search for my alternative valentines cards while they are still there!

One hundred cards will be left around Central London this Valentine’s day. Each contains an alternative valentine’s letter, a handmade gift and a sweet. Hand delivered to gaps in walls, cash machine slots, shop shelves- they won’t be affected by the postal delays and you don’t have to be in a relationship to have one of these!

I did this project in Liverpool last year. This year it’s London’s turn. These are valentine’s cards with a difference: the letter is written from a person from a developing country asking for people to show some ‘real love’ for the unforgotten poorest people in the world. The card includes either a keyring or a badge in the shape of a Loveheart sweet saying ‘Real Love’ and an actual sweet.

There are so many distractions in London, particularly on Valentines Day. Hopefully these cards are a friendly reminder of the difficult circumstances our global neighbours are in and the gifts are there to encourage a conversation to start even after Valentine’s Day.

Where shall I do it next year? -I'm thinking Glasgow. I dont know if I have the energy to do more than 100 next time but maybe I get my 'Some Craftivists' group to help me. We could make millions and post them to people across the world to give out...ooo the possibilities....

check out the latest press coverage:

http://www.phamous69.com/article.php?article=articles/bread/adifferent.xml

http://www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/#/Magazine/article/575 - you can see where I left all of the cards in Liverpool last year on this article because they have put all of my photos up hehe

This is the letter:

Be My Valentine,

I don’t think you care. Not really.

It’s too easy to ignore me and people like me, isn’t it? There is too much going on: places to go, people to see, things to experience.

My name is Adriana, I am 18 years old and I live in Angola. When I was 12 soldiers attacked my village during the civil war. My family and I fled into the forest. We were separated and I haven’t seen them since. It’s hard living as an orphan. The civil war has ended now but the spread of HIV and the effects of climate change are the next battle that Angola and I have to face.

I don’t go away when you look the other way and I’ll still be here fighting though you might be distracted by many things here in London … I am part of your life, part of your world.

I don’t want your pity. Actions speak louder a box of unfairly-traded chocolates, a love poem or a bunch of roses.

Please show me your love. Take action:

Keep this gift and every time someone asks you about it, promise me you will retell my story and remember the poorest people in the world.

Is my love going to be unrequited? Please don’t ignore me and people like me. We’ll still be here waiting, angrier, ever more determined, and ever more hopeful that you’ll show ‘Real Love’ for your global neighbour through action.


All my love ….



What next? Internet search ‘take action on global poverty’

I'm addicted!

So it looks like I am getting hooked on doing cross stitch graffiti pieces:

This is my first xstitch graffiti piece I did in Liverpool, UK. I did it at 2am on a night that (on Wood Street), yet again I thought no one would be partying in the city centre: the night after New Years day. But, yet again, there were drunken people and people still ready to party. Scousers are hardcore! ;p

I'm not sure if I like this one and if I would do it again. I did the 'Love smells unless you act' image as well in Liverpool (Roscoe Street) because I like the look of it. I've been criticised for the fact that you cant understand what it says but I still like the look of it and the colours involved (white, red and brown) and, in a way, I think the less obvious the meaning the more people might think and be interested in it. What do you think?

This one obviously means 'put people over profit'. But what I am not sure about this is that the £ isn't central and its all in one colour. I think I'll do it on a smaller grid in London to see what it looks like but I'm not sure I'll do it again and again.

what do you think? please be honest. I luuuuuuvvv constructive critisism. Comments welcome, as always:) x

will i be lonely anymore?

I have recently set up a 'Some Craftivists' group on Facebook (any ideas where else I should post the group?) and have my first proper open meeting on Saturday 24th January 2009 in the British Library Cafe. It's exciting but also really scary! :s

I thought it would be a great way to meet like-minded people and other Craftivists. We can hopefully work together on public art projects to make people think about poverty and social injustice and change the world! ;p I had an invite only preliminary meeting in December 2008 to see if my idea might work. We met 11am-2pm (which is when I hope all meetings will be) to see if that was a good time to meet: to long, too short, too busy, took up too much time in the day, too early, too late. We made some 'mini banners' to cable tie to railings and fences around London. The banners could include any facts or statements to show their passion these craftivists had about global poverty and injustices. I brought a long a suitcase of crafts for people to use for free.

