I think we all noticed and were taken aback by how silent the big sewing, craft, pattern, and fabric brands were on Tuesday when people around the world put a black square on their Instagram feeds to show solidarity with and amplify Black voices and more importantly, Black lives. Bernina. Dritz. McCalls. Hobby Lobby. Clover. Viking. Janome. Simplicity. Joann Fabrics. Brother. Singer. Just a few of the many.
It was an incredible opportunity to show a significant portion of their customer bases that, “We hear you. You matter to us. Your dollars matter to us. Your lives matter to us,” especially since brands do hear us, we do matter, our dollars matter, and so do our lives. Black lives matter. Every time, all the time, since 1619 in the United States, further back in other countries.
The silence has been absolutely deafening. For Black sewers, knitters, and crafters, the silence on Tuesday and into Wednesday was as loud and as punishing as a skyscraper falling down. We have seen this happen before. Moments of national unrest that affect portions of the population in a largely negative way go unnoticed by the big brands these very populations support. Not this time. The silence has reverberated and shaken many in the sewing community, not just Black sewers and fiber artists, but allies and other marginalized communities as well. We are considered the canaries in the mine after all.
As a result, I decided on Monday afternoon to put a list together of places where I knew my dollars mattered. I wanted to spend my money where it would count and where I would (and do) feel appreciated. I sent out a simple request, to “Let’s do this!” And “do this” we did. Hundreds of DMs and comments later, I’ve been able to vet and add 233 companies whose ethics align with mine and many in the community. And it is still going. Podcasts, publications, sewing instructors, sheep farms that sell fleece, custom fabric designers, fabric stores, pattern weight designers, and more populate this list. This list is truly a reflection of the community I am seeking to build. I can only change my little corner of the world, and if you seek to change your little corner of the world, soon it will all be different.
If you are interested in adding a minority or ally-owned store to the Shut Up and Sew safe space to shop list, please send a message to @pinkmimosabyjacinta on instagram or comment below.
Jacinta is a vintage fashion lover, prolific sewer, and owner of over 35 plants that she lovingly tends to on an hourly basis. Mariah Carey is the Queen of her life and you can find her sassing her way through life and fabric on Instagram at the @PinkMimosabyJacinta handle or on www.shopjacintagreen.com. She lives in sunny Seattle, Washington.
I really appreciate the time and energy you’ve put into putting together this list. I plan to look it more closely and refer to it when it comes time to spend my money. However, I do have to say that we may not all agree on who has the moral high ground. In the case of Closet Case Patterns, for instance: as long as they require me to use FOREIGN CURRENCY to conduct a business transaction in my own f***ing country, I cannot consider them an ally of mine.
Hi Leslie! Thanks for checking out the list – Jacinta has worked hard to pull it together so quickly! I understand that we’ve ll got issues we care about (like buying in Canadian currency, or for me, size inclusive patterns), but I want to remind you that it is dangerous to draw equivalencies between issues of such variing severity. I’m not going to die because many patterns don’t come in my size, but Black people are dying for the colour of their skin. Food for thought, perhaps?
Oh, gosh, I did not mean to suggest AT ALL that my very privileged situation is comparable and I’ve been thinking about how unclear my post was. As I said, I really appreciate the work that’s been done to create the list and I’m truly grateful to have the resource as a starting point. I think that what I meant MAYBE was that each of us might want to look more closely where we’re spending our money to ensure that it’s in line with our personal values—this is probably something we should be doing all the time, and it’s good to have a reminder. (But I do have a bee in my bonnet about Closet Case files, for sure; I think that might speak to a larger problem (my own) but also vis-a-vis the nature of capitalism and marketing.)
💕 It’s such a learning process to rethink our communication, isn’t it? I’m teaching myself that I’ll put my foot in it a lot as I try to do better, and and the secret is to (as you did) listen, reflect, and do better! 💕
My company, Fabric Indulgence, is an online textile retailer with an endowment for BIPOC design students. I am an activist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist police abolitionist who is also an artist and the proud white mom of a non-binary Black photojournalist. Every decision I make for my business relates in some way to my political understanding and commitment to social and environmental justice. It would be an honor to be included in the fine company assembled in your list.
Michelle, I think it is not a Sewcialists list. I think it the list is being assembled by @PinkMimosabyJacinta. You might try posting there. Melinda
I did respond to your response already, Gillian, although I don’t see it here (moderation? I don’t know) but I think that in the interest of being polite and diplomatic, I’m still just being vague. My point is this: it’s possible that someone who’s on this list as a black ally might still be an asshole for unrelated, less life-threatening, reasons. Support someone on the list who is not; I’m sure there are plenty to choose from.
