If you attended our recent webinar on Considering Classism in the Fibre Industry you’ll have heard us suggest continuing the discussion online, especially on Twitter, using the suggested hashtag of #YarnIsForEveryone. There’s already a few folks spamming the tag but for the most part, the discussion has been lively and interesting and welcomed. If you couldn’t attend please don’t feel you can’t join the discussion because you absolutely can!
Please do bear in mind that neither myself, Karie or Shannon are in any way able to have this discussion come into our inboxes. And honestly, neither should it - this is something we need to talk about amongst ourselves, out loud. It doesn’t just affect us three, it affects everyone - whether you work in this industry or not.
Please also note that we’re not asking for feedback on the webinar itself, but instead are asking that we all discuss the issues raised. Right now there isn’t a public link to the webinar, that’s something I need to work on and my to-do-list has a life on it’s own, but you can follow the discussion via the hashtag and share your thoughts there.
The image shows the crown of my Muratura pattern. It features the post title “Post Webinar Discussion, #YarnIsForEveryone”
I started a Twitter thread of my own on the topic, but as I often fall out with Twitter or hide my account for a while when my head crashes, I thought I’d share my expanded thoughts here. I hope this’ll help folks who aren’t able to, or won’t, use Twitter.
By all means comment below or share your thoughts via the hashtag. I will be moderating comments - talking about money and the cost of things isn’t easy and it can bring out some unpleasant opinions. Unfortunately I’ve already needed to block a few people who feel that me pointing out how difficult it is to earn a living in this industry means they get to tell me to get a different job, or that my patterns are too expensive or my work not what they expect, which is classism in action.
Designers with financial privilege charging lower prices for their patterns because they can isn't "just business", it's capitalism and classism. IMO it's an unethical business practice at worst, ignorance at best, but either way it's a race to the bottom. #YarnIsForEveryone
For a long time I kept my pattern prices on the lower side of average 'cos I couldn't afford patterns either; I wanted to be financially accessible. I eventually realised the one person I was hurting more than anyone was myself. Lower prices aren't the answer. #YarnIsForEveryone
For me, Patreon is amazing. My supporters help fund so many free patterns and tutorials, and more. Each free pattern or tutorial states that it's funded by my supporters, which thanks them publicly but also makes the point that it isn't without costs. #YarnIsForEveryone
One of the biggest battles we face is the devaluation of the work we do - from the fascist's anti-intellectualism to the capitalist's insistence of giving intangible content away for free to drive sales of tangible products. #YarnIsForEveryone
If we can make it clear that designing and writing patterns, or writing clear tutorials and articles, is skilled labour we're on the right path. And we can do that by adding a monetary value - stating sponsorship does that as does asking a fair price. #YarnIsForEveryone
I wrote this article nearly 8yrs ago and it helped fuel a discussion about pattern prices and how much work designing is. I'm a big fan of transparency and while understandably not everyone is comfortable with that, it's mighty helpful. #YarnIsForEveryone
Article link: The True Cost of a Pattern
There are more articles here, tho' not all of them are linked from this menu - I'm hoping to get that done soon. And as I'm unable to do nothing and actually rest, I might mess around and sort the post images out 'cos they bother me. #YarnIsForEveryone
Article links: Industry Talk
And as a reminder - when we talk about financial accessibility we need to talk about it not just as consumers, but as creators too. It isn't an Us vs Them situation. There are folks working in this industry who are just as poor, disabled and marginalised. #YarnIsForEveryone
Yes, the industry is dominated by white middle class women. And yes, we want to talk about ways of making sure that the industry is more accessible to folks who aren't financially privileged. But we also need to remember that we're already here. #YarnIsForEveryone
I'm a bit tired of messages and emails telling me how they're making crafts more financially accessible to knitters and crocheters whilst ignoring the fact that most of it relies on the privilege of the person working in the industry or producing the content. #YarnIsForEveryone
Classissm shows up as assuming we had a choice in the job we do. That we have a choice to do a different job. Or that we've money to invest. And in assuming the person you're talking to shares your financial privilege just because you work in the same industry. #YarnIsForEveryone
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