On Friday, we will be opening up our fifth Yarn Support Programme for design submissions. As we seek to support and highlight the work of BIPOC designers, we want to take some time to publicly reflect on this years’ conversations on racism, white privilege and the lack of representation in the making community.
To those of you who currently struggle to see yourself reflected in our community, we are sorry and want to change that. These conversations have drawn attention to several areas in our business where we have fallen short and can be more inclusive of BIPOC going forward. It is our mission to make sure that everyone who works with our yarn, whether you are a designer, maker, stockist or publication, feels valued and respected.
We are listening, learning and taking action to create a space for BIPOC, where they feel empowered and supported to share their work. We recognise that, in order for our programmes to be inclusive, we must start by building stronger relationships with the BIPOC community, actively encouraging designers and makers to join our programmes and featuring their work on our platforms.
Are you, or someone you know, a BIPOC designer or maker who might be interested in joining one of our programmes or receiving yarn support for self-published designs? You can read more about how we work with designers and makers here.
We recognise that we won’t always get this right but we are open to correction and will continue to educate ourselves on how to do better. If you would like to share your experiences, tell us how something we’ve done has made you feel or suggest something that would make us a better, more inclusive, company, we invite you to tell us in the comments section below. You are also welcome to send an email directly to our founder, Daphne, anytime.