Where We Stand...Always.

I thought for a long time about whether to post this on my personal blog site or our business page, and I'm opting for our business page because I think it is impossible to separate a small studio from its owners. We are our brand. We are our customer service. We are our commitment to doing good in the world where we can.

At Parris House Wool Works, we stand on the side of light, doing good, compassion, non-violence, fairness, equality, freedom, dignity, and love. It doesn't matter who you are, your race (which biologically/scientifically speaking, doesn't even exist), culture, age, marital status, economic status, religion, sexual orientation, gender identification, political views or party, nation of origin, immigrant or native born, or any other descriptor often used to divide us. This is because this is who we are, and it's also because we are so very tired of divisiveness in America.

Rug hooking brings us all together. We see it first hand every week in our Tuesday group, yearly at our annual Paris Hill Hook In, and especially on-line where over 1300 of you, from every state and several countries, check in to our Facebook page and join the party. We see this in the variety of Etsy, Shopify, and in-studio customers who trust us with their hooking and custom work needs. No two of you are the same, and you shouldn't be.

Right now in America, the politics of division are alive and well. Hostility is in the news every single day. For some this seems even to be a perceived badge of honor. As a history geek, I know that many Americans, including so many of my own ancestors, sacrificed everything for peace, freedom, and a united America, not petty divisiveness in the pursuit of power. It is all a bit demoralizing until I remember this:

Standing on the side of love is a revolutionary act, and we can all participate in that. We can apply the profound lessons of love and unity learned when we are together as artisans to the rest of our lives. We can be kind to one another, even when we disagree, and support one another in our freedom to make different choices and just to be who we are. Most importantly, we can gift to one another a safe haven where the golden rule is applied generously in the service of human dignity. I have seen all of this practiced without fail in our artisan community, and it reflects, as Lincoln put it, the better angels of our nature.

This is where we stand. This is where we will always stand, and we know that many of you stand with us.

Happy hooking! - Beth

← Previous Post Next Post →