Rebecca Manley
Rebecca is a director working in commercials and short film. Her work invariably has a handcrafted element to it. One of Rebecca's ancestors was a Suffragette; and she has always been inspired by talented, strong, intelligent women (both inside and outside of her family). She started making her 'Hero' brooches because she is fed up with the media promoting, as our role models, those women who use their sexuality and appearance, in lieu of talent, in order to remain famous.
"I feel that, as a society, we really need to reassess who we look up to as our muses, our role models and our inspiration. There are so many women who have done and are doing amazing things. When I started thinking about the famous women that have affected me in my life, the floodgates opened. Now I have a long list of ladies whose likenesses I really want to create!"
"I enjoy making these brooches as both a tribute and a badge of honour. It is my way of celebrating the talents of these wonderful women - in some cases their bravery and in all cases their attributes outside the realms of personal appearance. I also like the idea that, by sporting a brooch, the wearer might spark a conversation about that particular person and by doing so, the subject could become somebody else's hero too."
The brooches are handmade by Rebecca in her studio in Peckham Rye, London.