Hooray for Small Victories!

Small Victories Handmade is a new brooch company started by Hannah Smith earlier this year. Her aim is to create beautiful acrylic and resin handmade brooches for the pin-up and vintage inspired lady, and so I am delighted to be featuring her work on the blog today!

Small Victories came about from a love of accessorising and dressing vintage. Hannah was already a very creative person, making a lot of her own clothes, and so trying her hand at brooch-making was a natural progression. She draws inspiration from designers like Erstwilder, Deer Arrow, and Lea Stein, and puts a lot of passion and imagination into each design!

Hannah chose a very symbolic name for her business, being a nod to her love of retro but also reflecting the nature of her business as a way to tackle aspects of her life that have impacted her mental health over the years. Hannah says: “Mental illness is a huge topic that is only just starting to get the publicity and focus it needs and deserves and is something I feel very strongly about. For me, each brooch that I design and create is a small, handmade victory that shows the progression I have made, the patience I have developed (it’s a very time consuming process) and the confidence I have built in my ability to be able to persuade my creative dreams. I want to be a role model for my baby son and show him that anything is possible, I want to be a mummy he can be proud of!” So how inspiring is this wonder woman?! I am amazed by Hannah’s strength and determination, and putting that into each of her beautiful works of art is so special.

Hannah prides herself on making each brooch the best it can be, putting a lot of time, effort, patience and skill into each piece she creates. She makes them by laser cutting high grade acrylic, and then painting, assembling and polishing each brooch by hand before they are coated in clear resin for maximum shiny-ness.

I was so lucky to receive this adorable kitty cat brooch from Hannah! As a self-confessed crazy cat lady in training I couldn’t help but let out a squee when I opened the box. This is a truly beautiful brooch which has been perfectly crafted and one I expect to be very durable. I love that the size is just right, and especially how the little kitty has such a sweet face! I knew it would go perfectly with the colours in this vintage dress, and of course I had to have some ‘Small Victories’ victory rolls in my hair to keep in theme!

Hannah has a number of lovely designs available through her Etsy shop, ranging between about £7-18. And of course, she will ship internationally! Look out for exciting new designs coming up in the future, such as the super cool Frankenstein’s monster and bride (pictured below). I highly recommend keeping up to date with her work via Instagram!