We are proud that She Loves Blooms are supporting Slow Loris Outreach Week 2019! Read more below.
I have always been an advocate for human and animal rights. In April this year, I read a shocking local news article – Singapore authorities had seized nearly 26 tonnes of pangolin scales on transit from Africa to Vietnam. The haul revealed a loss of 38,000 endangered pangolins.
I was deeply upset that humanity could be so callous to animals, especially endangered ones like the pangolin.
In response I decided to create a series of brooches to raise awareness of endangered Southeast Asian animals – the Pangolin, Slow Loris and the Malayan Sun Bear. These animals have been poached and exploited for the illegal pet trade that uses their meat, bile and skin for traditional medicine.
I have always been a lover of brooches as a fashion accessory but also recently began to recognise the power of brooches to make bold statements. Frequently in the press there are reports of brooches gaining massive media attention.
Just recently in the UK, a senior Judge (Lady Hale) displayed a prominent spider brooch as she read out a legal judgement in a televised public case against the government. The brooch created massive amounts of media discussion and became symbolic of the struggle of political campaigners in the UK who supported the Judge’s decision. Thousands of t-shirts were even sold on Ebay with the same brooch design. It is my hope that brooches representing the plight of endangered animals could capture the attention of the public in a similar way.
These brooches are made from acrylic and are lovingly hand assembled. With each purchase of these brooches, we make a donation to specific animal conservation projects like Singapore Wildlife Conservation Funds, Little Fireface Project, Borneo Sun Bear Conservation and Animals Asia.
By Yvette Smith
You can visit Yvette’s shop – She Loves Blooms – to help show your support for animal conservation!
