A message to our community.. 💌

Dear Friends, 

My business is born out of a multicultural environment. It is enriched by the diverse gifts, talents and culture of people from all over the world. To live in a diverse environment you particularly stand to benefit if you sit in the majority. As a white person/business owner, I can appreciate the gifts of diversity from a rose tinted perspective. 

I have never experienced the racism, exclusion and isolation that can come with being a person of colour, of being within a minority. From daily microaggressions to outright violent assault. Watching the mindless racist violence unfold this week, I thought of the people against whom this was directed: friends I grew up with, who encourage and uplift me, teachers who guided me on my path, NHS professionals who have healed and reassured me when I've been at my most vulnerable, customers who have invested in my business, the gifted people I have worked with over many years to create collections and document them. 

I also thought of the refugees whose lives have been torn apart in conflict, who have come with nothing to a strange place to find safety and refuge. I'm suspicious of the idea that, by default of birth you earn the right to be a 'Proud Brit.' 

Pride is earned by participating, contributing to a collective, a greater good. You have to put something good out in the world, into your community, to earn the right to feel proud. 

Seeing the counter protestors greatly outnumber the racists this week was uplifting. But it does not erase the hard truth that racism and fascism are alive and well in the UK, and there is so much work to do. There are a great number of organisations in the UK that are working towards combating this hatred and ignorance. We’ve put a list together of just a few. We’ve just restocked our colourful badges this week, 100% of profits on these are donated to the UNHCR refugee programmes. 

Love, Kitty xx

SHOP UNHCR BADGES