This article is going to dive into something a lot of the craft industry does not want to discuss — the lack of supporting equality. Art has always been a cutting edge form of expression. It has been used to show social injustices since the beginning of time. When I got back into the industry in 2015 I was saddened that there were no products (to my knowledge) that support equality. Not only was there little to no representation it was also frowned upon to openly create art that supported it.
This is an excellent representation of who I am and what I stand for.
My first first two years at Creativation were eye opening. The question I asked several designers was “Are there any companies that have same sex couples? Any stamps that have something other than white people?” After the shock of a straight white woman asking these questions, I was often answered with “We don’t talk about that.” or “If you want to work within this industry you can’t showcase that kind of art.”
Over the years things started to change. Brutus Monroe was the first company (that I know of) that came out with a stamp set that separated “Mr” and “Mrs”. It was revolutionary to some. In 2019 at Creativation I found one small new company that had one LGBT+ stamp set. Once I found the owner I thanked her for creating it. She did not understand why there were not stamps already made for the community — especially considering how many designers were gay. Thanks to the #BLM movement the craft industry started to create representation of different cultures and people. However, we still have a long way to go.
Four Companies That Support Equality
There are four companies that do provide supplies that represent equality. I wanted to share them with you in hope of spreading the word about awareness and activism. As a small fish in the big crafting ocean, this article may not reach a lot of crafters or people. The hope is by speaking out others will too. We can be active in making a change and supporting equality. It’s a shame that designers in the industry have to stay quite about such an important topic.
Sassy and Crafty
I may be partial because the owner is a friend, but this is my favorite company for LGBT+ stamps. Sassy and Crafty recently came out with two stamp sets that feature a male couple and a female couple.
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- Cards created by my daughter and I.
Clique Kits
Clique Kits is a company based out of Hawaii that specializes in scrapbooking kits. There are two curated kits for LGBT+ and #BLM in the shop. I ordered the #BLM kit and can not wait to create with it! Create cards and scrapbook pages to document important events with a kit.
Ink Road Stamps
Ink Road Stamps is the company I was referring to in the above story about having the first LGBT+ stamp set. Since that time this company has come out with numerous sets that represent LGBT+ . They also have featured black artist and give back a portion of the sales to charity that support the movement. Here is some cards I created recently with one of the stamp sets:
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- You’re My Person is one of the many stamp sets Ink Road carries.
Hero Arts is the leader on stamps for the #BLM movement. They are impressive because they are a large well known company in the industry that took a stand. There are several Unity stamp sets available for the crafter. Like Ink Roads, they also give a portion of the sales to supporting equality. They have diversified their design team too.
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- One of the first stamp sets I purchased that supported #BLM
This is not easy to admit, but I was completely unaware what the #BLM movement was or why it was important. I thought that battle was won in the last century. Growing up in a diverse community I did not recognize racism because I personally was not experiencing it . When I lived in a predominantly black apartment complex I remember the police rarely showed up when called. At the age of seven, I just thought it was because there were not enough cops to patrol the area.
When my Mom got married we moved to an upper middle class neighborhood. The elderly black man that lived next door would come over to our house and ask me to call the police or fire department for him on a few occasions. I could not figure out why. I thought maybe he did not have a phone. Years later I realized it was because he was black.
Experiences like these were not thought of until 2020. In a recent conversation with a friend I asked “Is this still happening?” She asked me if I was living under a rock. It was at that time that I decided I needed to educate myself. As a mom of three kids, I do not want to stay ignorant on matters regarding any kind of inequality issues and passing that on to my children. I am a firm believer that by ignoring something or not speaking up allows continuation of bad things. So, I ordered the book “Stay Woke“. If you are confused on the #BLM movement I highly recommend it. I had to put it down a few times because it challenged me and what I thought about society in general. The first step is to educate oneself.
What to Do Next to Support Equality?
The next step is to create art and support companies that take a stand with equality. If you feel comfortable, post your creations on social media and tag the company. Thank them for supporting activism. If we all start to take a stand for others the message will be heard in the community. We can make a difference, if we just speak (or create) up. I don’t pretend to know it all or have all the answers, but I am open to change and having uncomfortable conversations by asking hard questions and listening to the answers. It’s through bridges built in open communication and art that will change the world. We are not all free until we are all equal.
Do you know of any other companies that support equality? Please share them in the comments. We are all in this together!
Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!
