Two Turtle Doves
A Memoir of Making Things
Published on 13. March 2014
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-4088-4118-1 (ISBN)
Description
Two Turtle Doves is the story of a life spent making things.
Growing up in 1970s Suffolk in a crumbling giant of a house with wild, tangled gardens, Alex Monroe was left to wreak havoc by invention. Without visible parental influence, but with sisters to love him and brothers to fight for him, he made nature into his world.
Creation became a compulsion, whether it was go-carts and guns, cross-bows and booby-traps, boats, bikes or scooters. And then, it was jewellery.
From full-out warfare waged against the local schoolboys to the freedom found in daredevil Raleigh bike antics to the delicacies of dress-making and the most intricate designs for jewellery, Two Turtle Doves traces the intimate journey of how an idea is transformed from a fleeting thought into an exquisite piece of jewellery. It is about where we find our creativity, how we remember and why we make the things we do.
Growing up in 1970s Suffolk in a crumbling giant of a house with wild, tangled gardens, Alex Monroe was left to wreak havoc by invention. Without visible parental influence, but with sisters to love him and brothers to fight for him, he made nature into his world.
Creation became a compulsion, whether it was go-carts and guns, cross-bows and booby-traps, boats, bikes or scooters. And then, it was jewellery.
From full-out warfare waged against the local schoolboys to the freedom found in daredevil Raleigh bike antics to the delicacies of dress-making and the most intricate designs for jewellery, Two Turtle Doves traces the intimate journey of how an idea is transformed from a fleeting thought into an exquisite piece of jewellery. It is about where we find our creativity, how we remember and why we make the things we do.
Reviews / Votes
This is a tremendous book. A generous story of making, looking, travelling and growing up... * <b>Edmund de Waal</b> * This month we're excited about ... Jeweller Alex Monroe's memoir. 'I loved his accounts of childhood escapades, his honesty about feeling shy at big events and his admission that, for his, real satisfaction comes not from glitzy parties but from seeing a stranger on a train wearing one of his creation.' Recommended * <b><i>Psychologies</i></b> * A hidden gem ... A good deal more than a memoir. It is difficult to think of a text that better describes the way in which lived experience is translated by high craftsmanship into art ... I imagine its being rediscovered with delight in some dusty book case a century hence and hailed as a classic * <b><i>Spectator</b></i> * A wonderful book, a hymn to the pleasurable process of making things * <b><i>The Times</i></b> * Just as delicate and golden as his famous pieces - a heartfelt celebration of creativity, craftsmanship and love * <b><i>Harper's Bazaar</i></b> * Magical * <b><i>Elle</b></i> * A memoir plus, brilliantly describing how lived experience is translated by craftsmanship into art * <b><i>Spectator</i> Books of the Year</b> *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 153 mm
Weight
441 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-4118-1 (9781408841181)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2014
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€14.49
Available for download
Person
Alex Monroe grew up in rural Suffolk and showed a keen interest in art and design from an early age. Alex trained at Sir John Cass Faculty of Art in Whitechapel. He set up his business in South London in 1986 and Alex Monroe Jewellery is now an iconic and internationally successful brand.
@agmonroe
www.alexmonroe.com
@agmonroe
www.alexmonroe.com