Fennell has lived a life full of exuberance, adventure, incredible failure and even occasional success - as his humorous new memoir reveals.
Jane McGowan sits down with the celebrated jeweller to discuss his disarming new book, I Fear for this Boy – Some Chapters of Accidents.
- Fennell will appear in discussion with Richard E Grant at Barnes BookFest on September 24. To book tickets, click here.
Theo Fennell is one of those people you wished you had known all your life. Within minutes of starting our conversation he has told me enough stories to fill several pages - some of which, sadly, I could not repeat herein.
Luckily, there will be a chance to hear more when the ‘king of bling’ turned writer chats to actor and pal Richard E Grant about his memoir, I Fear for this Boy – Some Chapters of Accidents, at Barnes Bookfest this month.
Born in Egypt in 1951 into an army family, Theo spent the early part of his childhood travelling the world before being despatched to England for an Eton education. From there, he headed to art school, before taking a job as an apprenticeship silversmith under designer Edward Barnard in London’s famous jewellery quarter, Hatton Garden.
Despite his best efforts to sabotage his own career - through a rather cavalier approach to business and more than a few parties - Theo worked his way up, eventually emerging as one the country’s leading jewellers. Based in Fulham for almost a quarter of a century, he has recently headed to a studio (owing to "ludicrous rents") in Chelsea Barracks, where he continues to produce a range of stellar pieces for notables such as Lady Gaga, Sir Elton John and Madonna.
So what prompted the book?
“Oh it was lockdown,” he laughs. “I wanted to do something, so I thought I would write a novel. But it was a lot harder than I thought.”
Despite his best efforts to sabotage his own career - through a rather cavalier approach to business and more than a few parties - Theo worked his way up, eventually emerging as one the country’s leading jewellers.
The Fennells are a very creative lot. Theo’s wife Louise is a well-respected author, his younger daughter Coco is a fashion designer, while his eldest daughter Emerald is both an actor - with roles including Patsy Mount in Call the Midwife and Camilla in Netflix smash hit The Crown - and writer, who won an Oscar for her screenplay Promising Young Woman. She was also one of the leading pens behind the global BBC hit Killing Eve.
Wasn’t he daunted at the prospect of putting his efforts in front of such a celebrated group?
“No, he says firmly. “Because I am used to their absolute disrespect for me. But I have learned to rise above it,” he adds with a chuckle.
“I spoke to a friend of mine for advice and he said, ‘Why don’t you write some of those tales down about your life and see what happens?’ So I did. I thought if nothing else it would be interesting for my daughters. It's actually something I wish my father had done for me.
“I thought I would have a few copied printed for my friends and family for Christmas. But after a lot of editing by my wife, with her crossing out sections and saying, ‘Boring old fool… no one interested' and so on, this thin and rather savaged manuscript came back to me. I then sent it to the friend again, who passed it on to his publisher, who phoned to say he wanted to publish it. So what came from something done just to stem the boredom, suddenly became rather serious.”
Clear in his own mind that this was a personal project, aimed firmly at those around him, Theo had consciously framed the book within certain parameters. Kiss-n-tell celeb stories, for one thing, were unequivocally beyond the pale.
"Unless something ghastly happens in them, they're actually just plain boring," he explains. “We have a family motto: ‘Everyone hates a winner’. And they absolutely do. Stories about how I met various famous people wouldn't go well at all."
“I also decided there would be absolutely no sex. There would be nothing more embarrassing for my children to read about than their doddery old father indulging in anything sexual.”
Theo was also careful that his work should not upset anyone.
“I definitely didn’t want to harm my friends or make them look foolish,” he insists, before adding playfully: “That would also have made the book so much longer than it is.”
“We have a family motto: ‘Everyone hates a winner’. And they absolutely do. Stories about how I met various famous people wouldn't go well at all."
And so, instead, he gathered together a few yarns - or ‘cock-ups’, as he terms them - which are mostly endearing and all very amusing. The title itself comes from one of Theo’s old school reports - none of which, let the record state, held out much hope for his success. One stated with a sarcastic flourish: ‘Fennel’s nose and the grindstone have not come anywhere near each other this year.’
But those teachers were jumping the gun. As an adult, Theo has worked hard to attain and retain his place in the jewellery world – he is a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths and an ambassador for the Goldsmiths Craft and Design Council – and now the world of literature too. Theo’s work has graced the bodies and homes of the highest society for more than 40 years, his bespoke pieces exhibiting a distinctly British sensibility inspired by everything from music halls to Elizabethan art.
As a fervent supporter of the industry, Theo has also launched the Gilded Youth programme: an exciting initiative which, through sponsoring prizes and awards, gives a voice to aspiring silversmiths and helps to nurture the master jewellers of tomorrow.
“I think it is important for the future of the industry,” he says, suddenly serious. “It was a world I knew nothing about and then someone was foolish enough to give me a job.
“This trade has such breadth. Its creatives are such lovely people that I wanted to tell others about it; to share with young people that it exists. I like being able to offer them some help – even when it's telling them what not to do, which is my speciality. Sometimes that can be just as important.“
Before discovering this world, I tried my hand at everything – writing, drawing, painting whatever, but all at a tremendously low level. If nothing else, I was incredibly enthusiastic and very lucky that no one said ‘stop’. I always wanted to do something inventive, and this art form has so many creative aspects. It which suited me down to the ground.”
And while 70-year-old Theo remains busy with new projects in his studio, he has thoroughly enjoyed the diversion of his new-found success as an author - taking his book on the road, appearing at Hay and other events, like the upcoming date at Barnes.
“This trade has such breadth. Its creatives are such lovely people that I wanted to tell others about it; to share with young people that it exists. I like being able to offer them some help – even when it's telling them what not to do."
“It's good fun, but I am mindful that I have to watch what I say,” he explains. “My daughters constantly warn me about saying something inadvertently that will get me cancelled. So, in the main, I confine my conversations with them to ‘Good morning’. Then I am accused of being sarcastic. Luckily we share a sense of humour and they are very understanding.
“The writing was a pit stop and I loved it. I enjoyed the whole process and was amazed at being able to complete it. I shall continue with a novel, even though it will probably never get published, or even finished."
At that, Theo suddenly if I listen to country and western music. I should, he insists before I can answer: one can "learn a lot from the lyrics". This leads him naturally to a story about a bar in Texas and a meeting with singer Kris Kristofferson...
But as I say, some things are just not for publication.
Theo Fennell talks with Richard E Grant at Barnes BookFest on September 24. Visit barnesbookfest.org for details. His book, I Fear for this Boy – Some Chapters of Accidents, is published by Mensch, £25 and available from local book stores