Hi, happy to answer any questions you have. These companies I’ve added fit the criteria that I have put together based on my experience as a Black/biracial woman in the US. While I am open to feedback, this is a list I literally spent twenty hours on this past week. I’m doing my absolute best identifying allies to the Black community. If you’d like to do the work helping me vet, by all means. But my labor on this is important and it feels a little strange to be given this kind of feedback considering all the work that went into it.
Is it strange that someone is not 100% on board with your list, just because you put a lot of work into it? So basically, if you don’t agree then you need to shut up? That doesn’t sound very tolerant or inclusive of everyone.
I agree with this poster that we shouldn’t blindly support companies because they are owned by people of a certain sexuality or skin colour. I thought that’s what the world is trying to get away from.
Is that REALLY the comment you want to leave here? To criticise a Black woman who put 20+ hours of work into her curated list?
If you really feel that Jacinta’s work isn’t “tolerant or inclusive” of everyone, and you want to highlight companies that support the white status quo (?), feel free to make your own list.
That was not my point. My point is that Jacinta seems to feel no one can dislike her work based on the amount of work she has put in.
She is literally inviting you to help. Of course something shouldn’t only be judged by how much work has gone into it. But knowing the amount of work something takes does put some perspective as to whether what you request is reasonable to expect from someone.
For example, for me the list is only partially useful as it is quite anglo-centric (US, UK and Canadian businesses). This makes total sense: the list was made by someone who operates in the English-speaking part of the sewing community (and the English-speaking portion of the sewing community is HUGE so the list makes optimal impact this way. However, I live in mainland Europe and I prefer not to buy fabric abroad or even overseas – so I wouldn’t quickly buy fabric from the listed businesses. Does that render de list useless? NO OF COURSE NOT! It’s still useful for me to assess whether I want to buy from a pattern company, and it’s super useful for people who live in English-speaking countries. For the rest, I’ll have to vet the companies I buy from myself, and not expect anyone else to do that.
Your work on this is definitely appreciated! It brings this issue (identifying and supporting vendors we want to align with) to the top of my mind and gives me a concrete way to act. Thank you!
Jacinta, your work is important and meaningful, and I do not mean to denigrate your efforts. I apologize if that’s the affect my comments have had, and it was perhaps thoughtless of me not to realize that they would. I have no qualifications to vet your list as either a POC or a biracial person; I will bow to your greater wisdom in that regard. I also never meant to hijack this post. Still, when I set out to support an organization or business from your list—and I do intend to do that—I will choose those whose secondary characteristics also align with my personal philosophy. I would be happy to explain that to you privately, but I won’t post here again. Thank you for your work.
I am in Australia and so deeply grateful for this list for many reasons – it’s practical, educative and allows me to show economic support while geographically distant. Warm and admiring thanks. Inky
So the only thing you have to do to be on the Sewcialist list of “safe places to shop” is to be a business owned or run by a POC? White owned businesses will be approved if they demonstrate themselves an ally by posting BLM supportive comments on their social media channels? This doesn’t seem a very rigorous criteria. On this basis the Sewcialist “Mission Statement” has become a contradiction as starting the safe places to shop list is about exclusion.
Following a link here I looked at Jacintas beautiful clothing designs and internet shop. Did I overlook it or is there an ethical statement about who/where the clothes are manufactured and an outline of her business commitment to sustainability principles?
It would great if your principles were wider than just “race” and skin colour.
Our mission is to be a hyper inclusive space, and that is our aim in the businesses we highlight and support. There are multiple examples of Black women explaining how they have been made to feel less than, othered and tokenised in the sewing and crafting world, both in sewing events, by certain brands and by other crafters. We believe them. We want to ensure that when a Sewcialist walks into a shop, or engages with a brand that they are celebrated and treated of equal value. Supporting Black owned business with our money is also vitally important as minority business owners are less likely to receive bank loans and other financial support from institutions. Meaning they are often less able to employ marketing teams and social media wings to grow their brand. Systemic racism hits again. This list is obviously a starting point for readers to go and do more reading, to make sure their chosen companies align with their own particular world view and ethical stand point. It is always a good thing to engage with the businesses we support, to know who owns them and what their views are but by recognising the fact that often Black owned businesses have had to work harder and longer due to systemic racism and recognising that we as consumers can address that we are helping to mandate the Sewcialists mission.
[…] owned business that she vetted to ensure are worth spending money with. Read all about it in this Sewcialists post. You can follow her on […]
Is there a way to view Jacinta’s list if we aren’t on Instagram? I did not see it on her website or her blog. Am very interested in seeing this! Thank you!
Yes! There’s a link embedded in the post – I think it’s about halfway through?
