The feminist artist on her pin badge piece, Goddess of Growth...
This is the Goddess of Growth. She is currently being made into enamel pins, to be worn by anyone who wishes to celebrate the power, strength and magic within women. I drew my inspiration from crystals, nature and witchcraft to produce a piece that symbolises the importance of change and growth in feminism.
It’s just one of a handful of designs that I’ve made into products such as pins, fabric patches, mugs and tote bags. My brand is called Brave Kids Club and I aim to produce desirable trinkets that inspire and empower people to demand equality in society. Brave Kids Club is unashamedly pink, sparkly and ultra-feminine: an aesthetic that is sometimes shunned by the feminist movement and is rejected as “too girly.” I wanted to emphasise that this is by no means a negative thing, and just because people might choose to wear pink and glitter, does not make them any less powerful, or any less valuable to our society.
Brave Kids Club was born out of attending the wonderful Reclaim the Night march in November 2016. The protest felt amazing to participate in: banding together, making noise and showing the community that women not feeling safe when out at night just isn’t acceptable. Since then, I’ve been working hard trying to spread the word about my products and positive message for change. I’m happy to say that not all of my returning customers have identified as women either, and I’m glad my work is being seen as inclusive and intersectional.
Much of my work carries slogans such as, “No Man Hate”, “Witch”, “Bossy” and “Nag”, to highlight the kind of language that’s used to try to undermine women and girls, and to give people confidence to reappropriate the meaning of these words, to fuel a forward momentum for change.
I’m trying to do my bit for charity, too. I’ve designed a pin where all proceeds will be donated to Amnesty International, to help stop the torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya. If you’d like to make a donation while nabbing yourself a piece of limited edition art at the same time, you can order your “Love is Love” pin from my website.
The work I do for Brave Kids Club fits around my freelance graphic design and shifts at 200 Degrees. I love the variety that having a few different focuses brings. It means I meet a lot of different people, keep fresh with my approach and keep expanding my skill set. I would absolutely love to be given a magic time machine though, just to have a peep into the future of Brave Kids Club. I get so excited when I imagine how it might grow.
Brave Kids Club website
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