Really appreciate this post & your stand! Agree 💯. Aware of Heto Arts & Ink Road stamps. Introduced to Sassy & Crafty by you! Thank you! Don’t scrap book but looking forward to seeing how you use the BLM kit from Clique!🤩😻🙏🙋♀️
Great write up Betz! We are so happy to work alongside you as you create amazing things for amazing people.
You are awesome.
Thanks for standing up Betz! You are golden! It so important to speak on this and keep the diversity ball a rollin.
Excellent post Betz! Standing up, being a voice for people who’s voices aren’t always heard, is so important.
Excellent post. Thank you for being a voice! Another reason why I won’t shop Hobby Lobby.
I try to avoid HL too!
There are a whole lot more than just 4 companies! (but it would be great to see more!)
Unity Stamp Co
The Stamping Village has a set benefiting NAACP
Kindred Stamps
Stamp Anniething
Reverse Confetti
paper nest dolls
sweet sentiment
La La Land
Rubbernecker stamps
I do feel weird seeing stamps made for BLM by non-POC companies. It feels like they are capitalizing off that movement and it doesn’t sit right to me. Even if they are donating all the proceeds, they are still marketing themselves off that, bringing in more money to them. But there are some that I don’t even see mention of donations, or even proof of those donations for that matter.
Thank you so very much for the other companies! I want to include them in the follow up article. I understand what you mean about profiting off of a movement. It is wrong. It’s nice to have art supplies that help create for it, but where do you draw the line? Thank you so much for your comment! ❤️
Hey Julie! I just went to all your recommendations and only found stamps that support equality at The Stamping Village, Kindred Stamps, and Stamp Anniething. I am not finding any stamp sets when typing in BLM and/or LGBTQ into the search bar. If you have direct links to some from the companies you mentioned that I could not find please post them.
Unity Stamp Co (LOVE) and Reverse Confetti is also great companies to go to. I also love Momma Elephant for their Chinese stamp sets (which I’ve never seen before this site) and designer Lydia Diaz @CleverGirlCraftings designed an adorable ‘Rest Queen’ stamp set for Simon Says Stamp.
Thank you so much!!!! I appreciate the recommendations.
It’d really be nice too if you would bring up the injustice and murders of Law Enforcement Officers who are beaten, ridiculed, threatened (& families of) and murdered because they simply are doing a job that was a calling for the majority of us. We risk our lives to protect everyone regardless of color, sexual orientation etc but EVERY occupation has a few bad apples, even Doctors, Lawyers, Politicians and Creative people. But they’re not brutally murdered just because they wear a badge.
Please use your platform to bring to light that officers are the ones who have to find the suicides with their brains splattered or tongues hanging out, cradle and hug the innocents that have been raped or trafficked, notify the loved ones that their children or families have been killed by a drunk driver or senselessly murdered for God only knows why and I can go on & on.
And please, do your research and EDUCATE yourself. YES! Black Lives Matter! POC all matter but the BLM donation do NOT go towards the development, education or value of what the movement should be. If you’d like to challenge me on that, please PLEASE do. You’ll have my email address. But until everyone can come together and realized that ALL lives, regardless of color, sexual orientation, profession MATTER!!! I’m so tired of the VIOLENCE!
And thank you for the list of companies but I’ve been doing LGBT & POC since 1995 and didn’t require special stamps. I used masking and my creative side to adjust for other races facially etc but maybe because my income doesn’t allow me to purchase specialty stamps.
Please respect that this is MY website. I pay for it and I am pouring my heart out about something that I am passionate about. To support one does not mean I do not support something else. If you do not like my stance than don’t come here. You are a guest in my cyber home. You are more than capable of posting what you want on your website that you pay for, however you do not have the right nor entitlement to dictate what others post on theirs. The conclusions that you have jumped to of who I am and what I stand for are appearing and I’m not even going to address them.
Thank you for commenting on my article and keeping it in circulation.
I LOVE YOU for this!!!! I was going to say the same thing, that ALL lives matter, blue lives matter, etc. The BLM movement is about releasing criminals without punishment and making money. Nothing else. It’s sad really.
Gabby…I am NOT looking to start a war. Just trying to educate people. When people say that ALL lives matter, you are not getting what the BLM movement is all about. And, people that love to say that ALL lives matter are normally white and don’t understand it from the black perspective.
I am a gay, white man with privilege. Just being born white gave me an advantage over every black person. I didn’t ask for it. I can walk into any store without anyone giving me a look. I can walk down the street and people will not cross to the other side to avoid me. Cops will probably not stop me on the street to ask me what I am doing in a certain neighborhood. And police will probably not be “afraid for their lives” if they stop me on the road.
