Helen, from Leamington Spa, is a full-time mum to Eleanor Manton, an adorable two-year-old with Down syndrome, who jumped for joy after receiving an email from renowned children’s clothing brand JoJo Maman Bébé asking her daughter to head his new campaign.
The job offer came after the brand discovered the family’s Instagram account.
“A couple of days later a lot of beautiful clothes arrived and we started taking pictures,” ADIEP Helen said.
The family is very happy, Helen said that it is very important that people with Down syndrome appear in the media.
Eleanor’s photo shoot took place in the backyard of her grandparents’ house.
Helen took the photos with her mobile phone, while Craig Manton, 40, Eleanor’s father, participated as the “main smile coordinator” performing dances and jokes behind the camera.
“After seeing the campaign photos, I think it’s not enough to say I’m brimming with pride. Just seeing her radiant little face is like a ray of light. It was amazing and it makes me very, very proud,” Helen said.
Her mother said the little girl has always been a natural when her photos are taken, but since she started walking it has become a bit more difficult because she just wants to run away.
“Here is my baby, I am so proud and yes, she has Down syndrome,” Helen posted after the birth of her daughter.
The family has always shared their lives on social networks and they consider that their account offers optimism, hope and gives voice to the reality of the parents of a child with this condition.
“We saw that Helen had tagged us in some photos on her Instagram, and she takes great pictures. Eleanor is beautiful, so we reached out to see if they would like to be involved in the campaign,” a spokesperson for JoJo Maman Bébé said.
Although Eleanor has participated a couple of times collaborating on social networks, she has not appeared as a model before.
“Their photos are amazing, just what we were looking for, it looks like they had a lot of fun,” added the spokesperson for the brand.
His parents finally got their hands on copies of the catalog a couple of weeks ago, to them it was a complete surprise to find out that the catalog was available.
This is the first time it has appeared in a catalogue, which is amazing,” Helen said.
They are delighted to have the catalog documenting their daughter’s modeling work, and they will show it to her when she gets older.
“I couldn’t believe it was there in front of me, it’s incredible. Craig was very proud that his graceful dances paid off,” Helen said.
Since the catalog came out they also shared their photo on the main Instagram page receiving praise for the amazing work.
“Eleanor is a fun-loving girl, she is joy from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed. She has transformed our lives for the better,” Helen added.
Her mother said that Eleanor loves to look at herself in the catalog and as she does she says, “That’s me.”
It is charming to her parents that she is old enough to recognize herself.
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