Fiona moved to London from Glasgow in 2000 and studied at both Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion before setting up a stall at Portobello and Spitalfields markets. Her love for jewellery and her interest in the glamour of the 1940s and 1950s inspired Fiona to create a vast range of jewellery and accessories from necklaces to pasties using silver, gold, leather, fabric, beads, stones and charms.
In 2005 she opened the Black Pearl boutique, located in Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street. The shop is decorated in a South Seas tiki style and evokes the spirit of tiki bars such as ‘Beachcomber’ and ‘Trader Vic’s’. These bars became popular in the 1950s as places where people could go to forget the mundanity of everyday life and sit back with a cocktail in their own tropical paradise. Classic pin-ups of the 50s starring the likes of Bettie Page, Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe are Fiona’s muses and inspire her collections. Black Pearl boutique is a treasure trove of delights – beautiful vintage dresses sit alongside handmade miniature hats, retro-inspired lingerie, corsets, flower hairclips, necklaces, pasties and charm jewellery.
Fiona’s influences are wide and varied. She is both a British and an American citizen and was born in Cairo, Egypt. Themes of travel, tattoos, souvenirs, surrealism, trinkets and messages of love are all used to create her unique style of jewellery and accessories.
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| Pearl hoop earrings Black Pearl boutique £16 Shop Now |
Three row gold ruffle cuff Black Pearl boutique £45 Shop Now |
Gold Eiffel tower charm Black Pearl boutique £65 Shop Now |
1. Diamonds or Pearls?
Diamonds.
2. Leather or lace?
Leather.
3. One thing we would never guess about you.
I was born in Cairo, so technically I’m Egyptian.
4. What inspires you?
All kinds of things – trailing through antique and flea markets (one of my favourite things to do!), watching old films (I love the Technicolour ones), nature (flowers, insects), art (I recently saw a Cy Twombley exhibition in Chicago and was really inspired), I love the style 1940s and 50s – the clothes, hair, jewellery, the glamour!
5. Your seasonal ‘must- have’?
I’m going to be all about socks this Autumn/Winter.
6. Favourite City?
I recently fell in love with Paris.
7. A book you would recommend?
Watch You Bleed – The Saga of Guns n’ Roses. I read it on holiday, very entertaining.
8. Most treasured piece of jewellery?
A vintage gold charm bracelet which was a present from my Mum. I wear it all the time, but never put charms on it – I find them a bit too jangly.
9. Favourite item of clothing?
A vintage kids size Harley Davidson leather jacket I got at Portobello a few years ago. It goes with everything!
10. A ‘pearl of wisdom’?
Never bleach your own hair.
