‘During these difficult times making something by hand, generated by positive thoughts, was uplifting.' Photo: Pendella Buchanan.
Eye - 12 March 2021
From A pop of pep to Craftivism in constrained times
A pop of pep
An episode of BBC1’s Bargain Hunt, which aired on 19 February, saw a former student of a Quaker school snap up a bottle of pop with Friendly associations at Oswestry Showground.
Bargain Hunt sees pairs of contestants challenged to buy three objects in an hour and then make a profit by selling them at auction.
Ten minutes into the show, with only twenty minutes of shopping time left, a bottle of ‘Quaker Pep’ was spied by one team’s expert. The label shows a miner in a flat cap quenching his thirst with a refreshing, non-intoxicating, swig.
Auctioned by Charles Hansen in Staffordshire, the pep pocketed the team a £4 profit.
The quirky Quaker find was produced by Howell Davies & Co, based in Abercynon in Wales, in the 1920s, and reflects efforts by the Temperance Movement to urge people to turn away from alcohol.
How flavourful this particular pop was is anyone’s guess, as the label is less than specific: ‘An imperial beverage blending nature’s aids to health.’ However, Friends can be reassured that it proudly boasts ‘a well-known analyst’s report’ determined the drink to be ‘a perfectly wholesome beverage’.
Craftivism in constrained times
A recent all-age Meeting for Worship inspired Friends in Winchester to flex their creative muscles.
Clarissa Palmer, from Winchester Meeting’s Children and Young People’s Committee, told Eye about the session, held via Zoom.
‘Inspired by Craftivism and the Loving Earth Project we considered the words of Betsy Greer, “godmother” to activist crafters, who sees in stitching strength, love and hope and says: “We are the makers of our own future.”
‘Creating through hope allows us to work on ourselves as we work for a better world. We reflected on what most touched our hearts in terms of positive changes we would like to see in the world and how those ideas could be transformed into clear messages using craft forms.’
Friends were inspired: some drew, some looked through their recycling for materials, one created a creature from an abandoned glove found during a lockdown walk, while others fashioned small, mainly textile, panels.
The panels were ‘influenced by the beauty of nature, the horrors of the Holocaust, the need for clean air, protection of pollinators… [and] will be joined together while we ourselves wait to gather in person to explore our ideas further and consider how we might become crafty activists’.
Clarissa reflected: ‘During these difficult times making something by hand, generated by positive thoughts, was uplifting. Craftivism is a form of activism that seems particularly suited to these constrained times when gathering en masse to seek to effect change is not possible.’
