Craftivism in Action: Lionel Stitchie

Craftivism: Lionel Stitchie

Artist Molly Evans uses craftivism hilariously to draw attention to end-of-semester waste.

Evans calls the projet Lionel Stitchie, and she says that the project was:

…born out of a love for the breakups with our furniture to a soundtrack provided by the master love song balladeer himself, Lionel Richie.

If you went to college or live in a college town, you’re probably familiar with end-of-semester waste, right? As college students graduate and move away, they often ditch the cheap furniture from their apartments and dorm rooms. Tons of totally usable materials get discarded around college campuses every year, and it’s a terrible shame.

My friend Betsy Greer shared this Huffington Post story on her Facebook page, and I knew that I needed to share it with you guys here. Molly Evans uses her embroidery skills for this craftivism project – emblazoning abandoned furniture with Lionel Ritchie lyrics.

Craftivism: Lionel Stitchie

The results are hilarious, and they turn a seasonal eyesore into art. But more importantly, they draw attention to the huge waste of materials that college students discard at the end of each semester.

Tackling End of Semester Waste

The Lionel Stitchie craftivism project is about raising awareness and giving this problem a little bit of love and humor, and there are groups out there that have tried to reduce end-of-semester waste.

Students at Ohio State University in Columbus run a “Dump + Run” warehouse, where students can drop off their old furniture. The group sells off the furniture at a huge year-end yard sale and donates the money they earn to a different charity each year.

Do you live in or near a college town? Have you seen any cool examples of people working to curb end-of-semester waste either through craftivism or community organizing? I’d love to hear about those projects in the comments!

photos by Molly Evans

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