The high-class jeweller on switching from silversmithing to memoir-writing to keep up with his daughters, including the film-maker Emerald, in lockdown
Jewellery designer Theo Fennell, 70, was born in Egypt to an army family and educated at Eton. After attending art college, his first job was as an apprentice silversmith in London’s Hatton Garden. He’s been designing jewellery and silver for more than 40 years, opening his first shop in the Fulham Road in 1982. He lives in London with his wife, Louise, an author. They have two daughters: writer, actor and director Emerald and fashion designer Coco. His memoir, I Fear for This Boy: Some Chapters of Accidents, is out now.
How come you’re publishing your first book aged 70?
It was never intended as anything other than a sort of private ramble. The purpose was to have 50 printed as jolly Christmas presents, just as a laugh for family and friends. Quite a few people had told me: “I wish you’d write down those bloody stories because otherwise you’re going to tell us them again.” They thought it might be an act of catharsis but all it did was make me feel slightly ashamed in places – that awful rising sense of embarrassment I used to get during hangovers.
