Small pins, big impact
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From her home studio in Winnipeg, Métis artist and small business owner Christine Brouzes, creator of Tiny Clay Pins, is showing how something small can carry a powerful message.
Each of her handcrafted polymer clay pins is designed to spark conversation, encourage awareness, and invite people to engage with issues that matter.
“I’m a tiny Indigenous business making tiny clay pins that carry big, important meanings,” Brouzes said. Her collection includes Canadian maple leaf pins, pink shirts to raise awareness of bullying, Pride flags in support of LGBTQS+ communities, red dress pins, mental health symbols, and many other meaningful images. Orange shirt pins — complete with a glow-in-the-dark halo — are just one part of her body of work.
Supplied photo
Métis artist started making tiny clay pins for Orange Shirt Day and has since branched out into maple leaf pins, pink shirt pins, Pride flag pins, red dress pins, mental health symbols, and many others.
Brouzes originally created custom beaded medallions, but the pandemic slowed interest in larger art pieces. Everything changed after the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools.
“When Orange Shirt Day started, I kept thinking, ‘Why only one day?’” she explained. “I wanted to create something people could wear every day to show what they care about.”
Each pin is meticulously handmade from coloured polymer clay – no painting or printing is involved.
“I stack the colours into a puck, turn it on its side, reduce it into a long cane, and slice each pin by hand before baking it in my oven,” Brouzes said.
Her pins are worn by people of all ages and backgrounds and have been ordered by unions, CFL teams, airlines, casinos, fast-food restaurants, and other organizations for staff and events.
“Instead of a simple flag pin, why not wear something that starts a conversation about allyship, mental health, or reconciliation?” she asked.
A mom, artist, advocate, and former lead facilitator at the national round table on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Christine also shares proceeds with charities connected to each design. “These pins are meant to change the world — one conversation at a time.”
For more information or to view the collection, visit TinyClayPins on Instagram, TikTok, Etsy or email tinyclaypins@gmail.com