Becki Sinclair is a freelance hand-letterer and illustrator based in Melbourne; she is the founder of the illustration studio The Good Type Co. The basis of her work is capturing the honest and relatable moments of every-day life, and trying to spread positivity and motivation through lettering, illustration and creative writing.
Why is Locker Room Talk important to you?
I started making more mental health focused work during the pandemic, the act of writing things down helped me process the situation, and people started to engage with it and send me personal messages, which made me feel less alone.
The more we talk about mental health issues and create a positive community and safe space to talk about it, the less stigma there will be. We should all be able to be confident, strong and capable, but also be vulnerable with our feelings, and that are not seen as emotional or weak.
What does success look like to you?
The most important thing is having a healthy work/life balance. Since I’ve gotten older, my idea of success is being able to do something I love, make the work that’s important to me, and hopefully create work that resonates with people.
I would love to have a small studio where I get to create and make whatever pops into my head and be financially comfortable by having enough diversified income streams to be able to take that time to explore it.
If you had the chance, what’s something you’d like to tell your 16 year-old self?
I would tell myself to be more open with my friends and family, and ask for help if I need it, as it’s not something that I need to be ashamed of. And if a relationship is toxic, it’s ok to let it go of it, and to know that putting my mental health first is important. It doesn’t make me a selfish person, it means that I’m setting positive boundaries, and I respect myself.
How can we, both as individuals and as a society, help encourage body positivity?
Companies and the media profit on us feeling insecure about ourselves, once we start being kinder and more accepting of ourselves and others, they lose the power. When I’m struggling with my body image, I take myself out of the situation and think would I say this comment about my body to someone I loved? And how would make them feel? So why am I saying it to myself.