That being said – blacks are stopped more frequently on the road by the cops. For no reason. Other than the fact that they are black. And the white cop feels they have the right (the privilege) to do this. Black people are shot and killed way more than a white person. Why? Because of the color of their skin.
The fact that so many more black people and other people with brown skin tones are being killed – this is why Black Lives Matter more than white. It’s not that ALL lives matter but the public needs to understand that black people are being killed way more than white people because White Lives Already Matter.
Again, I am white. I cannot put myself into the shoes of a black mother kissing her child goodbye as they walk to school and praying that their kid comes homes that night. Or a million other situations that white folk don’t think twice about. But I can see it from their eyes and feel for them because NO race should have to feel this way. We are all humans first.
Anyway, off my soap box. Sorry for all of this. Just trying to get people to understand it from the other side. If one person can change their views, then I will be happy.
Yes!!! Also, I provided a wonderful resource so people like Gabby can get educated on it. I highly recommend the book!
Sorry…I forgot something. The BLM movement is NOT about releasing criminals without punishment and making money. The fact that you see the BLM movement as this is what makes you really really sad. Cops matter! I agree. I am all for a police force. But you really need to educate yourself on what the BLM movement is before you leave a comment like that.
Thanks Gabby. Yes Blue Lives and ALL Lives Matter equally. No matter color, gender, age. No life is more important than another and NO life should be taken frivolously
Isn’t it interesting that no where in my article did I bash on or state that other lives do not matter. Yet here you have used my platform to push an agenda that I never stated I was against and draw a bunch of inaccurate conclusions. I will approve your comments because activity on this article helps keep it in circulation, but I will no longer read them. I will comment with “thanks for the comment and keeping #BLM and equality in circulation.”
Great article!!
Great Article!!
Kindred Stamps has my favorite LGBTQ+ set! Stamp Anniething has some fantastic sets too.
I was also especially excited to see the January 2021 i-crafter release showcasing Japanese culturally inspired products!
The more diversity we see in our crafty world, the more beautiful it gets! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! I am going to do a follow resource guide in a couple weeks. I will make sure to add them to the list!
The Paper House “This Is Us” Collections are fabulous. https://paperhouseproductions.com/collections/this-is-us
Those are great!
Here’s another Hero Arts stamp from a few years ago you might love: https://heroarts.com/products/cg710-love-is-love-bold-prints
Betz,
Thank you so much for using your platform to bring more awareness to this very real issue. Diversity in product depictions of any kind is severely lacking in the papercrafting industry in the near future (hopefully as soon as 2022). As the mother of a special needs child who uses a wheelchair, I discovered that’s another area where representation is all but non-existent; in spite of how many members of this community live with different disabilities. It’s easy to be safe, and this industry is notorious for toing that safe line. I would love the opportunity to work with you in the future as I develop products and commission designs to help all crafters see themselves in their art, without having to settle for coloring a clearly Caucasian character with a different skin tone or yet another collection of steriitypical images meant to represent a specific culture. I love the baby steps this industry is making, but I believe it’s time to burst into the room and shake things up! Bravo for speaking up and helping to amplify the voices of these unrepresented people who have, sadly been ignored, or even attacked when they speak up on this issue for themselves. Bravo for sticking to your guns and not cowtowing to the pressure of those who are afraid of the change the industry needs or who try to deflect with controversial talking points that happen to be adjacent to the topic at hand.
I would love to help in any way possible! You can e-mail me at betz@betzgolden.com ❤️
I’m so sorry that you weren’t receptive of request. You have every right to pick your issues. I will refrain from commenting and will unsubscribe from all of your social media. I will also take your suggestion to use my platforms to bring to light, my issues and passions. Best of luck to you.
Thank you! That really is the best thing 🏳️🌈❤️🏳️🌈❤️💋
I feel sorry for people like you that cannot feel for people that are not like you.
No need to feel sorry for me. I’ve been aware of injustice for POC longer than you’ve been alive. I’m also aware that more whites than blacks are killed in police shootings every year. But that black on black murder is ridiculously high. My friends of color worry more about their children being randomly killed in drivebys & gang shootings than they do about police. I’ve volunteered for years in low income neighborhoods, cried with mothers who’ve lost children to violence, helped with the homeless and spent countless hours with children of all colors who’ve been abused sexually and physically. I’ve also had to be the one to find suicides, murder victims, rape victims, brutal beating victims, babies mangled in cars or left to die in a hot car and have had to notify the families.
