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C W Sellors Fine Jewellery are pleased to announce they have become official UK distributors of the pet jewellery brands Dog Fever and Cat Fever – a luxury range of unique cat and dog styled jewellery, produced in sterling silver and enamel.

With a quality and hand finish from Italian manufacturers, the collection includes pendants earrings, bracelets and rings of over 60 breeds of dogs and cats, all with a truly lifelike appeal. The pricing has also been reviewed and in turn made it more affordable, keeping the quality of the product the same.

For any retailer who has not seen the detail on the designs, a look at the collection is a must, especially as the UK spend on pets and related products continues to grow. A record 4.5 billion pounds was spent in 2017, proving there is a large market in which to tap into.

Should you need any more convincing to stock a quality pet product in-store, just think how many of your own customers are owners to the 17 million cats and dogs in the UK, or if not, are wanting to buy a gift for someone who is. In addition to the core collection, C W Sellors can work with any retailer to customise any piece to match specific colours and markings of a customer’s pet.

Rebecca Sellors, Jewellery Designer at C W Sellors, said: “For anyone who has ever owned a pet, which includes myself, we have all seen many designs and jewellery related products which quite frankly are of poor design and low quality. With the Dog Fever and Cat Fever collections there is now a truly wearable product being offered. Being owner to a gorgeous Staffordshire Bull Terrier I also know just how loved any family pet is and the Fever collections offer the chance to gift a stylish and special accessory for any proud pet owner.”

Retailers will get the chance to see the full collection at C W Sellors’ stands at the upcoming CMJ August Event, prior to their wider launch of the product at IJL (2^nd – 4^th September).

Next spring, Chatsworth will present its most ambitious exhibition to date exploring the history of fashion and adornment: House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth. Hamish Bowles, International Editor-at-Large at American Vogue, will curate this landmark show with creative direction and design by Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfreda, the duo behind some of the most memorable fashion exhibitions of recent years. House Style will give unprecedented insight into the depth of the Devonshire Collection and the lives of renowned style icons from Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire to Stella Tennant.

The exhibition will bring to life the captivating individuals from the Cavendish family, including Bess of Hardwick, one of the most powerful women of the 16th century; the 18th century “Empress of Fashion” Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire; and Adele Astaire, the sister and dance partner of Fred Astaire. Deborah Devonshire and Nancy Mitford, two of the Mitford sisters; model Stella Tennant and John F Kennedy’s sister ‘Kick’ Kennedy will also be central to the show. Telling the rich history of both international style and the Devonshire Collection, the exhibition will demonstrate the power of fashion to illuminate these extraordinary characters.

House Style will be woven throughout one of Britain’s finest stately homes, including the largest and grandest room of the Baroque house, the Painted Hall; the Chapel and the lavishly decorated State Music Room. Layering art history, fashion, jewellery, archival material, design and textiles, the exhibition will be organised by theme, including Coronation Dress; The Devonshire House Ball; Bess of Hardwick and the Tudor influence; The Georgiana Effect; Ducal Style; Country Living; The Circle of Life; and Entertaining at Chatsworth.

Highlights of the exhibition will include exceptional couture designed by Jean Phillipe Worth and Christian Dior, together with influential contemporary garments from designers such as Gucci, Helmut Lang, Margiela, Erdem, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane and Vetements. The show will also feature personal family collections, including items belonging to the current Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, such as a Givenchy bolero worn on the Duchess’ wedding day. These pieces will be displayed alongside livery, uniforms, coronation robes and fancy-dress costumes, demonstrating the varying breadth of fashion and adornment from the Collection throughout the generations.

Important artworks will also be on display, including rare costume designs from the 1660s by Inigo Jones, Surveyor to the King’s Works and one of the most notable architects of 17th century England. Contemporary artist TJ Wilcox will be showing his intimate filmed portrait of Adele Astaire, which contains the only extant film of the star, found at Chatsworth in 2015.

