New designer, Anna Jacobs, is launching a new cushion design, Murmuration. It is being sewn exclusively by women in a high security women’s prison. Sounds reminiscent of them sewing knickers in Orange Is The New Black, right? It’s definitely coming from a very different place though. Anna has organised this through the charity, Blue Sky, who work with ex-offenders to help stop the cycle of re-offending.
She specifically chose this design for the women to sew for a couple of reasons. A murmuration is not only a wonderful image of birds flying free, it is also an extraordinary phenomenon of hundreds of starlings working together and creating beautiful patterns in the sky. This seemed to reflect the aims and ethos of the sewing workshop within the women’s prison.
The cost of producing Anna’s cushion through the prison is the same as it costs to produce her other cushions through her usual commercial unit. However, part of the price she pays goes toward the training and qualifications of the women prisoners.
Anna is a single parent who’d recently gone though some tough times. She has been helped enormously by friends and family and wanted to find a way to pass on some of that kindness by supporting other women in difficulty.
Blue Sky aims to generate new employment and training opportunities to engage prisoners, improve their self-esteem and give them the best chance of getting their lives back on track once they are released.
Anna Jacobs’ SS16 collection launches on her website and in retailers on 1st February.
Will you be checking out the cushion and helping charity? Do you think it’s a good idea? Should more people produce items this way if possible? Let me know what you think below.
Kisses,
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