Vintage Spotlight:
She Loves Blooms
She Loves Blooms is a wonderful small business run by Yvette on the sunny tropical island of Singapore. They make whimsical brooches that bring awareness to endangered animals and human rights issues, and Yvette was kind enough to share some of her process, inspiration and love of vintage with us.
Why brooches? What is it that you love about them and what led you to design and make your own?
Ever since I was young, I have always been fascinated by brooches. One of my very first brooches was given to me by my paternal grandmother (Australian Aboriginal Grandmother). She grew up and lived on the border of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia (Bundjalung Country). She used to fossick and collect precious stones, such as black opals and white opals, from the land and would use them to create gorgeous handmade jewellery pieces. The first brooch I inherited pretty much paved the path to becoming a collector. I ended up collecting brooches from all over the world that ranged from acrylic pieces to antiques. One of the reasons as to why I love brooches – more so than any other kind of jewellery – is that they are super versatile. You can pin a brooch to almost anything you wear: jackets, scarves, cardigans, dresses, hats, jean pockets, belts, bags, and even wear it as a hair accessory!
I also feel brooches are great conversation starters. All of these reasons pushed me to start my own design studio called She Loves Blooms. One of the main visions I had for She Loves Blooms was to design brooches that helped raise awareness regarding animal and human rights issues. I felt that by designing my very own brooches, I could play a little part in educating people regarding pressing animal conservation, and human rights issues that are affecting millions of people around the world.
Did you make brooches for yourself before launching She Loves Blooms in 2019?
I started to design and work on a few pieces prior to 2019. I did this mainly as a hobby. However, this hobby shifted and became more of a full-time job for me when I launched my online store in Summer of 2019. I was reading a local news article about the shocking discovery of 12 tonnes of pangolin scales which were seized as part of an illegal syndicate. 12 tonnes! This basically equates to 36,000 pangolins that were killed for their scales. This hit me, hard, and I knew I needed to do something about it. So that’s when I designed my very first brooch called Polly the Pangolin. You see, every brooch that I design is associated with a specific story, event, or occurrence that aims to help people start a conversation or dialogue.
From where do you pull your inspiration?
I draw my inspiration from various sources such as books -particularly children’s books. I feel children’s books can be so creative, that they actually entice people to want to read. The colours, simplicity, and characters used in most children’s books are the elements needed to inspire my creativity. On the other hand, since I’m in the process of completing a Master’s degree in Human Rights, I am constantly reading, researching, and analyzing literature on current international affairs, and I have fallen into the landscape of Indigenous Rights, which has helped me design my latest brooch. My Cantering Bliss (Brown Beauty). This brooch, which I call My Cantering Bliss (Brown Beauty), is a tribute to my Aboriginal grandmother. She loved and rode horses when she was younger, and I thought that the perfect animal to capture her essence would be a rocking horse with a koala. The brooch also looks like a Native American beauty with Koala on tow.
How often do you release new designs?
I try to release a new collection every quarter. However, as I do stock other makers in my store, the collections are quite vast and diverse. I am currently working on my next collection which is a collaboration with a children illustrator artist called Asma Enayeh. It’s a very exciting 4 brooch series collection that features whimsical animal and girl empowerment pieces. The aim is to launch this by mid-end of November.
Why do you think there’s been such a resurgence of interest in statement brooches in the last decade?
There has definitely been a resurgence of interest in statement brooches, particularly within political female representatives such as Nancy Pelosi, Michelle Obama, Madeline K. Albright and Lady Hale, Former President of the Supreme Court UK. Lady Hale made headlines last year with her spider brooch which she adorned during the Brexit prorogation ruling.
Since brooches are unique statement pieces, and seeing as nowadays they can be purchased at affordable prices, I think people are more drawn to them. As I said, they are statement pieces, which makes people feel a sense of belonging or association with particular events or memories. They are also silent communicators, whereby the person wearing it is making their views and opinions known without actually voicing them. For example, a customer of mine recently bought my Cantering Bliss brooch featuring the pink haired lady. She told me that the reason she was purchasing it was that it reminded her of her childhood when she would be riding her rocking horse, whilst carrying her Koala picture book. She further commented that it has pink hair and that’s what happens to natural redheads when they get old, they become ‘pink-haired old ladies’. That brooch definitely held a deep connection for her.
