Jewellery sold for a good cause
In 2004, Efva Attling designed her first collection in favour of charity. Today, the list of collaborations is long, and the amount of raised money is something we are proud of. Here, Efva tells more about the different organizations she is working with.
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- Jewellery sold for a good cause
Together we give more
Over the years as a jewellery designer, Efva Attling has made several collaborations, raising money for charity. Common for all beneficiary organizations is that they all work for increased respect in the world, and for human rights. One of the organizations is Bris, a Swedish organization working for children’s right in society.
“Bris approached me in 2013, asking if we could do something together.” Efva continues: “To get the opportunity to highlight important organizations through my work has always been important to me.”
Efva designed the jewellery collection named “Take no shit”, where 100 SEK from each sold piece of jewellery goes to Bris work for children in need. Today, the collection has raised over 2 million SEK (almost 190 000 EUR).
“What Bris does is fantastic; they give children the opportunity to call or chat with a curator anonymously and talk about their problems at home. This way, the child can get an opportunity to talk to someone, which in the long run may lead to a better life. Bris gives them an opportunity to deal with bad situations at home. Of course, this is something I want to be a part of and support”.
Take no shit
Bris is entirely dependent on support from companies, individuals, funds and contributions. “For Bris, every penny is valuable. Without support from private individuals and companies like Efva Attling, Bris would not be able to offer children the help and support they need and are entitled to”, says Thomas Örnebjär, Sponsorship Manager at Bris.
With the collected money, Bris is able to hire professional curators who can help children and young adults who are reaching out to Bris.
For 5000 SEK (almost 470 EUR), Bris can help at least 10 children to find a way out of their problems. The jewellery Efva designed for Bris have so far raised 2 million SEK. This have contributed to help more than 4000 children to a better life.
“It feels fantastic”, Efva continues. “What Bris asked from me, really paid off: help to be able to hire good people who can help the children when they are in need.”
It all started with a disaster
Even though the different organizations and associations are working in different areas, they have one thing in common: their strive for people’s equal value and respect for each other. For every piece of jewellery sold “For a good cause”, part of the proceeds goes to the selected organization.
The first collaboration Efva did was with the Swedish Red Cross.
“It began after the tsunami, back in 2004. I have friends who lost their loved ones, both children and adults. I was in Bangkok when the big wave came and was fortunate enough to leave with the second airplane home to Stockholm, together with both wounded and chocked people who just came from Kaoh lak. It was terrible, a very strong and emotional experience.
The Swedish Red Cross
“Sometime before all this happened, I’d been asked if I wanted to create a gift to Princess Christina, as an acknowledgement for her time as chairman for the Swedish Red Cross”, Efva continues. “When I came back home from Thailand, I called my contact at the Swedish Red Cross and asked if they wanted to do a collaboration. I really wanted to give something back, to help them rebuild the affected countries.”
As a result, Efva designed the “Angels collection”, where a portion of the earnings goes to the work of the Swedish Red Cross. “The inspiration for the collection comes from the angel wings that children use when they dress up as angels. My thoughts are with all of those who didn’t have the strength to hold on when the wave came, all of those who became angels. When people wear ‘Angels’ it’s almost like they have something in common, like a secret club.”
As of today, the Angel collection has resulted in over 10 million SEK raised to the Swedish Red Cross.
Pride's Solidarity Fund
“Pride is obviously very close to my heart, Efva says. “When I did ‘Homo Sapiens’, a piece of jewellery that Madonna wore, I split the word ‘homo’ and ‘sapiens’ and stamped them separately on two different plates in silver. It was a form of political action.”
The inspiration for the necklace ‘Rainbow Freedom’, where part of the proceeds goes to Pride’s Solidarity Fund, is building on this political action. “During the Olympics in Moscow, some years ago, the Swedish high jumper Emma Green had painted her nails in the colours of the rainbow, as a protest to Russia’s view on homosexuality. But she was told by the Swedish committee that they thought it was too provocative since Putin not allows you to be pro… homo sapiens.”
Efva continues: “My idea was to make a rainbow flag, but instead of actual colours of the rainbow, I stamped the name of the colours into the silver. This way, you can always wear the rainbow flag, even if you just want to do it in a discrete way.”
For every sold ‘Rainbow Freedom pendant‘, we donate a part of the income to the Swedish organization Regnbågsfonden.
GAPF
Efva designed the t-shirt “Feminists take no shit” in favour of GAPF – “Never Forget Pela and Fadime”, an association working against honour violence.
“In a way, this collection is related to ‘Hold Back’”, Efva says. “Your home should be the safest place. It’s in your home you should be the most loving. And when you have children, that’s what you have to show them. It’s about respect. It’s horrible that people can kill each other for having a different opinion than your parents.
“I think the expression is really strong too, giving girls the right to decide over their own lives. That’s what it’s about, women power”, Efva concludes.
