17 June 2012

Craftivism in Action





The sunshine came out - at last! - just in time for Craftivist Collective's latest event, where I had a lovely time this afternoon embroidering a fabric jam jar lid and chatting to other stitchers. You may remember my recent interview with Sarah, who set up the Craftivist Collective as a way to use handmade as a tool for political engagement. Meeting Sarah inspired me to go along and see for myself what it's all about... and I'm so glad I did.

The project I took part in is part of Oxfam's GROW campaign for a fairer world where everyone has enough to eat. The idea is to stitch messages promoting change and equality awareness onto the lids, fill the jars with homemade tomato jam and gift them to someone who you want to think about the issues - whether that be a person you know or someone in power such as your local MP. You can find out more about it from Crafitivists themselves.

The event took place at lovely Spitalfields City Farm. I often go on about the importance of being aware of how clothes are made and where they come from, and being surrounded by growing veg and bleating animals was the perfect backdrop to remind me to be conscious of the source of my food too...