City Of Death brooch - PRE-ORDERS NOW OPEN!

I only posted news of my replica City Of Death brooch set earlier today, but I’ve had lots of emails already asking to buy them.

The sets are hand made by Susan Trevor, who made the ceramic cat brooch worn by Colin Baker, so have a genuine Doctor Who pedigree.

The brooches are £70 a set
(Inclusive of global shipping).
I am taking orders now,
for shipping late November
tennantcoat@me.com

City Of Death - artist’s palette brooch set

Something exciting came in the post today.

After making my City Of Death style frock coat, I’ve been after a really good replica of the Artist’s Palette brooch worn in the episode.
I had seen a few replicas around, but none had grabbed my attention.


The paint tubes of the brooch have a very distinctive angle to them, with the red and the green close together and the blue off doing its own thing.

No-one had quite captured this for me.


Then something occurred to me. If you follow my Sixth Doctor costume blog you’ll see I have a special arrangement with Susan Trevor, who made THE ceramic cat brooch proudly worn by Colin Baker. She makes replicas for me, using her original mould and hand paints them just like the real thing she did over thirty years ago.

I put the idea of the palette brooch to her and she declined, saying that casting the brooch with the paint tubes attached would be enormously difficult, with a danger they would snap off even before it was even painted.

But then I came across a very revealing photo which changes everything.

It’s an unusual shot of Tom on location. Not one I had seen before. But then the brooch caught my eye.

If you look closely you can see the red and green tubes are at a very odd angle. They are almost going around the lapel - in fact you can clearly see the red tube isn’t even attached to the palette.

Then is dawned on me - this is not A brooch - it is a set of FOUR brooches!

This explains the irregular spacing of the tubes - they are individually pinned on best as can be, but not equally spaced.

Knowing this not only makes a whole lot more sense but means it is practical to make them.

So today Susan’s first prototype arrived in the post - and I think it’s brilliant!

She has really captured the look, shape and colours of the original - and looks fantastic on my coat!

Let me know what you think.

I’ll be taking orders for these brooch sets very soon, so drop me a line if you want to reserve yours now!
Please mail me at
tennantcoat@me.com

Sarah Jane’s Oliver Owl soft toy

One of the things that can finish of a good cosplay costume is a well chosen prop.

If you’re doing The Doctor, then a sonic screwdriver is a must.
But if you’re doing a companion there are thing out there worth tracking down.

When Sarah Jane finally left the TARDIS in The Hand Of Fear, she carries a handful of possessions, including a soft toy of an owl.

It ends up this owl is a toy called Oliver Owl, and was available in the mid 1970s from a company called Alresford Crafts.

As well as appearing in Hand Of Fear, the makers of The Sarah Jane Adventures had a little fun by putting the toy in the background of Sarah’s attic - though you might notice it is a crude copy rather than an original.


But this isn’t the only screen appearance of an Oliver Owl.

It famously can be seen in the toy cupboard in the Steven Spielberg film, ET.

First it is seen on a shelf behind ET when Elliot dresses him for his Halloween Trick or Treat outing (01:01:03 into the film).

Later, when Michael peeps over in the cupboard it can be seen on the floor to the left (01:25:12 into the film).

Have you spotted an Oliver Owl in another film or tv episode?!
If so, drop me a line