Melissa Russell
Remember pink pussyhats? The AIDS quilt? COVID masks with pointed messages?
Welcome to the world of “craftivism,” creating handmade items to make political statements, advance a cause, or share a point of view. This weekend, a Belmont business will be crafting for a cause, and the public is invited to participate.
On Feb. 18 from 2 to 4:30 p.m., Phuni Meston Eames, 55, owner of Karma Fine Crafts at 68 Leonard St., will welcome crafter Hinda Mandell, an associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and editor of “Crafting Dissent: Handicraft as Protest from the American Revolution to the Pussyhats,” to teach a workshop Stitch a Peace Patch.
Attendees will create hand-stitched patches that “puts positive intentions into the world through contemplative stitching,” and can be worn on a garment, given as a gift, or enjoyed “during quiet moments of reflection,” according to Eames. Materials will be provided for $35.
Making items that broadcast a social messages ties into the mission of Karma, which opened in Belmont a year ago, joining an existing story in Newton. The Belmont store brought handmade textiles, jewelry, ceramics, home décor, and accessories from around the world. But Karma is more than just a boutique.
Eames is committed to using the space to address what she refers to as “the most urgent issues of today.” She was born into a nomadic herding family in the Himalayas and raised in a Tibetan refugee camp in South India. When Eames was 14, she was sent to the U.S. with a church minister, who was later convicted of sexual abuse.
As a survivor of sex trafficking, Eames offers Karma as a safe space for community gatherings to provide opportunities to share stories about grief, mental health, domestic violence, and racial injustice.
She said women in the community wove textiles together, and her mother taught her the value of contributing to other people’s happiness.
“My mother couldn’t swallow her food if she didn’t share it. She would give everything away all the time. I was so moved by her incredible heart,” Eames said. “I feel the way I am today really fuels me to continue, no matter what I’ve been through in life.”
The residual isolation and fear from the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted mental health so profoundly, Eames said, she has committed herself to hosting regular events where people can come together and build community.
“Action is my belief system,” she said. “We’ve all been through so much, and I want people to know, if they have any ideas, if they want to do something, they should let me know. The space is here; you are part of it, too.”
Next month, a group of Tibetan monks from the settlement in South India where Eames grew up will visit to create a colorful sand mandala for the public to view. They will work on the mandala over several days and then dismantle it — a manifestation of the Buddhist idea of “impermanence,” Eames said.
“The whole idea of the dismantling is to show we are all impermanent. As soon as we realize it, we don’t take ourselves so seriously,” she said. “We come here with nothing and we leave with nothing. While we’re here, what legacy do we leave? What is our contribution?”
Next week, as crafters gather to create their peace patches, they probably won’t be thinking about the message of the medium; they will be connecting with others, building an impermanent community, learning from each other, and absorbing what is going on around them.
Ultimately, it is the connection that is the goal, Eames said.
For information on the workshop “Stitch a Peace Patch” and upcoming events, visit Karma Fine Crafts on Instagram, and Facebook or call 617-933-3317.
