There She Goes: Stitching Meaningful Change
Hello & Happy Wednesday!
Hi Everyone,
It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to you today with a different tone than our typically cheerful newsletter.
While watching the news, listening to the radio, and allowing our thumbs run a half marathon on social, we have been seeing some really tough sh*t. It’s a lot to process and it is difficult to find our words. I have been feeling that way too, especially as I watch from Canada and ask Google if l can be deported for protesting. I peacefully took to the streets before I found the answer and will do so again on Sunday. But the fact of the matter is, it has always been like this. We just have video cameras at our fingertips and soap boxes on social to hold people accountable.
Black people have been protesting since the day they were taken from their homes in various countries in Africa and put on ships. The New York Times made an incredibly insightful podcast called 1619. It’s tough to hear about. However, I recognize that the ability I have to walk away and “clear my head” is inherently my privilege. Being privileged doesn’t mean that your life wasn’t difficult. It just means that you likely had more resources and support available to you that made life easier for you because of your privilege. To be able to share with those that have less than you can be a rewarding experience in its own- especially when they then turn around and uplift their neighbors.
No matter what stage you may be on in regard to educating yourself in the fact that Black Lives Matter, don’t be ashamed of where you are starting as long as you keep moving forward. You’re doing the right thing. It can be painful and difficult, but it can also be really freeing to own up to how things were, learn from those experiences and reshape your worldview. Do take some time to reflect on why you think the way you think- a lot of it has to do with the environments by which we were raised. But it doesn’t set the tone for how to be in the future.
One thing that I found very helpful after taking a few classes in this realm was this realization:
It is okay to realize that there will always be more that I don’t know than I do know. But I can work on narrowing the gap and the more I learn, the more I am able to find beauty on this planet and find new ways to articulate my experiences. The more people I meet, the more books I read by authors from other countries, the more I can recalibrate my biases and open my eyes to a world I never dreamed.
While you pursue learning about why these events are happening, I highly encourage you to find the light. Take this moment to celebrate the achievements, creativity and soul that black people have ingrained in our culture since day one. It is because of Robert Johnson that we have rock n’ roll. It is because of a black woman named Katherine Johnson that we were able to land on the moon. There are countless other black heroes, both recognized or not that have done heavy lifting for us all. To celebrate American culture is to celebrate black culture. It’s time that they get the credit and that we create more pathways to uplift folks to keep contributing to our communities and our collective narrative in meaningful ways. I will be working on a list of creative works to celebrate for next week.
You are not your grandfather’s values. You are not who you were six months ago. Heck, you’re not who you were before quarantine! You are your own person. Do the work to find out who that is and how you can be a global citizen and ally. It is not up to people of color to have to tell us how to behave. They have been for hundreds of years and have enough on their plates.
I greatly admire folks who say, “I used to believe x, but then I learned, spoke to, read, watched, listened to y and it really made me think about how skewed my exposure and perspective was/is. It was uncomfortable and made me feel _____, but it’s good for me to get out of my comfort zone and now I’m trying harder to be better about z.”
To leave this world better than I found it is the root of everything I do here at Thorn Alexander. There are a lot of waves that we ride in order to follow this path. I don’t always talk about it on social because of the biases that we have as both a country and an industry. Fear of isolating my customer, fear of being too loud, fear of blackballing myself in a predominantly white industry. I decided recently that the perceivable fear of speaking up is minuscule to the fear that many of our fellow Americans live with.
We will do our very best to continue walk our talk on the streets and off and will strive to create a better planet for all as well as more representation in the needlepoint community.
Sheila has put together some things for you below, including an exciting new collaboration with Abigail Cecile to teach you how to paint a portrait of your pet on canvas, this month’s trunk show and in case you have yet to notice, we have been doubling up our “Uplifting Things Happening Around The World” segment.
With lots of love I leave you with a video two of my professors showed us in college by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie that changed my life forever as a freshman in college. May her storytelling talents show you the importance of stories in her charming, witty way.
Brooke
Thorn Alexander Updates
Trunk Show Alert! We are very excited to have our wholesale collection available for 20% through Village Needlepoint in Dartmouth, MA through KCN Designers
New Blog Posts!
“ Meaningful change can only happen when we ask the difficult questions, listen to one another, find compassion in ourselves and seek solutions…Please feel free to download, print and stitch [the included pattern] to your heart’s content.”
“…As a kid, I dreamed of going to space and wanted to be an astronaut. Growing up in Houston and living not too far from NASA can do that for a kindergartner. And then Columbia happened when I was in 3rd grade. But I never let up on dreaming of the moon and what the stars must be like, often drawing astronauts on the sides of art history and calculus exams. But I also fell in love with this planet that we have, right here.”
READ MORE >
How To Paint A Canvas Of Your Pet With Abigail Cecile
“…I’m so excited to share this DIY with you! Painting a needlepoint canvas can seem intimidating but the process is quite simple. And what is better than stitching your own sweet pet, or one for a dog loving friend! This is the most exciting part of needlepoint - exercising your creativity and creating personal and meaningful pieces. ”
READ MORE >
Songs To Stitch To, Sing To, Get You Through The Week
Set Aside Some Time This Week For Some Self-Care
I. Commit to some journaling this week! Write down the narrative happening in your head these days, write a poem, or simply write down some of the words & phrases that make you feel good right now.
II. Go out and smell the flowers. Things are in bloom right now (my allergies have told me so many times!) so don’t miss the opportunity to see the natural growth happening around your neighborhood, and make sure to stop and smell the roses 🥰
III. Make fancy water. If you’re like me and trying to be good about water intake as temperatures start climbing, try adding a little something special. I love adding things like lime, lemon, mint, basil, even cucumbers & strawberries!
Soulful Salutations
“There is beauty and power in unity. We must be united in heart and mind. One world, one people.” — Lailah Gifty Akita
“I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within.” — India Aire
“When we seek for connection, we restore the world to wholeness. Our seemingly separate lives become meaningful as we discover how truly necessary we are to each other.” — Margaret J. Wheatley
Uplifting Things Happening Around The World
I. Victory at last! Standing Rock Sioux Tribe wins in case of Dakota Access Pipeline.
II. Just yesterday, Ella Jones was elected as the first black mayor of Ferguson, MO. She is not only the first black mayor, but also the first woman to be mayor in Ferguson.
III. Sanford Middle School in Minneapolis sent out a request to their community for food donations (asking for 85 bags of groceries) and they were met with several thousand!
IV. CC Yin, a Chinese immigrant who came to the US in the 1960s with just $100 in his pocket just donated millions in PPE for front-line healthcare workers.
V. The Nature Conservancy bought two miles of land alongside the Virgin River, which will safeguard this vital wildlife corridor near Zion National Park.
VI. A nine-year-old Kenyan boy made a wooden hand washing machine to help curb the spread of the Coronavirus, and he received a “presidential award” for his work.
Have a great week!
Be well,
Sheila
PS. You can flow with me 3 days a week on Instagram Live or Google Meet! If you'd like to join, respond to this email or send me a private message on Instagram!