The first time I heard about the word "inclusion" was when I worked for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Denver in the summer of 2008. I was in my 20s, young, had some experience in the non-profit world, had just left a job supporting families facing challenges surrounding poverty, racism, classism, immigration, education, and in some cases severe abuse and neglect, too. I was ready for a change, something that intervened and supported struggling communities on the front end, before it was at the point of desperation and trauma. I wanted to work in prevention, rather than treatment, so I found myself immersed in the world of volunteerism and mentoring. 

There was a committee at BBBSC called The Inclusivity Team or something like that. I remember my co-worker, Bobby, who is still a good friend of mine, and who was also new to that organization, say, "I'm waiting for someone on that team to explain what they think inclusion means." His point was that it was a new, catchy term in 2008, but what was the goal just the word itself or something deeper?

That was almost 15 years ago, and since then my career deepened in the non-profit world, my values around social justice solidified, and my commitment to inclusion crystalized. To me, inclusion as a value means that there is space for everyone. That everyone is seen. That everyone is valued as a human, regardless of all their individuality and nuance, and perhaps even celebrated for their individuality and nuance. That people feel safe, or the absence of threat, for their basic existence. 

In my corner of the world, in this art studio where I make lockets for people around the world, some of the limitations of inclusion in my work stem from the simple financing of it. All of the photos on my site are of myself and my sister, who co-founded The Locket Sisters with me. As my work grows, I've begun the planning for a shoot that would include photos of more than just the two of us wearing these lockets so that more than just middle-aged white women see themselves represented in my lockets. I'm actually SO excited about this! The planning is fun, and it's such a worthwhile investment, and it's such a celebration too of humans outside of those of us who are over-represented. 

Something else that smacked me in the face as a need-to-change-immediately task was the sizing of my chains. For the past 3.5 years every locket came with an 18" chain. There were no options, and part of the reason for that was because it's kinda techy and code-y to make changes to the ordering process. I've built my site myself, and I'm not a coder or web designer, so limitations arise to your user experience simply because I don't know how to expand the options (yet). But it occurred to me that many many women do NOT like the 18" chain, either because it's just too long or too short or doesn't actually fit their body.

A customer messaged me a couple months ago saying the 18" chain was like a choker on her, and might I have any longer chains she could buy? My goodness, I thought! I have PLENTY of longer chains, and I'll send it without you even buying it! It's the least I can do. The actual least.

From there, I decided that taking the time to get different chain size options for you was essential, not superfluous. So I did it. I added three new sizes to the chain options for you when you checkout. Everything will still "default" to 18", meaning that if you don't select a size or don't feel like selecting a size because dammit it's too many decisions, you'll get an 18" chain. But if you want a different size, you can choose from 16", 18", 24", and 30" chains in gold and silver. 

For reference in this photo demonstrating the length, I am 5'9" and generally a size medium or large in women's sizing. 

ENJOY!

Warmly,

Allyssa