Stitching Together

I have a fun story for you. The above is one of over 700 hand-embroidered textiles pieces that make up the incredible Tiny Pricks Project.  My friend, Diana Weymar, and I found each other on Instagram several months ago, and, as our long-distance friendship and our mutual love of each other's work grew, it became clear to me that we had to do something together. For those of you who've followed Lingua Franca from day one, you know that we only started stitching "resistance" sweaters in the fall of 2016, when we made our first "i miss barack" sweater as a sort of cathartic response to Trump's proposed anti-Muslin travel ban. Diana similarly picked up her needle and thread in the wake of the 2016 election, stitching "I am a very stable genius" into a decade's old piece of needlework her grandmother had created in the 1960s. Thus began a daily practice for Diana. A way to cope with troubling times that in time, turned into a beautiful community of artists from around the world, all with a shared commitment to stand in opposition to the presidency of #45. 

Since then, contributors from around the world have been stitching tweets and quotes by #45 into vintage textiles, creating a material record of his presidency and of the movement against it. We are so excited to announce that Tiny Pricks Project will be making it's first ever NYC appearance at our store on Bleecker Street beginning next week! We'll be hosting both Diana (who will be in-store all day June 13, 14th and 16th) and the hundreds of incredible embroidered textiles that make up this ever-growing collection (which will cover our walls for the rest of the summer). 

The exhibition will be on display at 382 Bleecker Street from June 13th - September 3rd and we can't imagine a more perfect way to share our space than to showcase these unbelievable pieces of art. Next week, we will be selling a select number of pieces on our site, along with our first ever T-shirt (made in the US from 100% recycled materials, naturally).  Proceeds will help to fund the project's growth and preservation. Anyone and everyone are welcome (and encouraged!) to become part of this ongoing project by stitching and submitting their own Tiny Pricks.

We can not WAIT for you to see this show! xo Rachelle

"When so much of the world appears to be about what you cannot change, what you cannot do, this collaboration has been about what we can do together. It's about recognizing our collective agency and all we can achieve when we use many voices and many hands to build a better future. We are not alone. There is hope. On behalf of everyone who has participated in, followed and supported this project, I would like to thank Lingua Franca for giving a damn. We're so glad you do!"

-Diana Weymar, Creator & Curator of Tiny Pricks Project