[…] called “Shut Up and Sew”. You can read more about her process on her Sewcialists blog, “Spending Your Money Where it Counts”. Some Australian or internationally accessible e-commerce stores are on that list. (As Jacinta […]
[…] Black Lives Matter… on Spending Your Money Where it C… […]
Sorry, but when I worked we had to honor bids from minority owned companies even if they were more expensive or the product was not what we were really looking for. I will take my business where they can provide me what I am looking for. I will not be made to change my fashion desires or hair style to suit others desires to buy minority. I do support local small quilt shops when possible but only when I am given good service. In a college, forward thinking town, there is a wonderful quilt shop, owned by 3 white women. It just happened that they are white and their retired partners were white. They are welcoming to all who walk into their shop. Stop all this stuff. Go make to work. Leave history alone- no more renaming buildings and tearing down statues. A store can not hire a minority when there are none to hire. Happy Sewing. Happy Creating
I’m approving your comment – first time you have commented here, I guess. You clearly have the privilege to pretend that systemic racism doesn’t exist, and because racist building names, history and systems benefit you, you feel they don’t exist or are unimportant. We at the Sewcialists are listening to the BIPOC people who tell us that racism DOES impact the safety, freedom and rights of fellow humans, and changing our behavior support them. No one is free until we are all free.
I am a minority in a country where I am different from 99.7% of the population. I get harassed more than anyone else I have ever met here. The system here does not benefit me, and I cannot go places by myself because of safety reasons, all because of the colour of my skin. By your standards I am a victim of systemic racism every day.
And still I agree completely with Sewhappy’s comment.
Are you Black? We are talking specifically about anti-Black racism here. I’ve lived around the world and been a white minority treated differently, but because my ancestors were not stolen and sold in slavery for hundreds of years, my experience is not comparable.
It seem like your frustrated by actively trying to promote diversity. Not really sure what your hair has to do with anything and certainly no one is asking you to “change [your] fashion” (neither of which are affected by supporting a Black owned business so not really sure where that is coming from). There is absolutely nothing wrong with actively seeking diversity in the businesses we support or highlight. It’s also really awesome to be able to have a spot where I can go look and see amazing and successful Black business owners as well as businesses that are working to be anti-racist. I’m also not sure anyone every insinuated people in the quilt shop you frequent weren’t friendly. They too could be on this list if they were being actively anti-racist. The fact of the matter is that as a BIPOC if you walk into a space that’s only occupied by white people it’s actually really uncomfortable.
Now can you also imagine how uncomfortable it may be to walk into a building filled with white people that was named after a horrifically cruel person who enslaved people that looked like you? Most of are just out here trying to right the wrongs of the past not erase history. Removing problematic racists from places of high regard is hardly erasing history. Phew! We covered a lot of ground in one comment. I hope have a wonderful weekend, and don’t forget to support your local BIPOC owned businesses!
as a non-white indigenous women who lived in ithaca, while I went to school there, when I first got into sewing and made my first purchase at the local fabric store (owned by a group of older affluent white women whose husbands earned the majority of their income), they undercut my fabric, followed me around like I was going to steal and dared me to complain.
Needless to say, the local joanns there (where the employees were poor white women) were always very supportive and polite towards me.
As an ivy grad in a field where I get paid alot, I have the power to support businesses and people that respect their customers. And needless to say, although I know each small-town, local-owned, white-woman operated fabric/sewing store is not like the one in Ithaca (who came recommended by older white ppl too btw), I will never go inside one.
Once is enough for a lifetime.
[…] Madeit is part-owned by a woman of colour (looks like two women own and run the company) and are on the Shut Up and Sew safe space to shop list. Read more about spending where it counts and the safe space to shop initiative from Jacinta Green (@PinkMimosabyJacinta) here. […]
Hey Jacinta, what would you think of adding Patterns for Pirates to your list of friendly companies? I have been delighted to see how much more active participation from Black people there is in their Facebook group, a startling contrast to similar companies. It seems to me that while they don’t have grandiose (and recent) declarations on their website, they practice what we’d like to see everywhere in a low-key but effective way
[…] Brother, were noticeably silent on #blackouttuesday. Instagram influencer Pink Mimosa by Jacinta called the brands out and started the Crafter’s BIPOC and Ally Vendor List in […]
[…] Brother, were noticeably silent on #blackouttuesday. Instagram influencer Pink Mimosa by Jacinta called the brands out and started the Crafter’s BIPOC and Ally Vendor List in […]
[…] Brother, were noticeably silent on #blackouttuesday. Instagram influencer Pink Mimosa by Jacinta called the brands out and started the Crafter’s BIPOC and Ally Vendor List in […]
[…] had been noticeably silent on #blackouttuesday. Instagram influencer Pink Mimosa by Jacinta called the brands out and began the Crafter’s BIPOC and Ally Vendor Record in […]
[…] Brother, were noticeably silent on #blackouttuesday. Instagram influencer Pink Mimosa by Jacinta called the brands out and started the Crafter’s BIPOC and Ally Vendor List in […]