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Little Clam Brooches: Hiné Mizushima's cute felt art jewellery inspired by the sea

Who doesn't love a little felt art to brighten their day? Even better if you can proudly don something as cheerful and cute as Hiné Mizushima's little clam brooches. The Japanese artist – featured previously – is renowned for her adorable cartoon-like figures, crafted from wool materials.

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Three felt clam brooches by Hiné Mizushima with colourful embellished characters inside, displayed in white boxes alongside packaging cards against a yellow background

With quite a serious focus on sea life, Mizushima’s work tends to be inspired by an array of creatures of the deep – squid, octopi, sea slugs, shellfish; you name it, she loves to recreate it. Each piece is handmade and embellished with tiny pins, buttons and the occasional prop — creating miniature characters with simple details but big personalities.

Born and raised in Japan, Mizushima lived all over the world before settling in Vancouver with her family. A slow crafter, needle felter, stop-motion puppet animator and artist, her work has been used for commercials, music videos, gallery exhibitions and magazine publications.

If you love these particular slug brooches, then you must check out her Etsy shop.

Hiné Mizushima's colourful felt clam brooches with blue and pink shells, embellished with beads and decorative details, displayed in a white box on a purple background
Hiné Mizushima's felt clam brooch in pink and blue stripes next to a kraft-paper booklet for The Unnatural History Museum Special Collections
Red felt clam brooch by Hiné Mizushima with layered shells and decorative stitching, featuring two pink beads as eyes
Turquoise and pink wool felt clam brooch by Hiné Mizushima with ruffled edges and small decorative beads on a pink background
Four handmade felt brooches by Hiné Mizushima: three colourful clam shells with googly eyes and beaded details, and one purple squid with tentacles and a decorative pin
Lime green and pale blue wool felt clam brooch with textured ridges and tiny embroidered details by Hiné Mizushima
Red and cream felt clam brooch with purple wool felt sea slug inside, black bead eyes and metal pin fastening
Handmade felt brooch of a yellow and light blue clam with decorative stitching details and two small pronged attachments, by Hiné Mizushima
Pink and cream felt clam brooch with blue and purple wool-felted creature inside, decorated with red beads for eyes
Felt clam brooch with yellow shell, white inner lining, and purple character with large eyes and small nose inside
Hiné Mizushima's felt clam brooches with pink and purple details nestled in white packaging against a pink background
Hand holding a handmade felt brooch of a smiling yellow clam character with green shell halves and tiny black eyes
Hiné Mizushima's yellow and green felt clam brooch pinned to a navy cable-knit jumper worn over a striped shirt
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