Issue Nº 01A/W 2650p · or free if you're nice



cut, shaped and stitched by hand in london. one at a time, so no two are the same.

turn the page ↓
A woman in a dark wool coat against a brick wall, a large ruffled fabric rose with long cream ribbons pinned at her collar.
p.1 of 12

p.2  from the cutting table

Dear
reader,

A woman in a grey knit jumper with a flat fabric poppy rosette pinned at the neckline.

This is a zine about brooches. Yes, brooches. The thing your nan wore to a wedding in 1987 and you quietly coveted from the next pew.

We make ours out of fabric offcuts, a frankly dangerous pair of scissors and an unreasonable amount of patience, in a small studio in E8. Every petal is cut by hand, shaped by hand and stitched by hand — which is why none of them match, and also why we haven't been to the pub since August.

Pin one on a coat. Pin one in your hair. Pin one on someone you fancy and see what happens. We took photographs of all three, then ran them through the photocopier at the library until it jammed.

Mind the staples.

love from the cutting table x
p.2 of 12

p.3–4  contact sheet

Sunday,
11:42am

A bed in Clapton. Two brooches, one duvet, nowhere to be. Roll 14, shot before anyone had coffee. ← drag the film →

A couple on a bed; she has a dusty-rose fabric flower in her hair, he has a ribbon brooch on a navy tee.
14 ▸ 01A
Close-up of the couple resting heads together, both brooches visible.
14 ▸ 02A
The couple lounging on white sheets, laughing.
14 ▸ 03A
The couple on the bed, portrait.
14 ▸ 04A
The couple in the morning light.
14 ▸ 05A
Close-up of the dusty-rose brooch tucked into her hair.
14 ▸ 06A
The couple tangled in the duvet.
14 ▸ 07A
The couple on the bed, first frame of the roll.
14 ▸ 08A

He says the ribbon one is his brooch now. It is not his brooch.

She has slept in hers. The petals held. We're putting that on a T-shirt.

Toast was had. Crumbs got everywhere except, miraculously, the rose.

p.3–4 of 12

p.5  public notice

Stand
on a box.
Wear a
flower.

A woman in a long dark coat stands on a black box in front of a red brick wall, a big fabric rose at her throat.
The same woman sitting on a kerb by a brick wall, rose pinned to her coat, ribbons trailing.

fig. 1 — a girl, a box, a brick wall and a rose roughly the size of a side plate. Mare Street, . The box was already there. So, frankly, was the attitude.

the big rose, cream ribbons — one of one. bag it?
p.5 of 12

p.6–7  transcribed on a typewriter, badly

Q&A with the person
holding the scissors

why brooches?
Because earrings fall out in the club and necklaces try to strangle you on the Central line. A brooch just sits there, being fabulous, minding its own business.
how long does one take?
Somewhere between one episode of Bake Off and the whole series, depending on the petals and whether the radio's any good.
why are none of them the same?
We cut by eye, not by template. We did once try to make two identical ones. It felt like cloning. Ethically dodgy. Also we failed.
who wears them?
Girls on the 38 bus. Their mums. Their mums' mates. One extremely confident man in Dalston who we think about often.
and the long ribbons?
Drama. Next question.
can I wear it on a jumper?
A jumper, a coat, a bag strap, a beret, a ponytail, a lover. We don't judge. We do, however, take photos.
p.6–7 of 12
Extreme close-up of a woman's profile, a ruffled fabric flower brooch pinned into her hair with a thin ribbon falling past her cheek.

p.8  proof of purchase

Keep
the stub

Every brooch leaves the studio with a receipt like this one, typed and stapled. Not for returns, obviously. For the scrapbook.

studio e8 · till 01
14/11/26  14:02

1x rose, dusty, for hair£68.00
1x ribbon, trailingincl.
petals, cut by eye23
hours, give or take6.5
matching pairs0
compliments (est.)∞
TOTALone of one

no refunds on compliments.
thank you, come again x

put it in the bag

p.8 of 12

p.9  a non-exhaustive guide

How to
wear one

Four suggestions, zero rules. If you pin it somewhere we haven't thought of, write in. We'll photocopy you.

A young woman asleep on folded arms, a dusty-rose fabric flower pinned in her cropped hair.

In your hair, like you meant it

Bobby-pin it behind the ear. Sleep in it. It'll survive; we've checked.

A woman holds the collar of her dark coat against a brick wall, a ruffled rose with long cream ribbons pinned at the top.

At the collar, holding your coat shut

Buttons are for people who've given up. Kingsland Road, November, no regrets.

A woman in a black vest sits in a sunny window, a cream double-rose brooch pinned at her chest.

On a vest, for dancing at the window

Cream on black. Radio on. Neighbours across the road, invested.

A woman in a cream knit vest leans on a glass-block wall, a small cobalt-blue fabric brooch at her chest.

Somewhere unexpectedly blue

One cobalt brooch does the work of a whole outfit. Science, probably.

p.9 of 12

p.10  the friends issue

Shared custody.

Three friends in vintage furs crouch on a pavement, one wearing a cobalt-blue fabric brooch, another a cream rosette.
Three friends standing against a pale wall in furs and skirts, brooches pinned to coats.

Three friends, two vintage furs, one cobalt brooch they now share on a rota written on the back of a Tesco receipt.

Tuesday is Mei's. Weekends are contested. Avoid the custody battle — get your own →

p.10 of 12

p.11  subscriptions dept.

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New brooches, the odd studio sale, and whatever we photocopied this month. Four-ish times a year. Never spam; we're far too busy stitching.

14 NOV 2026

we'll only write when there's something worth the stamp.

p.11 of 12