Vegan quits job to make bespoke jewellery out of roadkill

Kat Arnold was working as a sales rep when she found a puppy’s skull on a beach while on holiday and it inspired her to create her business.

She now created bespoke jewellery out of roadkill, costing up to £400 an item.

The 34-year-old, from Bethnal Green, east London, launched Virginia the Wolf – named after British writer Virginia Woolf – in 2013. Her work has been hugely successful and she has even commissioned to make pieces for a Vogue photoshoot.

Kat, who has been a committed vegan since she was 17, said: ‘I make jewellery and keepsakes out of all sorts of animal bones and I would love to see my work on the runway at London Fashion Week.

‘I’ve used bones from rabbits, crows, magpies, wild Spanish cats and dogs, snakes, badgers, squirrels and owls.’

Now she takes bones she finds on the side of motorways or from woods, or from collectors and the council, and turns them into unique pieces. She even turns people’s beloved pets into jewellery to remember them by long after they have died.

Despite her growing success, Kat admits her decision to launch such an unusual business in 2013, even took her by surprise.

‘When I was at school, I was straight-A student, so I always thought I’d have an academic career of some sort and back then I wanted to be a lawyer,’ she said.

‘Instead, I ended up working as a sales rep in the drinks industry. I knew I couldn’t do it forever, but I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do.

‘I used to make jewellery out of beads and fabric and sell the pieces to make a bit of extra cash, but it was never something I thought I’d do as a proper job.’

But when she came across the puppy skull while on holiday in Cuba in 2013, she found herself being drawn to animal bones.

She explained: ‘I found a puppy skull lying on the beach. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I had the urge to pick it up and examine it.

‘I suddenly became really interested in the skull and I didn’t want to put it back.

‘I took it home to the UK in my suitcase and because it was covered in dirt and dead bugs, I taught myself how to clean it by Googling it.’

Later that year, she spotted a gap in the market for ‘colourful and quirky’ bone jewellery, Kat decided to create her first piece.

‘Most of the bone jewellery being sold was Gothic or tribal looking,’ she said. ‘I’ve always loved bright colours and I thought, “Why not make pretty pieces from bones?”

‘I bought some rabbit bones from a lady who had found them in her back garden and sold them on eBay for about a fiver,’ she explained.

‘I spray painted the rabbit skull gold, put it on a chain to make into a necklace and sold it on the Internet for about £20.’

From there, her business was born – but seven years on, Kat says she will never forget her vegan principles when she is making her pieces and sticks to one golden rule.

‘As a vegan, it’s so important to me that I only use bones from animals that haven’t been used for human consumption,’ she said.

‘I only work with the bones from wild animals or dead pets. I would never use the bones from farm animals bred to be eaten.’

Because of this, she is quite selective about where she finds bones for her customers, around 70% of who come from the USA.

This also means Kat, who says around 70 per cent of her customers are from the USA, is very selective about sourcing her raw materials.

‘Sometimes I drive up and down motorways looking for animals on the side of the road that have been killed by cars,’ she said.

‘Or I go on camping trips to the countryside and go looking for dead animals in the woods.

‘And I use some bones from collectors who have found them and want to sell them on.

‘I’ve also got a friend who works for a local council. If any dogs or cats get run over, their bodies are kept in a freezer for about six months in case their owners come to claim them.

‘But if no one comes my friend lets me know and I’ll take them instead.’

Kat feels strongly that her business model is helping to combat the “waste” created by a “consumerist society.”

‘A lot of people don’t always understand what I do or the ethos behind it,” she said. “But when I explain how I do it and that I’m only using wild animal bones they can appreciate why I do it.

‘So many companies are creating new products and the majority of them are fairly disposable.

‘I’d like to think that in a world where we are drowning in waste, I am able to flip that idea on its head.

‘Instead of creating more waste, I am upcycling something that is natural, but considered to be waste and turning it into something that will be cherished for a very long time.’

Kat, who has been working at a studio in Peckham, south east London, since 2015, says transforming bones into bespoke jewellery is not a quick process.

‘Before I got my studio I used to work from home,” she said. ‘I’d take the dead animals home and then leave them rotting on my balcony – it was a bit gross.

‘Now I’ve got a studio with a small garden space and I’ve dug a graveyard for the animals.

‘I bury them in onion bags because you need to let the animals macerate, or soften, in the moisture of the soil, for a few weeks.

‘For bigger animals like badgers, it can take up to a year. They’ve got more fat, so it takes longer to draw the flesh and the fat away from the bones.’

Once macerated – the softening or breaking of an object – Kat then digs up the animal bones and cleans them with water and toothpaste, before pulling them apart and soaking them in hydrogen peroxide.

After that, they are ready for her to decorate and add to. She’s created everything from wedding tiaras to corsages and crowns, but she says her prices also vary widely, depending on what she is making.

‘What I charge depends on the animal rarity and how long it took me to clean the bones and then put them back together,’ she said.

‘I can charge anything from just £10 to £400 for a piece.’

Sadly, Kat says a lot of people are still put off by the idea of wearing bones and that, until people learn to accept, they are just a natural material, while her business will tick over, it will never hit the big time.

‘I don’t think society has accepted that it’s okay to wear bones as jewellery just yet,’ she said.

‘Some people will see my jewellery and react with shock or disgust, but then they’ll have no problem wearing leather shoes.’

To find out more visit Virginia the Wolf or follow Kat on Instagram at @virginiathewolf.

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