Hamish Bowles commented: “To be let loose in the wardrobe rooms, the gold vaults, the muniment room, and the closets, cupboards, and attics of Chatsworth, in search of sartorial treasures has been a dream come true for me. Chatsworth is a real treasure house and the characters of generations of Cavendish family members who have peopled its rooms and gardens and landscapes is revealed as vividly through their choice of clothing and adornments, as through the canvases and lenses of the great artists and photographers who have memorialised them through the centuries. In House Style, we hope to bring these compelling and fascinating people and the very different worlds they inhabited to life, through the clothes and the jewels that they wore.”

Alessandro Michele, Creative Director at Gucci, commented: “Chatsworth is unlike anywhere else in the world. A place full of charm, history and rituals. It is a piece of England, of Europe and the contemporary world, all at the same time. You can see history everywhere, yet everything is alive.

This exhibition proves how much historical objects are an incredible source of inspiration for creating the present. Thus far the house has been speaking, now House Style gives a voice to the wardrobes of its inhabitants and guests.”

Patrick Kinmonth commented: “The patina of Chatsworth House itself is one of the greatest treasures of the collections, and looking at the surfaces and materials of clothes worn over hundreds of years in these very rooms proves to be a novel way to rediscover both the house and the wonderful things in it. Clothes and personal objects (especially jewels), in turn bring ghosts and visions of remarkable characters to the surface of the place, and we hope to conjure the presence of these remarkable men and women who have animated, loved and created this unique ensemble of great art, furniture and personal style in its many layers.”

House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth has been made possible with the support of principal sponsor Gucci, together with C W Sellors Fine Jewellery, Investec, Sotheby’s and Wedgwood.

To coincide with the exhibition, Rizzoli will publish House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth, with a foreword by the Duke of Devonshire; an introduction by the Countess of Burlington; edited by Hamish Bowles; and essays and texts by Hamish Bowles, Kimberley Chrisman-Campbell, Charlotte Mosley, Sarah Mower, Diana Scarisbrick, and Lady Sophia Topley. This book will be a 200-page survey of fashion at Chatsworth featuring photographs by Cecil Beaton, Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel, Tim Walker, Mario Testino, Ellen von Unwerth, and many previously unseen pictures from the Devonshire personal photograph albums.

The exhibition runs from 25 March to 22 October 2017, and is included in the price of entry to Chatsworth House.

Throughout our Ashbourne workshop, our team of talented silversmiths, gemstone cutters and designers are what continue to drive the company forward. It was therefore no surprise they were the first choice when our friends at Chatsworth wanted to recreate some of their exquisite jewellery from a bygone era, for a very special project that will form part a major exhibit for Chatsworth in 2017.

The fashion choices of the Devonshire family over the centuries is the principle theme of the exhibition. In particular, the magnificent costume created for Louise, Duchess of Devonshire, which she wore at a lavish ball at Devonshire House in 1897, to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

Forming part of the costume was a spectacular head piece which consisted of pearls, coloured gemstones and some very intricate metalwork. Working from just a solitary sepia photograph, our workshop was set the task of recreating it. This meant starting again from scratch, from sketching out the initial designs, through to sourcing all the gemstones and pearls, and handcrafting every piece of the detailed silver frame. Heading up a talented workshop team focused on the recreation, Paul Barker commented: “It’s been a fabulous project to work on. There were so many design issues to overcome, many from an aesthetic point of view, but also several purely practical considerations, such as how the pearls hung on the headdress when worn to create the correct balance and an even weight distribution.”

Reflecting on the final design, Paul notes: “Working closely with the project team at Chatsworth we were able to provide a very accurate recreation. The end result includes a wonderful piece of Derbyshire Blue John as one of its key features. We hope people will enjoy seeing our finished creation.”

Alongside the head-piece, our workshop and design team have also been busy recreating two additional diamond tiaras and developing a special retail jewellery collection inspired by the Devonshire family. These can be viewed first-hand when the exhibition opens at Chatsworth in March 2017.

Read more about House Style on the Chatsworth website