It all started when our founder got accidentally head-butted in the face…
It was at a music festival, Bryony (right) was dancing enthusiastically (eyes closed), and so was someone next to her… It resulted in a black eye so dramatic, that for weeks strangers approached and questioned her in the street, often having made negative assumptions about how it’d happened.
She’d recently bought a badge machine, so made an “I am bored of talking about it” pin. It came in useful more often than expected. So she also made another for a friend who was frequently made uncomfortable by strangers commenting on her disability.
There were things that Bryony struggled with, like time-keeping, her attention span and memory for things she found boring, social anxiety and insomnia. She made light of some of them with messages like “Sorry I am late”, and “You are making me nervous”.
Bryony began to make more badges for people with disabilities, speaking to people with different sets of needs to find out what they would like others to know at a glance and then made badges to try and say the things that people couldn’t, or didn’t want to.
She also talked to people with autism and mental health issues, finding that lots of people struggled to communicate their needs, and that it was often at the most crucial times when speaking was most difficult or overwhelming. This is when badges like “Bad feelings”, “I need some time alone”, and “hug me?” were created.
Whilst researching neurodiversity, Bryony found the symptom list for ADHD, something she hadn’t thought about much previously. She was diagnosed soon after. Suddenly everything fell into place, her whole life making sense. Although Bryony hadn’t known about her ADHD, the first badges she made for myself were to help her counter or explain some of the quirks and issues around it.
The collection then naturally continued to broaden to include a wider range of underrepresented groups.
And so, Sootmegs was founded in 2010, and we’ve been making badges ever since!
After 13 years of Sootmegs, it felt like the right time for Bryony to start a new creative venture. In December 2022, after working with Sootmegs long term and learning the ins and outs of the business, I (Lucy) took over from Bryony and it’s been my baby ever since.
I make every single badge by hand, with love and care. And with the same Sootmegs mission that has always rung true, to make the invisible visible.
The collection focuses on underrepresented groups, including Neurodiversity, Mental Health, Gender & Sexuality, Disabilities, Deaf & Hard of Hearing, Race & Culture. I aim to challenge unhelpful assumptions and spread awareness with sensitivity and humour.
Stockists
The Feminist Bookshop
48 Upper North Street
Brighton
BN1 3FH
Neighbourhood Store
18 High Street
Shoreham-by-Sea
BN43 5DA
The Booklover Store @ Jubilee Library
Jubilee Street
Brighton
BN1 1GE
The Pop Up Club (Victoria)
Unit 2, Cardinal Place
Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5JL
