Getting kitschy at Kitschen Sink

There are many kitsch jewellery retailers out there but it takes a good one to remind you of your childhood. Kitschen Sink does precisely that, especially if you’re a child from the 80s and early 90s.

Kitschen Sink was created by Rowan, who was born in 1982. She spent time at her grandma’s during the holidays and on mornings before school. Paint, pencils, knitting needles, pins, wool and felt all came out when Rowan was visiting her grandma. Rowan spent time learning how to draw, knit and sew and this led her to want to use her time to be creative from then on.

In 2004 Kitschen Sink was born. Rowan did a brief stint training to be a teacher but then found herself unemployed. When she was window-shopping in the boutiques of Lincoln, she was astounded by the prices of the jewellery. This led her to spend time selling possessions on eBay to survive while she began creating jewellery. She made a bracelet from Lego that she had picked up when she was babysitting and put it on eBay for 99p. The auction ended at £15. Clearly this was a business worth pursuing.  However, it’s only been since 2007 that Kitschen Sink has seen true success.

When you look through the collection you see bits of nostalgia, such as these colourful, retro, candy, huge, hoop earrings, which brings back memories of a toy from the 80s. Retro-lovers will adore the pieces that Rowan has made from Lego, such as the Lego rings that come in a variety of colours.

“I’m definitely inspired the most by comics and pop art,” she says – and you can clearly see this with the slogan necklaces, such as this Kapow necklace. “I love flat, untextured colour, Americana signage and packaging also really appeals to me.” With a vast number of Perspex pieces you can guarantee you’ll find something bold and funky.

So what is Rowan’s design process? “I just like learning and experimenting and every so often something really works and I stick with it!” You can’t argue with that, can you?

At the moment Rowan’s favourite pieces are the one-off Bambi designs. “They are all 100% original as I designed and cut the setting myself before starting to make them.”

Whether you love Bambi or want something bold and kitsch, one thing is for certain: Kitschen Sink is the place to go to to take you back to being a kid. You can grab a bit of retro from Kitschen Sink’s Folksy site here.

Jenny Rodgers
Photos: Courtesy of Kitschen Sink