At So Just Be, we are big fans of anything that promotes self-care and wellbeing and the great thing about self-care is that there is no right or wrong way to do it! Any activity that gives you feelings of having that glow around you like the ‘Ready Brek’ kid falls into the category of self-care.
We never hide the fact that we are fans of crafting when it comes to self-care, especially now crafting is cool again. We no longer need to keep our dirty crafting secrets to ourselves – we can be proud of our skills and creations, with some of us lucky enough to make a business from it.
Knowing how important it is to support small businesses, as well as promote the benefits of self-care, we love to spotlight crafters, especially when they create unique products. Today we’d like to introduce Profanity Spoons – someone who has taken upcycling to a whole new level, while at the same time appealing to our naughty sense of humour.
We thought it would be fun to find out a little more about them – here’s what they had to say:
How on earth did you get into this – why spoons?
I have loved hand-stamped spoons for AGES. I’ve seen lovely people with hand-stamped spoon stalls at fairs and shows (I used to do things like go to fairs and shows in the olden days when that was a thing). I bought a few spoons that say things like ‘help yourself’, ‘eat your greens’ and ‘holy guacamole’ on them. They are great, but I felt they weren’t quite what I was after! I’ve always been a ‘makey’ person (mostly yarn related) and decided I would try metal stamping. So, I asked for a set of metal letter stamps and a bronze hammer for my birthday (June 7th if you’re interested!!) and got started last summer. I’ve always only wanted to do spoons, I’m not a jewellery person and honestly, I love spoons. I think they make such a great gift – affordable, useful, postable, a great talking point and they can say whatever you want them to!
Where did the name Profanity Spoons come from?
Errrrr………..does what it says on the tin really – and I think it almost sounds like my Mum would approve if you don’t think about it too hard!
How long have you been abusing poor, unsuspecting cutlery?
Love this question!! I always thought my spoons were happy to be part of my world!! Sometimes people order spoons for really special things and I feel like I’m making people laugh. I love the fact that there are plenty of people out there as childish as I am. I’ve been hammering away in my Spooniverse for most of lockdown. The response to my spoons has been fucking AWESOME and kept me really busy, though I’m really looking forward to being able to go out and about to source more spoons.
Which item have you enjoyed creating most?
My all-time favourites are ‘tossers’ and ‘prick’ forks – but I love doing all of them. I know it sounds silly but I feel like I’ve got a little window into the lives of people out there – they ask for some brilliant things. You’d be amazed what people call their friends and partners! Some of those even end up in my Etsy shop – like ‘cunty fuckchops’ and ‘knobster’. I do ask permission first though. Honestly – I often laugh out loud at orders and run new ideas past my family who roll their eyes mostly! No swear jar in our house. My other job is as a part time secondary school teacher – stamping profanities on spoons (and sometimes dreaming them up in class) is an excellent antidote to school stress!!! (Please don’t tell any of that to my students.)
Where do you get the inspirations for your designs and profanities?
Everywhere – swearing is a universal language! Friends, family, people I follow on Instagram (‘spunk trumpet’ was the latest one that came from someone talking about Boris Johnson), customers, TV (‘cockadoodlebumtits’- thanks David Tennant) – I’m always listening and imagining words on spoons!
I’ve done some collabrations this month with @ivyvictoriaprettyprofanities who does sweary plates – our stuff works brilliantly together – and @swearychoc (Instagram posts coming soon!). Its great fun to work with other small businesses and see what other people are up to.
Do you do commissions?
Absolutely I do. There are listings in my Etsy shop for personalised spoons and forks. Feel free to DM me on Instagram though – I’m always up for new ideas!
Thank you so much, Profanity Spoons – we think you are forking awesome! It’s so nice to know a little bit more about the person behind the bronze hammer. We wish you every success.
SJB
So Just Be 