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International Women's Month 2020
Published date: 08/03/2020 18:29
This year International Women’s Day is on Sunday the 8th of March and we at Scribbler thought what better way to celebrate than to highlight how fantastic our female designers are? Better yet, why not celebrate for this entire month!?
First of all though, let’s ask what is International Women’s Day all about?
Well, this year’s campaign is called #EachforEqual so put very simply, it’s about creating a gender equal world. It’s about standing up for women’s rights whether it be in the workplace, in government, the sports world, the media world – everywhere basically. Put in a more detailed way, it’s about ‘collective individualism’ which is how we as individuals can have a positive impact on society through our actions by standing up for gender equality. As stated on the official IWD site, the aim is to “challenge stereotypes, fight the bias and broaden the perceptions” of women’s capabilities.
So how do some of our female designers do this?
LUCY SPENCE FROM LUCY MAGGIE DESIGNS:
I’ve started this company from scratch, I am making money doing something I
love – I mean really love. Women absolutely can be their own boss, they can be
hugely successful and they can do all of the things that they fear might be
stopping them. I celebrate strong women and positive female influences through
my designs. It is important to recognise people who are really smashing life
regardless of their gender.
It’s great to be in an industry that is full of so many talented female (and male) designers, who go out of their way to support each other. The card industry community is so inclusive. It is a rare example of an industry that seems to have the same amount of male and female designers. I have contributed to making change happen for women by recently releasing a series of cards in collaboration with LilaccPeach in support of the charity Ovacome which is an ovarian cancer charity.
In terms of my favourite design that I have on Scribbler, it’s ‘Shake your tits, it’s your birthday’ which represents a big breakthrough in my career, it’s one of my best sellers and it’s quite cheeky. To see more of Lucy’s designs please click here.
ANGELA CHICK DESIGNS
Women are often taunted, teased and penalised for the empathy they possess. They are told ‘don’t be so sensitive’ or to be ‘less emotional’. Human beings have feelings and it’s perfectly ok to show them and share them. I like to think that I have helped many friendships connect on a deeper level by helping them to find the right words and I hope that some of the women out there have found some reassurance through the words that I’ve shared in my designs. If I could have made even a handful of people feel slightly happier on a bad day, then that is enough for me.
I am a one woman show surrounded by countless other strong women who help to inspire, encourage and support me. The sense of community amongst female designers is incredible. I’ve had someone say before ‘it must be great having a husband who is so supportive of your hobby’ like I was married to someone who was bankrolling my business dream. I’ve built what I’ve built from the ground up. No ‘other half’ pitching in to save the day.
Many of my designs are geared towards strong friendships and empowerment and my favourite Scribbler one is ‘Stay Strong’. It helps to give a little pick me up when going through a rough time. To see more of her designs please click here.
AISLING CROSLAND – IN HOUSE DESIGNER
Equality for me should be something already given. I don’t want to be a good female designer – I want to be a good designer. As long as I’m enjoying my job and I’m good at it, it shouldn’t matter what gender I am. On the flip side to that, a lot of the people I admire in the industry tend to be other females, maybe because I see myself in them and think ‘one day I could be that good’.
85% of all cards bought in the UK are purchased by women so it makes it easier to have a voice as a female greetings card designer. However, in terms of retail Karren Hubbard was the only female CEO in the FTSE 250! I think to see more females higher up in retail it’s important that women have the confidence to ask for what they want, know how to get that information and gain the knowledge needed. I think that I help contribute to equality by teaching people skills, encouraging talent and by giving them the tools to grow but I wouldn’t say this is limited to just females or people in-house as I also work closely with independents too.
Looking at Scribbler itself, you have Jennie Proctor as half of the ownership, Both she and John are really involved in the business and I think that having both that female and male side combined has made the business stronger when it comes to product selection. Humour is a HUGE part of Scribbler so I think it’s important to break stereotypes of women being ‘easily offended’ and ‘can’t take a joke’. I think a lot of the cards I produce, people assume a man made so it’s always nice to see their shock when they realise it’s me. I really like my ‘Mother of Cats’ design for Scribbler as at the time no one was doing anything like them so it was great to be the first.
CHARLI TAIT DESIGNS
I love the community of incredible female creatives that exists. My Instagram feed is filled with inspirational women who create amazing things and run their own successful, independent businesses - whilst also cheering on others! It's amazing to see other women triumph in their work, despite any ups and downs they have faced; it makes me feel like anything is possible.
I aim to be inclusive with my illustrations, to make all women feel represented. For example, I think it's important to draw ladies of all shapes, sizes and skin tones. Helping to end stigmas is also something I am passionate about. There's a cute and sassy illustration of a tampon on my Instagram somewhere that I posted for fun, but also with the hope of helping to combat the taboo around periods and sanitary products.
My current favourite design is probably the 'New Home' card with the little hermit crab. Purelyjust for the fact that the box next to him is labelled 'Kitchen Crabinets' and it amused me waytoo much when I thought of it. To see Charli's full collection, click here.
SARAH JACKSON - STORMY KNIGHT
My proudest achievements in this industry have nothing to with being a woman - they are about being a designer. I'm so proud to see my designs on the shelves of stores like Scribbler. I think it's great that we have International Women's Day to celebrate women's achievements and promote equality, but it will be even better when we don't need to remind people and gender isn't even an issue anymore.
I think the greetings card publishing industry is a wonderful one when it comes to equality. I meet designers, publishers, buyers and business owners from all over, and I've never felt intimidated, disadvantaged or overlooked as a woman. I know there are a lot of industries that have bad reputations for inequality and how women are treated, so I feel lucky to be working in such a diverse and open one.
Most of my designs are pretty non-gender specific, and although you might see the odd flower and splash of pink, most cards focus on fun designs that can be given to any gender! My Partners in Crime design definitely represents equality. This simple monochrome and gold design represents two people, of no specific age, gender or sexual preference holding hands. I love that sentiment. To shop the range, click here.
So strike the #EachforEqual pose and tag us in it on social media!
Let us all stand together and show how powerful and amazing women are.
Let us show the world that we have a lot to offer and how proud we are to represent our gender.
Let us show that we are not limited and that we should all be equal.
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