‘’Set sail with Hand & Lock this Autumn aboard the SS Golden galleon, for an extraordinary adventure in search of new lands, ancient treasures and natural wonders.
Charting an unknown course, our voyage takes us westward where we discover the island of Paradisus. A lush green sanctuary abundant with vibrant tropical flowers, exotic birds in dazzling colours and shell-strewn shores that shimmer beneath the blazing sun. Down the island's hidden paths roam fearless cheetahs, jaguars and leopards, guardians of this untouched paradise.
Along the way we gather treasures of the natural world. Delicate butterfly specimens, feathers, fragile pressed flowers and fossils, each carefully preserved in a cabinet of curiosities; Our growing collection of wonders, documenting our travels.
From tropical shores, our expedition ventures North West in search of Torrero; a mysterious desert wilderness, once said to be home to a thriving civilisation. Now inhabited by elusive desert birds, insects, snakes and giant tortoises, traces of its former glory still remain. Ancient talismans & golden coins can still be unearthed just beneath the shifting sandy surface.
Suspended gently above the desert in a magnificent hot air balloon, we float above the vast, serene landscape, spotting sweeping dunes, forgotten temples and weathered monuments through our binoculars.
As the voyage continues, navigation itself becomes an art. Guided by ornate compasses, intricate armillary spheres and celestial maps, we navigate by the stars. Above the ship, lucky swallows swoop through the air, long regarded by sailors as symbols of safe passage and good fortune.
Finally, traversing south west, we drop anchor at our last destination Nivalis; an icy Arctic realm of glittering snow-capped mountains and frozen horizons. We encounter a giant octopus emerging from the depths amongst a teeming shore of silvery fish and a reef of barnacles, mussels and oysters. Venturing inland, we discover hidden caves, carved deep into the mountains where mysterious charms and trinkets lie within their frozen chambers.
As our journey concludes, a message in a bottle is cast adrift, carrying the tales of our adventures for future intrepid travellers.’’
The Making of
The concept for our AW26 collection began way back in 2025. Our design team always aims to work at least a year in advance, to get a head start on researching, designing and sampling.
For inspiration, we often find ourselves looking to the past. Hand & Lock’s long standing history is certainly an influence, as our brand identity lends itself to antique and vintage aesthetic references. We love to explore historical influences but more importantly, we love to reinvent them into something contemporary!
During the research for our ‘Icons and Pioneers’ kit collection last year, we loved reading the stories of intrepid travellers Amelia Earhart and Maria Sibylla Merian. This was the catalyst for a collection centred around ‘explorers’. After further research, we found a whole world of visual inspiration that we could interpret; nautical and navigational tools, ancient artefacts and cabinets of curiosities, containing insects and botanical samples.
Initially, we were concerned that our pool of inspiration could in fact be too broad. After all, there is really no limit to exploration! We pondered over how we could bring everything together into one cohesive collection whilst still keeping an array of different motifs.
Then came the development of our story
The Explorers collection has become our largest and most ambitious to date, with more than 65 new products. We wanted to create something with depth, interest and abundant variety, as if each motif had been ‘collected’ along an epic journey. Rather than restricting ourselves, we let our imaginations run wild and developed a fictional adventure in which we traverse the seas, discovering new landscapes and creatures along the way.
Our story builds a vast imaginary world around our collection, with each new brooch, kit and accessory linking to a point in the narrative.
Keep reading below to uncover more from ‘Behind The Scenes’ of our Explorers collection, including details of each mini collection; Paradisus, Torrero & Nivalis.
The Island of ‘Paradisus’
The fictional island of Paradisus is envisioned as a lush tropical landscape, bordered by sun-drenched beaches. Autumnal-toned tropical florals, wild animals in antique golds and browns and textile details such as leopard print fabrics all feature. Sandy shores, shells and barnacles inspired our use of textural machine embroidery and pearl detailing.
Navigation itself also became a point of inspiration as we considered how our fearless explorers were travelling from place to place. We were drawn to the intricacy of antique compasses and time pieces, scouring lots of examples before designing our own renditions which have become key focal points within the collection.
We are thrilled with the results of our Paradisus mini collection and feel it offers the perfect transition from summer into autumn.
The Desert Wilderness of Torrero
To ensure our collection had the abundant variety we were aiming for, we wanted each fictional location to have stark contrast. Just like a real cabinet of curiosities, we wanted our designs to feel like a spectrum of wonders, collected from far flung lands.
Our second fictional island ‘Torreo’ is imagined as a vast desert landscape, sprawling out beneath a blazing sun. We imagined our explorers unearthing treasures beneath the sand, left behind by a long gone civilisation. We looked at Byzantian coins & ancient Egyptian charms as inspiration for our desert talismans and golden coin designs.
We also looked to elusive desert birds, tortoises, butterflies and insects when considering the biodiversity of the landscape. Cactus Wrens and Sandgrouse patterning inspired our feather design whilst the colours of the ‘old world swallowtail’ butterfly inspired the colour palette of our insect trio.
Antique gold bullion, rich caramel velvet, tortoiseshell accents and turquoise gemstones define the material palette of this mini collection, lending it a warmth and depth that evokes the transition into autumn.
The Arctic Realm of Nivalis
For the final stop on our fictional adventure, we drew inspiration from the frozen landscapes of the arctic where the cool, ethereal palette provides the perfect expression of a ‘winter wonderland’.
We found further inspiration in antique nautical instruments, from Armillary Spheres and Celestial Maps to the real Ships that once navigated uncharted waters. These influences led to the creation of our Armillary Charm, Celestial Compass Jewellery Box and of course the ‘SS Golden Galleon’ brooch & decoration, which have become mascots of our collection.
Shades of icy blue, deep Atlantic teal, silvers and gunmetal greys are balanced by pale antique golds; like winter sun reflecting off fresh snow.
Material choices include baroque pearls, crystals and silver bullions which tell the story through materiality.
To conclude our imagery journey, we imagined our explorers casting a message in a bottle off the shores of Nivalis, in the ultimate romanticised gesture of adventure. We’ve created a ‘message in a bottle’ brooch where a delicate layer of sheer organza encases a hidden message, preserving the final chapter of the story within the collection forever.
Thank you for joining us on this voyage! We hope the Explorers Collection becomes a treasured part of your own adventure!
You can shop the full collection here now. |
