Penny Masquerade: the perfect vintage jewellery mix

In the winter of 2008, Sarah Bratley found herself in the midst of the recession. After finishing university and struggling to find work, Sarah would find herself making pieces of jewellery with new and odd components that she would sell to make herself a bit of money. By setting up her own little shop on Etsy and becoming a familiar face at craft fairs, Sarah’s label, which she titled Penny Masquerade, snowballed into business and became a money-making dream. 

After lots of hard work and dedication, Sarah has managed to create a totally unique take on jewellery that cannot be found on the high street. Taking inspiration from the label’s name, the jewellery takes on the idea behind burlesque performers: eccentric, bold and feminine as well as having plenty of vintage flair. The jewellery itself allows different vintage components to be fused together with newer, more modern pieces. This interesting take on jewellery design has allowed Sarah to create stylish and one-of-a-kind trinkets.

Inspiration for her design content has been sourced from different areas of life. From woodland creatures, adventures at sea and fairy tales to vintage ephemera, art deco and Hollywood starlets, Sarah’s creative process is a very interesting one. Her amazing ideas, alongside lovely customer service ensure Penny Masquerade to be truly wonderful. Sarah told The Upcoming, “It’s about lovingly making the customer a piece of jewellery in a size that fits. It’s about wrapping the jewellery in gorgeous packaging that’s almost too pretty to open. It’s about looking after the customer and giving them a personal and high quality online shopping experience.”

When it comes down to our Penny Masquerade wish list, we can’t possibly say our favourite. A few of our special picks have to be the Best of British Penny Black Stamp ring for £10.00, the Parfum Ornate Gold and Glass perfume bottle necklace for £10.00 (and on sale, might we add!) and the I’d rather be reading necklace for £12.50.

The future of Penny Masquerade is an exciting one. Sarah has plans to expand the collection in a significant way; introducing vintage-inspired bridal pieces as well as the number of sterling silver pieces too. We can also look forward to the greatly anticipated Autumn/Winter 2012 collection in the not too distant future. 

Get your own exclusive jewellery fix here.

Kellie Griffiths