To simply ask that my fellow family in Blue be recognized, doesn’t make me a lesser person. Lesser people are like you and the author & others who ‘talk’ but have no real idea of the injustice dealt to cops. I strive to put my time, effort and emotions to BE THE CHANGE! You want to see a difference, then do it too. Don’t just ‘talk the talk’ but walk the walk’. I do more volunteer hours each week than you probably work. I have a gay child, a POC son in law and a POC daughter in law. None of them see white as privilege since momma is a retired Sergeant from Law Enforcement who was also discriminated against, spit on, called names, physically injured a few times but yet still felt it important enough for the Victims to do the job so ignorant people could ‘feel sorry for them’.
I’m do not want your pity. Just man up, go volunteer at a boys club, go to a low income area and assist in building a ramp for a disabled or elder person. Work a soup kitchen. Take 20% of your income & go buy some good used clean jackets, coats, socks and visit a homeless camp. Make a hundred sandwiches & pass them out.
DO SOMETHING! It will make you a better person, but most of all feel sorry for yourself. You don’t see the Big Picture at all
Who are you to say that he is not already doing some of those things? You have jumped to a lot of conclusions about someone you do not know.
I will no longer by reading your comments Nonya. However, I will continue to approve them and respond with “thank you for commenting on this post. By doing so you are keeping it in circulation and supporting equality!”
To Nonya…you are correct. I didn’t see the big picture but I read your comments and I am glad you replied. I am not anti cop at all. And I never thought of what it must be to be a cop experiencing what they do on a daily basis. And I apologize for my comment to you. But the brutality against POC shown on TV doesn’t come close to anything that whites go thru and I just think it’s wrong. Again, I am not saying that cops are bad. There are bad apples in every part of the world.
It’s interesting…there is a website – statista.com – where they show that the number of people shot to death by the police in the United States from 2017 to 2021, by race – whites far exceed any other color. Yet, they continue by publishing that, the trend of fatal police shootings in the United States seems to only be increasing, with a total 58 civilians having been shot, seven of whom were Black, in the first month of 2021. In 2020, there were 1,004 fatal police shootings, and in 2019 there were 999 fatal shootings. Additionally, the rate of fatal police shootings among Black Americans was much higher than that for any other ethnicity, standing at 34 fatal shootings per million of the population as of January 2021.
The problem for me is the police brutality against black people and POC. We rarely see any of this on TV or the news with white people. People who do bad things need to be arrested and dealt with. The police brutality against POC, to me, is unacceptable. No one should go thru this.
Anyway, I responded to your comment in the wrong way and, again, I apologize. I have never understood why there are issues with the color of a person’s skin. And dialogs need to be started.
Hi Betz. What a great blog post and thanks for spreading the news of these companies. Sorry you got some bad seeds leaving comments.
Thank you! I appreciate that they do leave comments so we all can them for who they are! ❤️
You need to know….promoting Ink Road Stamps is a mistake. The owner is nuts. Look into how she attacked Tim Holtz and Mario last year, as well as Simon Says Stamp. She had her ass handed to her because it was all bs and she looked like an idiot. She all too conveniently has deleted her apologies but not where she calls them out. And if you’re so about equality, then everyone would have freedom of speech to say whatever they want, no? But I see you’re not too receptive to comments that call out things you seem to be unaware of.
Oh and the Owner of Ink Road Stamps was publicly bullying fellow crafters last week and trying to get people to mob them with hate. And she takes suggestions from her customers and doesn’t give them credit for the designs. Just a little extra tidbit there. Take care.
I was unaware of her recent endeavors. I saw the apology she made to them and they openly stated they forgave her and wanted to move past it. Tim handled it graciously through and through ❤️🏳️🌈❤️
Hello Betz. I have been a follower for a while, but recently found you again on the Love WIns blog hop.
I appreciate you writing this and sharing your feelings. I too am a believer in equality. My first purchase from Ink Road was the LGBTQ stamp set. I was so happy to find those stamps. My son is gay and I wanted to be able to make him a special card. I have found that when I post cards about Pride or LGBTQ, I lose some followers. I’m ok with that, but it does break my heart. I really just want to thank you again for being a supporter. I appreciate what you have done. Also, if you do another blog hop in the future, I would love to join in.
I am so glad you enjoyed this article and found the hop. I will let you know when I host it again ❤️