Decoration of waistcoats

Tamarind Tree Originals endeavour, wherever possible, to use recycled items for decoration to the waistcoats. The sourcing expedition in Rajasthan in early 2008 produced the small elephant bells, the stitched fabric birds, wooden beads and animals. All these items are made and sold by local craftspeople.

Sourcing in the UK has produced a wealth of items, many donated by generous friends who support the recycling effort and our commitment to donate a minimum of 10% of our profits to charity.

A variety of different style watches have been acquired, the straps removed and each item individually cleaned before being stitched to the clothes. Some of these watches are in working order but most are not. They are recycled for decorative purposes only. The leather and fabric straps have been sent for recycling, after the metal buckle has been removed and added to the decorations inventory. The metal chain link straps have been cut and adjusted to add to the decoration on the garments.

In addition to watches, most households have redundant keys and sourcing vintage keys is an interesting exercise. When the provenance of the keys has been investigated they come from far and wide and from a variety of applications. We have old car keys, cabinet keys from the USA, Germany and France; a mass of antique door keys of various styles and origins.

Vintage Brooches and jewellery are much sought after at the moment. We have been very grateful to receive donations of wonderful bling dating back several decades. To add to this treasure we have mounted foraging expeditions around the Home Counties in search of the beautiful, the quirky, and kitsch to add to our collection, thus enabling us to give each garment a truly original style of its own.