an incredible 10% off their selected pieces. However, if you need something now—particularly after reading this profile and having a look at all the lovely Wolf & Moon designs—an NHS discount is always available. In Hannah’s own words, “It’s important to acknowledge the incredible work NHS workers do and the real strain they have been put under since the pandemic began. A discount is the least we could do!”
“It’s the least we could do,” seems to be a bit of a refrain for this socially-conscious, fair-wage-employee. Hannah’s not just thinking about her clients when she designs, she’s also considering Mother Earth and keeping her creativity from causing any more harm to our environment. “The climate crisis really cannot be ignored and everyone has their part to play in reducing their negative impact, particularly businesses. Sustainability will always be an ongoing challenge, but it’s really important to us as individuals so we’re constantly working to improve how we do things and the materials we use etc.
“We join in with the Fashion Revolution “I made your…” campaign every year to shout proudly that we make everything in-house by staff paid a fair wage with good working conditions. But we also do it to highlight how so much of the fashion industry is opaque and awash with unsustainable and harmful practices. This is mostly the fault of large fast-fashion brands, however, there is still a lot of greenwashing done by smaller brands too. Always do your research and be skeptical if the brand isn’t showing you any evidence of where, how or who makes their products.”
As a curious and increasingly-conscientious customer, I ask Hannah what are the best ways to make sure shopping small really leaves a lesser footprint?
“The best thing to do is to avoid impulse buying and do your research—if something feels off then it probably is. Ask questions like: do I know where this is made and is there evidence that those people are treated well and paid a fair wage? When it comes to small vs large brands, small brands will always be a more sustainable option even if their product isn’t particularly eco-friendly—simply because they will use fewer resources, have a smaller carbon footprint and tend to give back more to their local community.”
With that, I thank Hannah for her time. She has a busy schedule preparing for her first ever wedding show: our own A Most Curious Wedding Fair, happening this March 5th & 6th at the Truman Brewery. Buy your tickets here and come ready to be amazed at how your wedding can make an impact for good by shopping small with brands such as Wolf & Moon!