Sunday Link Roundup

Photos of a lesbian Jewish-Hindu wedding

(for more images, see Feminist Batwoman; the original source for the photos, viyahshadinikah, is currently down for repairs)


Quote of the Day:

I’ll respect your opinion as long as your opinion doesn’t disrespect my existence.

(via Feminist Batwoman)


6 Things Parents Can Do To Raise Racially Conscious Children

I recommend this article for the helpful tips it gives white parents (by a white parent).   There are all manner of ways white people can help fight against racism, and this article gives some concrete advice that can be easily incorporated into the everyday lives of those with the power in the US.

 


 

 

Gendercrunching June 2014 – Including Nationality And Ethnicity At The Big Two

Spoilers:  There’s is an abysmal lack of representation of women and People of Color working as creators for Marvel and DC.

 

 


 

 

Gay characters in DC comics

I don’t currently buy comics (gotta have a job for that kind of unnecessary expenditure), and even if I did, I wouldn’t be purchasing any DC titles.  Still. I’ll give them some props for the use of gay characters (even as I criticize them for not having enough lesbian, bisexual, or transgender characters; as well as PoC who are LBGT).

 


 

 

Thanks to Feminist Batwoman for this one:

The Empowerment Plan is a nonprofit organization launched by Veronika Scott  that employs homeless women and teaches them to sew by making coats.  Not just any coats, but multi-purpose one.

(via FB)

 

As a product design student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Veronika Scott developed a heavy-duty, lightweight coat that turned into a sleeping bag, as part of a class project. It seemed like the perfect product to help homeless people, until a woman in a shelter shouted at Scott one day: “We don’t need coats; we need jobs.”

In January 2012, a month after graduation, Scott launched the Empowerment Plan, a nonprofit that employs homeless women and teaches them to sew by making the coat. With stable, paying jobs, they’re empowered to decide what kind of job they want next, “to decide what kind of person they want to become,” she said.

It wasn’t easy for Scott: She was an art student, not a businesswoman, and her family wanted her to find a more traditional job.

“I didn’t think I was the right person,” she said. “But I recognized at that moment that I was, because nobody else was going to do it.”

Skeptics said homeless women wouldn’t be solid employees. It wasn’t a problem, Scott says: She found many women hungry for good jobs. But they didn’t always understand that it was OK to fail, so long as they learned to fix their mistakes.

Few women she hires know how to sew, Scott says, but within a few months, they can create a coat in hours.

Since launching in a homeless shelter closet with just a few people, the Empowerment Plan now employs 20 people. Every month, they make 550 coats, which are distributed for free to homeless people in Detroit and through outreach programs across the country. Production is limited only by space, but that is set to change soon: The Empowerment Project is expanding beyond its 3,000 square feet inside Ponyride, a creative workspace in a Detroit warehouse.

This year, The Empowerment Plan expects to launch a “buy one, give one” program that will make it sustainable beyond the donations and sponsorships that keep it running now. Hunters and backpackers who’ve asked to buy the coat will be able to do so, and the Empowerment Plan will still create coats for homeless people who need them.

More important, Scott says, the Empowerment Plan will be hiring.

(the above article about Veronika Scott is part of CNN’s series ’10 Visionary Women’)


These scarves, created by Australian based artist  Roza Kamitova are absolutely gorgeous!

Kamitova originally worked for eight years in the fashion industry until she decided that the world could use a bit more creativity in clothing designs. So, she began reworking thrift store items, altering and reconstructing them, and hand-painting them to create completely unique pieces. In 2011, Shovava was launched and the beautiful, nature-inspired line was born.

“I observe nature and find inspiration in the smallest details,” explains Kamitova. “Maybe it’s a butterfly’s wing or the patterned cell structure of a leaf. Maybe it’s a feather or a raven perched on a tree limb. I take in what I see in the natural world and then create my pieces.”

(for more awesome photos of these scarves, visit My Modern Metropolis)


Photographer Thomas Herbrich Took 100,000 Smoke Plume Photos Looking for Unexpected Shapes

 

Taking a look at these gorgeous photos, I’d say Mr. Herbrich found the unexpected shapes he was looking for.  These would look fabulous framed on a wall.

 

(images courtesy of This is Colossal)

 

 


 

 

 

30 Stunning Black woman Paintings and Illustrations by Frank Morrison

Morrison’s work is stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Link Roundup
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