Word Up

Valentine Tags: STILL BREATHING pendant.

I'm always happy when a designer creates something fantastic for the older customer. So, now when anybody asks me how I'm feeling, instead of spouting tired old clichés, I'm going to let my jewellery do the talking. This 'Still Breathing' necklace shows individuality and humour and is perfect for the days when that extra shot of caffeine isn't doing the trick.

Designed by Valentine Breton des Loys, 49, who was born in France and lives in London, and wears an 'If Only' tag. VBL worked as a stylist before turning her hand to jewellery making. Her company Valentine Tags sells online and at Merci in Paris, and also has a bespoke service where customers fill in a questionnaire and she proposes a slogan and creates a mock up of the necklace.

That's Not My Age had the opportunity to throw some (of her own) questions back at VBL:

Valentine at work in her London studio.

TNMA: So when you design the bespoke range do you feel a bit like a detective - quizzing a customer about his/her lifestyle and then coming up with a suitable statement?

VBL: 'Oh I like the idea of being a private detective of the secret mind - but I would never share my information!'

TNMA:Why the I-D tags? Where did that come from?

KARMA TAKES TIME. Oh yes it does.

VBL: 'It started with a thank you note that I wanted to send to a friend after a dinner party. I took what I had lying around, a thin silver strip and punched in the words PLEASURE TO SEE YOU. I liked it and since then I've improved the shape and transformed it into a necklace. The words make the tags, it is about saying something you don't want to say out loud.'

TNMA: What's the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you? 

VBL: '"Forget your good education," given by Jean-Jacques Beinex when we were working (I was a costume designer) on his movie Roselyne et les Lions.'

TNMA: Which movie/book has changed your life?

VBL: 'Nothing has changed my life (what a question!) but I loved and was inspired by One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marques, Alice by Woody Allen, The Darjeeling Limited by Wes Anderson, and artists including: Gordon Watson, Cindy Sherman, Louise Bourgeois, Annette Messager, Maurizio Catalan.'

TNMA: And finally, what advice would you give to my readers for looking stylish at any age?

VBL: 'Don't change. It's difficult because you don't want to dress like you're 20 when you're 60, but it's stupid to say things like, "I'm too old for jeans." Believe in the style you have. I still have the same general silhouette and it works for me. I don't think I've changed a lot.'

Let's hope she's not...

Tags are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, sterling silver and 22ct gold.