Times are tough for many and lets face it – everyone needs some love, hope and kindness. These little Hearts of Hope, handmade in Sydney with so much love and care are doing just that for so many people. As they are handcrafted, each Heart of Hope is unique and no two are the same. Attached with a safety pin to a beautiful card with a message, the hearts can be pinned onto clothes, scrubs, uniforms and bags and can also be worn as a pendant or placed on a keyring or just kept close in a pocket.
When her rug and textile business went into hibernation at the start of the pandemic, artist and designer, Ruth Lazerson from ruthie L. designs started making these little keepsake hearts to gift to frontline workers as a way of saying thank you. Says Ruth “I had a lot of time on my hands when our mills in India and Nepal closed and so I started creating. I posted in a Facebook group asking if anyone wanted or needed some Hearts of Hope and I was happy to mail them off to them. The response was astounding with so many people wanting to let others know they cared and I suddenly found myself very busy!”
People started asking to purchase the hearts so they could also spread some kindness in their own communities. Ruth reaslised that the more Hearts of Hope she sold, the more she could gift and donate to those in need. Says Ruth “I’ve made and gifted close to 10,000 Hearts of Hope to date and I want to continue to do this as long as I can”. She goes on to say “the response to these little keepsakes has been extremely overwhelming and people love giving them away. The stories people have shared with me have been humbling, heartwarming and often heartbreaking. Each one of them stays with me. It really warms my heart to be able to bring some comfort through my creativity to those who are struggling right now”.
As Ruth says, “everybody needs to be acknowledged and shown kindness no matter who they are and what they do. I have made hearts for terminally ill people who are involved in planning their own farewell ceremonies, to unite families in their grief, for charities and fundraisers, for corporates and businesses who value and want to acknowledge their staff and customers, for weddings, birthdays and celebrations, for religious organisations, for homeless shelters and domestic violence survivors and for so many frontline workers in all sectors who are all working tirelessly to keep us all safe”.
Giving a Heart of Hope is a very small gesture but it really makes a huge impact and says so much. Together we can spread hope, love and kindness so much further than we can do alone.
Source: Art of Hope
