Hattie Stewart's Watches

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problem son
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Hattie Stewart's Watches

Post by problem son »

Who is Hattie Stewart? She is certainly not a watchmaker but her art has been responsible for transforming a number of watches into little works of art. So she is an artist then, yes she is, although she would probably describe herself more as a "professional doodler". In fact, the art of Hattie Stewart, while having a childlike cartoon quality, is in fact sophisticated and intriguing, and it ranges from the clever colour-doodling over magazine covers to collaboration with various fashion and other companies.

Hattie Stewart started drawing as a child, copying characters from Beano and Dandy comics. Her ambition to be a fashion illustrator was not really her calling, partly because her sense of fun and the absurd lent her work a more creative and amusing jist. She did a foundation course at Colchester and then a degree in illustration at Kingston, graduating in 2010. Having completed her formal training, Hattie then took a job in a bar and on one quiet evening, she started drawing over a magazine picture of Lily Allen. This was the beginning of a major theme of her work, that of altering the images of well-known people in magazines, and from this emerged a career involved with her own work and collaborations with others, including companies producing watches.

Hattie Stewart's work is already highly regarded and in she has recently started to satirize adverts, which like her magazine covers, takes a gentle and comical approach. She is now hoping to get into film and animation, and hopes to continue her collaborations albeit with herself retaining as much control as possible. Although she is London-based, she is considering a move to LA, and wherever she goes, her bubbly and enthusiastic nature will surely lead to more commissions and a wider appreciation of her colourful and joyous art.

In terms of the watches that bear Hattie Stewart designs on their faces - much to the enlivenment of these timepieces - the two companies most associated with her watches are Triwa and Marc Jacobs. Marc Jacobs is a fashion company with a wide portfolio of products. Her animal watch dials for a "MARC BY MARC JACOBS" watch are a real treat, including one picturing a black cat in a striking design, with another (illustrated below) featuring a bird design. Watches in the Marc by Marc Jacobs line vary in price according to whether they are quartz or mechanical, and in both cases the movements are Japanese Miyota. Marc Jacobs watches like those of Micheal Kors, originate from the "House of Fossil" which means that they are of sound quality even though they are fashion watches.

Triwa, founded in 2007 by four friends, is perhaps a more interesting company. It is based in Stockholm and produces watches with a definite Swedish design flare. The Hattie Stewart designs for Triwa are an all-over crazy patterned cartoon-like abstracts, and they certainly liven up the more stern and strict designs that Triwa usually produces. In fact, Triwa, being an independent company specialising in only watches and sunglasses, with an 18-person design team in their Stockholm studio, is ultimately perhaps more interesting to watch collectors than Marc Jacobs. And I must confess that I do prefer Triwa watches design-wise, although when it comes to the Hattie Stewart watches, the Marc Jacobs examples are as exciting -if different - as the Triwa ones. Triwa, like Marc Jacobs, does use decent materials and Japanese movements in their watches, with Triwa watches all containing Miyota movements, frequently the two subdial OS11 chrono movement. I don't know who actually manufactures watches for Triwa though.

Anyway, to get back finally to Hattie herself, I illustrate here a couple of her designs for watches:

Hattie Stewart Triwa watch (pic from pinterest.com):

Image


Marvellous Hattie Stewart watch for Marc Jacobs (pic from indulgy.com):

Image

The prices of Marc Jacobs and Triwa watches are generally in the same ballpark, and neither are hugely expensive. In fact the price of the illustrated Hattie Stewart watch for Marc Jacobs can be found for about $150, and the Triwa Hattie Stewart watches cost as little as £37.50 with free postage (from Triwa) - a huge discount on the original price of £125. It should be noted that the collaboration between Triwa and Hattie Stewart (in 2013) resulted in only two different watches.
Given that Hattie Stewart's artistic career is probably still on the rise, her watch designs do seem a very cheap way of acquiring something by her, and something that is eminently useful and wearable.
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Re: Hattie Stewart's Watches

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Well, they are certainly colourful and interesting, and any Stuart, or Stewart even, is a welcome relief after 118 years of Tudors! :D
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Re: Hattie Stewart's Watches

Post by problem son »

Thanks so much for the response Steve. I wrote this one off the cuff, so to speak, as I was feeling a bit down and wanted to write something cheerful for members, and for myself.
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Re: Hattie Stewart's Watches

Post by Kip »

Thank you for an interesting post. Although the designs do not appeal to me, I can see the fashion appeal. I did not see any current Stewart designs on either the Marc Jacobs or Triwa websites. Has the appeal passed?
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Re: Hattie Stewart's Watches

Post by Paul Drawmer »

NO. Not for me.
There's always time for one more.
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Re: Hattie Stewart's Watches

Post by tempusmaximus »

No , not for me either but for those who like their fashion watches they could appeal . Thank's for the post though i found it very interesting , i had never heard of Hattie Stewart .
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Re: Hattie Stewart's Watches

Post by Simon57 »

Nice and colourful. If you can't wear a so called "good" watch, the next best thing is something with personality which these certainly have.
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