Whilst sewing and cross stitching the mini banners we discussed how these meetings could be as fun and fruitful as possible. We made a manifesto so there is a focus on what we will and won't campaign on, thought of how we would like the meetings to be structured (do we want an agenda. a theme for each monthly meeting, speakers to come in, a project completed each month...), when the meetings will be, how to promote the gruop and how to provide the craft resources.

So the plan is: we will have a meeting every 4rd Saturday of the month at 11am-2pm at the British Library (its central, free and meetings go on there all the time but we need to campaign to make sure they get Fairtrade tea and coffee in their cafe!). People will pay £2 each meeting to pay for the resources (this can change depending on how much the resources cost for each project). However we didnt want to confirm how the meetings would go until we have or first open meeting next Saturday. And that's why I'm pretty nervous and scared of the first proper meeting... :s

What if people disagree with my ideas of having themes or projects we all work on each month?
What if people offer some ideas I dont want to do but the rest of the group do want to do? What if no one turns up? What if people find me and the idea of the group boring? I am a bit of a control freak so this is super scary for me!

Any ideas on how you think these meetings should go? How would you do it?

should I, shouldnt I?

I started this xstitch 'belt' hoping that it would be a wearable piece of craftivism but I've messed up it up so many times I'm not convinced its worth finishing.

what do you think? All of the hearts are different shades of red= oops! the letters arent all on the same lines = oops! and it takes so long to do I'm struggling to find the energy and motivation to carry it on = oops! :s

I thought i would xstitch about a metre long and then just pin it on black dresses as a belt. It would include other words like empowerment and freedom and whatever else fits on the end.

maybe it will look less threatening because its wonky, maybe it will be more of a conversation starter because it looks homemade or maybe its just really lame and will look embarrassing if i wear it.

hmmm....decisions decisions.

why the blog name?

why the name? well, there are a few reasons: I'm new to london so it can feel lonely, i love crafting; sometimes to make things for friends, but mostly to get people to think about global poverty and injustices and hopefully act on those thought seeds that my 'craftivism' projects plant (hopefully)

I'm lonely because:

-craft groups dont tend to do activism through there crafts; they meet to do their own thing while chatting to people. this frustrates me but i am sure is great for some people
-most craft groups are knitting cirlces: I hate knitting so I'm often not allowed to join these groups
-I love activism but I am not vegan, straight-edge, an anarchist, atheist, cyclist, wear black or hemp clothing...
-I have a very demanding job that i love but that is time consuming and exhausting so i cant make many meetings, demos, stunts and other actions. i just tend to do my craftivism in bed, in front of the tv or in a quiet coffee shop.

Does that justify my name?

bigger = easier

So this is the same design as the small one below but it is on a bigger grid. It's on a carpack fense off Hackney Road, London. It was a lot quicker to do because the grids where bigger so my fingers and hands could get around the back easier. I want to do more big grid work but I am struggling to find any 'blank canvases' in this material. Does anyone know of any? Please send me directions in the comment box so i can check them out and see if i can start doing some more cross stitch graffiting- I'm hooked now- I love it! :)

Am I improving?

So this is my second try at stitch graffiti. It’s a small one on Brick Lane, E1 London. I decided to do it at 1:30am on a Monday morning because no-one would be stupid enough to be up then right? Wrong! There where still some drunken students and some actual authentic drunks and worst of all; there was a guy (who sounded American) who wouldn’t stop watching me do my 'graffiti', asking what my tag name is and how i came up with the idea.I don’t have a name. Why should i? I'm not doing it for cool points Mr.; unlike himself who later couldn’t help but tell me he is a graffiti artist and i should look his name up "smiff with one f". I honestly don’t care about that world I just want to make people think and hopefully see that 'love stinks if you don’t act on it!'

but saying that: I'm really nervous that this man will steal my style. He kept asking how i was doing it, what wool i use, how i came up with the ideas, how i decide on designs and come up with designs etc etc. He saw my little scrap of cross stitch fabric with ideas on (and this one on i was using as a reference) and you could hear the cogs turning in his head. I told him it would be disrespectful if he stole my style but he just smirked.= Smif if you are out there: Please don’t do it! Please don’t steal my style! :(