I Make Empowering Pins For Chronic Warriors (4 Pics)

I've designed more enamel pins for fellow Chronic Warriors and the disabled community!

The designs are inspired by the spoonie community online (a spoonie is a chronically ill person whose energy levels and activities are limited by their condition/s). The community helped me to adjust to my own new reality, accept my situation and adapt.

The response to my illustrations about migraines and chronic illnesses online helped me feel accepted for who I am and be kinder to myself so I became determined to use my art to give back to the community; to provide them with that same sense of acceptance and personal agency.

I hope my colourful and striking pin designs will serve as reminders of what people have already overcome and that there is a whole community out there who understand and support them.

My Kickstarter campaign is running until the 7th of March! You can also find my existing Chronic Warrior designs in my shop on Etsy.

More info: kickstarter.com | Etsy

My illustrations are my way of fighting back against a socio-political system that tells us our limited capacity to work is not ‘enough’; that our worth is determined by our productivity and our personal conditions open to doubt and scrutiny. These measures devalue human life and lead to the dismissal of disabled lives by politicians and the general public, as during the ongoing Covid pandemic.

My pin designs will be added to my existing Chronic Warrior collection and feature phrases such as ‘Endometriosis Warrior’, ‘Diabetic Warrior’, and ‘I Hate My Guts’ (my favourite from the new collection, which features intestines morphing into a snake and the titular phrase written on the large intestine).

I Hate My Guts’ is designed for everyone living with conditions such as IBS, IBD, Crohn’s, or who uses a stoma, in honor of our ongoing struggle with our own organs! I’ve long been fighting against my own digestive system and a sense of humor about these things is an essential survival tactic!