The world is a rather scary place at the moment. So much is so desperately wrong: terrible wars; the rise of intolerance; hatred running rampant; poverty that would horrify Charles Dickens; the climate crisis being ignored; and so much more.

Sometimes, it seems that there is very little we can do to instigate change, to restore balance, to be heard. But there is! We can PROTEST. Like the women in the 70s marching for equal wages and equal rights. Like the women of Greenham Common in the 80s who camped outside the RAF military air base where nuclear weapons were to be stored. Like the women who wrote magazines, created art and made badges to wear. Protesting comes in many forms: national and local; loud and silent; spoken and written.

Visiting the exhibition, Women in Revolt at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh in July 2024, I was inspired by how the women of Greenham Common used the fence surrounding the military base to protest and to tell their stories. They hung objects on the wire structure and held up mirrors so that those on the other side could reflect on the women’s message.

Whilst working as Woolly Originals, I created a design based on this wire linked fence for people to tell their story and for them to add their badges of protest, of support, of things meaningful to them. I machine knit the outer fabric of this design using undyed Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift wool to reproduce the colours of the fence at night.

Having previously sold these bags unadorned, I am now working on a series of bags that will have individual badges telling an individual story. The badges will be made using a variety of painting and printing techniques, and then sustainably varnished to ensure longevity. The bags and their badges will be available to purchase from summer 2025..

PROTEST!

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