Can you give me an idea of the design and assembly process? What is your favourite part?
The design and assembly process usually takes around 3-4 weeks. I usually draft up my designs and share it with my customers, as I do value the importance of customer feedback. It also allows customers to be involved in the process and journey. My favourite part of the process is choosing the acrylic/resin materials for the brooch. I love choosing different colours and materials and seeing the design come together in the final stages. Once I have the finalised vector file and chosen materials, it gets sent to the laser cutting company, where they cut materials as per my design, and ship the individual pieces to me. After I have received them, I assemble all the pieces, glue them together, and voila! You’ve got a unique brooch. This final step has to be, by far, my favourite as it reminds me of assembling Lego blocks. Yes, it can be super tedious, but I also find it cathartic.
I know you are a small business; are you the only person involved in She Loves Blooms?
I work closely with my husband who manages my marketing campaigns, but most of the time I am managing everything from designing, marketing, and creating, to customer service, fulfilment, and business analysis. Talk about mastering that Girl Boss attitude! I’ve definitely learnt a lot since setting up an online store, and not all of it has been business related. I mean, you are put in situations where you have to make tough decisions, manage your work/family time, decide whether or not a certain decision is worth the risk, and constantly being open to new ideas.
What do you most enjoy about being a small business?
I like the autonomy that it gives me. Greater flexibility and creativity gives me the chance to balance motherhood, work, and life. It also allows me to create the necessary space needed to generate new ideas, take risks, and take on challenges and opportunities that I would never have thought possible. I am constantly required to rise above the challenges in order to solve it, and also look at opportunities for growth and expansion, particularly within the design space.
I also love the concept of community selling, in addition to selling my own signature designs, I love to support and stock other female designers’ jewellery. I think at the end of the day, women helping women thrive is crucial to keep going.
How much work was involved in setting up the business, such as finding suppliers and creating a network of international stockists?
At the start, there was quite a lot of heavy lifting and research that needed to be done. Particularly with supply chain management and brand marketing. For an online store, creative marketing campaigns that capture people’s attention are vital to get people talking about your products. And I had to learn so much about what marketing platforms worked best for us. In addition to that, I learnt a lot about influencer marketing and building relationships with key influencers. Nowadays, finding influencers who relate to your brand is essential in order to get your brand noticed within the community.
What made you decide to use your brand to create awareness and raise money for human rights and animal conservation charities?
I feel brooches are conversation pieces and wearing one on your outfit often opens up the space for dialogues and awareness. I think raising money for human rights and animal conservation charities is a creative way to educate, inform, and build people’s awareness of these issues. For example, a local customer who bought my Cantering Bliss (Brown Beauty brooch) was not aware of how the Indigenous peoples in Australia are treated, and the impact of colonisation, which has left them oppressed and voiceless for years. After purchasing the brooch, she read up on this and learnt a lot about our unspoken history, an issue which has sadly been left out of our school History curriculum until recently.
How does it make you feel knowing that your creations have touched so many around the world?
It gives me great hope and affirmation to know that my advocacy messages are being supported by wonderful women. By sharing stories, we not only build more awareness, but we also shift people’s perceptions about certain issues. In other words, difficult issues need to be discussed, and we cannot turn a blind eye to them. However, what most people are not keen on is discussing these issues in a space where they do not feel safe. Our brooches create an ideal platform of love, fun, and creativity that automatically creates a space for conversation, which in turn helps facilitate deep and meaningful discussions.
Tell me a bit about yourself and your interests outside of work.
As a mum to an active 3-year-old, family time tends to occupy pretty much most of my spare time. I do however try to focus on my own personal wellbeing by setting aside some ‘me time’ for my hobbies. I love swimming, sketching, organizing flower arrangements, practising my photography skills, and curating flat lays. I also love anything vintage – from vintage products, vintage jewellery, and vintage clothes – ideas and elements, which I end up incorporating into my brooch designs.