From Kid's Craft Idea To Safety Pin Ally

I create art, craft & s.t.e.m. kits for kids. And I had been planning on creating an empowerment jewelry craft for some time.

Originally, I thought it would be particularly suited for girls around my eldest daughter's age because I think girls in particular need encouragement to believe in themselves as more than their bodies since so much of the external world wants to reduce them to just their bodies. I wanted the craft to focus on the mind, heart and spirit.

Then I realized that the need to feel empowered is not a gendered need. The need for validation and a sense of self-actualization is a universal, human need. I expanded my idea to include boys in the conceptualization of the craft.

And then the results of the U.S. presidential election came in.

I was saddened and shocked. I knew there would be many challenges that my children would have to face in their lives as they grew into adulthood, now I felt that there may be a new and potentially stifling layer of both subtle and overt oppression weighing on their chances for happiness.

How could I remind myself that the world was still populated by goodness and kindness? How do we start a conversation about acceptance?

I read several articles about the safety-pin movement which many Americans have borrowed from the citizens of Great Britain. Wearing a safety-pin is a way to show solidarity with those threatened and marginalized, an outward display that one does not believe in xenophobia, misogyny, racism, sexism, discrimination and intolerance based on gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc.

So what does all of this have to do with a children’s craft project?

Before, I could help my children to feel empowered, I myself needed to regain a sense of empowerment. So I created a very simple pendant which said "Be Brave", a play on the safety-pin movement, a variation of my kid’s craft idea.

Is wearing a pin a solution to the problems we now face in the US? Certainly not but it is a first step to reclaiming a little light and goodness.

When people started seeing my pendant, they asked me to make them available for purchase and now I sell a variety of empowerment as well as love & wisdom pendants at my etsy shop. And I am heartened that I have been getting orders from people across the country. Red and Blue states both. Some people have been buying multiples so they can pin one on every day of the week. I will probably never meet many of the people wearing my pins but it is a wonderful feeling that we are making a stand together.

I hope when people where these pendants that it reminds them:

Even change engendered by hatred & anger can lead to good as long as we are vigilant and pro-active.

You should never stop believing in your own intrinsic goodness and self-worth no matter what others say, no matter what they do.

You are on a journey towards integrity, truth and wisdom.

You are an ally.

More info: Etsy