MEET KITSCHEN

An interview with Kitty Konsta: turning nostalgia into jewellery, one fried egg and party ring at a time.

Kitschen isn’t your average jewellery brand; it’s breakfast rings, pea studs, and tiny treasures that turn food obsessions into jewellery statements. Born from a love of miniatures, dollhouses, and a lifelong crush on comfort food, Kitschen is all about nostalgia you can wear. 

We sat down with founder Kitty Konsta to talk about full English breakfasts, pain au chocolat struggles, and why joy is the secret ingredient behind every piece.

Q & A

What was the bite? That moment where you thought: ‘I’m going to make jewellery and it’s going to look like a full English’?

I’ve always been obsessed with tiny things and food. I used to love playing with my dollhouse and, in later years, wanted to be a chef. I finally landed on jewellery at 17 and it stuck. I think merging the two worlds came naturally. I liked the idea of it being a novelty, but the jewellery itself being wearable and stylish with a hidden meaning.

Take us into the studio. When you start with an idea — say, ‘beans on toast’ — what’s the first step in turning it into jewellery?

I usually start by drawing. I’m a terrible drawer, but it gets the idea across. Then I generally move onto the computer, since I was trained to use CAD (computer-aided design), and I find it really easy to visualise what I’m trying to portray in my head without wasting a load of time or materials.

Full English breakfast is iconic, but are there foods that didn’t work when you tried to make them jewellery?

Weirdly, I found the full English really natural to design. What I have tried to do is a pain au chocolat. I’ve got the classic croissant, but for some reason I can’t figure out how I’d go about the chocolate one. Do I show the chocolate filling from above, or do I go for that classic rectangular shape? But then, does that even resemble a pain au chocolat?! God, my life’s hard… ;)

Food is comfort, food is culture, food is memory. When someone puts on a bacon ring or a fried egg stud, what feeling do you hope they carry with them?

When people wear my jewellery, I want them to feel joy. It sounds cringe, but it’s true. We live in such a serious world that being able to have a hidden meaning behind your jewellery, that only you know is there, is something I love. That’s the whole point of Kitschen — for the person wearing it to feel some kind of emotion tied to that food (because, as you say, food holds a lot of memory and nostalgia). But it’s not like that person has to tell everyone, “these are baked beans on my hands.” That’s up to them. To the average person, unless you told them, they’d have no idea.

If Kitschen could collab with anyone — celebrity chef, designer, or fictional foodie who’s getting the call?

Honestly, there are an embarrassingly large number of people and companies I’ve reached out to with no response. But if I had to pick one, it would be Amelia Dimz. I know she loves fried eggs, and I’d love to collab on a fried chicken–themed ring <3

Now let’s talk about your new ‘Nostalgia’ drop. When people hear ‘nostalgia,’ they’ll think of their childhood favourites. What foods did you decide to immortalise this time, and why?

For this drop, it’s the first of many nostalgia-themed foods I’ll be releasing over the year. I wanted to start off with ‘tea time’ and then a sweet option. So, I’ve designed Fish Fingers, Smiley Face Potatoes, and Peas… and then Banana Split, Curly Wurly, and Party Ring!

Nostalgia hits different for everyone, which piece in the drop holds the most memories for you?

For me, I’d say the Smiley Face Potatoes. I feel like every kid was into those. Then I’d say peas — although that’s more recent. I eat peas with almost every meal.

Having you at our pop-up this summer was a highlight! It reminded us why we’re building spaces like Fassion in the first place. From your side, what makes being part of a community like this so valuable?

I loved it so much! Being part of a community like Fassion is so important, and doing pop-ups like that was incredible. Not only do all of us small business owners get to meet each other, but it also gives the public a fresh perspective on shopping.

In a world of Amazon and ASOS, we forget how amazing it is to have people actually making your pieces by hand, in small batches, and sustainably. Fassion shines a light on that.

Of course, the Nostalgia drop just landed, but what can we expect from Kitschen in the next 3–6 months? Is a Christmas collection on the menu?

Haha, well… I’m hopefully going to be releasing three more Nostalgia pieces over the next few months. But in the meantime, I’ve got a few collabs launching. In fact, I finished one of them today! (Think pepperoni ;) 

Check out Kitschen on Fassion now!