16 Jan #imapiece of the Week featuring @RinSimpson
Welcome to ‘#imapiece of the week’, our weekly blog post showcasing some of the beautiful and thoughtful jigsaw pieces made by craftsters around the U.K in support of our Craftivist jigsaw Project for Save The Children’s Race Against Hunger (please, pretty please sign the quick epetition here). This week we have the lovely crafty Lucy from Camberwell
Name: Rin Simpson, aka The Indie Shopper
Blog: www.theindieshopper.wordpress.com
Twitter: @rinsimpson
Location: Bristol, UK
Craft of choice: Knitting, but also a bit of jewellery- and card-making, furniture upcycling, and anything else I fancy!
Who are you and what do you do? Actually, I do lots of things! I’m a lifestyle journalist, writing mainly about the environment, crafts, home interiors and wellbeing, for a bunch of different titles from Mollie Makes to Psychologies magazine. I also teach at Bath Spa Uni, and I run a media training business called Inside Scoop (www.inside-scoop.co.uk) with my brilliantly talented friend Jo Middleton, who is an award winning blogger and knows more about social media than I could dream of.
How do you get into craft? In my family, my sister is the artist and I’m the crafter – it’s always been that way, since we were kids. I used to knit and sew outfits for my toys, and progressed to clothing for myself by the time I was about 10 or 11. In my teens I sort of forgot about crafts for a few years, but got back into knitting in my 20s and haven’t looked back since!
Why did you decide to get involved in the Jigsaw project? I met Sarah through work – I was interviewing her for a feature on how crafts can change the world – and was so inspired by her passion for what she does. I used to be quite an activist myself when I was at university, but had become jaded over the years. Sarah helped me reconnect with my inner craftivist, and I was thrilled to be able to help out with the Jigsaw project, not just through doing my own stitching but by lending my media skills to the campaign.
What have you stitched on your piece and why? I’ve stitched, “Evil triumphs when good people do nothing” because I think apathy is one of the biggest obstacles we face when it comes to healing and changing the world. Most people care – they just don’t care enough to do something. I hope that my piece will be a gentle challenge, to myself as well as anyone else!
What do you love about craftivism? I love that it’s non-aggressive. It engages people through beauty and doesn’t dictate. It simply presents the facts in a way that is lovely to look at, and allows people to engage with it in whatever way works for them – which is ultimately much more effective than shouting. Plus, as a craftivist, I love how it changes you from the inside out as you work and reflect on the issues at hand.
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