Really excited to be showcasing this duo of outspoken, fun feminist young women. I am delighted about our christmas collaboration and can't wait to work with them more :)

Who are Carys Kyffin-Hughes and Kate Piercy, the women behind this Christmas collection?

We are Carys and Kate, proud feminists and aspiring advertising creatives. Together we put our crazy minds together to come up with even crazier ideas.
We love a little sing and dance, so don’t mind us while we’re hard at work and boogying to a bit of ABBA.  People say we're both quite quiet at first but as we’ve discovered about each other, we are completely quirky and loud after a while (but can also be professional).

We’re celebrating our 3rd year anniversary in a creative team and we’re still going strong and so far there haven’t been many arguments. We never give up when we feel as though we're stuck on idea. And with a couple of mock-ups on our iPads the work comes along smoothly. There's never a dull moment with each other, we can be a bit silly sometimes (but that’s what keeps us going). If you want to check out our work, this is our portfolio link https://carysandkate.wixsite.com/portfolio

How did you came up with this idea?

We enjoy a good pun we got into the Christmas spirit and had fun making empowering designs, and we had some help from the lovely Virginia along the way.

What has been your biggest learning since you started doing creative projects?

Our research into The most Catcalled outfit was the most shocking moment whilst doing creative work. We both had witnessed and experienced catcalling of girls in school uniform, but seeing the facts made us realise just how serious the issue is. The most catcalled age is 11-17.

What is the goal? The big vision of what you would like to achieve?

We would like to use our creativity to spread awareness of social issues as well as getting people to be involved and make changes, the purpose of the Catcalling campaign is to get the public to sign the Plan International petition to make catcalling young girls a crime https://e-activist.com/page/103281/petition/1. We want a society that’s safe for all people.

--

And now our feminist questionnaire identical for everyone!

What is feminism to me?

KATE: Feminism is being able to live without fear of being unsuccessful and uncomfortable for all women, non-binary people and girls. Everyone having equal rights to express themselves however they want to and challenging pre-set assumptions and having conversations about changes that need to happen.

CARYS:  Feminism is simply asking for equality. It's something we shouldn’t have to fight so hard to achieve.

Which “everyday sexism” really bothers you?

KATE: There are quite a few things that frustrate me…
People blaming things on you being a woman- “you’re overreacting” over protective, overly emotional, being too angry( oh she’s PMSing)
Being interrupted whilst having a conversation really annoys me and especially when it’s in job interviews and meetings but it even happens in social settings.
Also the whole ‘crazy ex’ mentality in dating , when it’s always the other person’s fault for expressing their opinions or emotions.

CARYS:  Men telling me to smile. After a 10 hour shift I am not going to be walking around smiling at absolutely nothing. I am a very smiley person but I don’t walk around with a huge creepy smile 24/7. So don’t tell me I would look prettier if I smiled, and maybe I would smile more :)

When did you start being a feminist and why?

KATE: I think school rules was my wake up call into feminism. I went to a Catholic secondary school and there were many differences between how the boys could get away with more.The school uniform was the main thing that made me question whether the rules were fair- especially when we were told girls that have short skirts would distract all of the boys (which in itself is completely heteronormative and realistically didn’t impact anyone’s learning but it put a sense of shame on us girls).

CARYS:  It happened bit by bit for me. The first instance I can remember is when I was a child and saw Yorkie bars claim to not be for women, this seemed to really annoy little me and I have still never brought one to this day. After that, growing up and hearing people celebrating ‘the first women to do [something]’ which I obviously was also happy about, but it was always overshadowed by a shock that it had only just happened.

Who is your biggest feminist role model?

KATE: Miriam Margoyles just being unapologetically herself and not caring about other people judging her (especially when she prefers eating raw onions over having bad sex). Also her advise is really helpful about keeping confident and being true to yourself.

CARYS:  Emma Watson. She was the first example of a feminist that I knew growing up. Seeing someone so influential talk about feminist issues was really inspiring and also helped educate me further.

What is your favourite Feminist quote?

KATE: It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self-love deficit.- Eartha Kitt

CARYS “Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to give them justice.”— Hellen Keller

What is your proud feminist victory?

KATE: Going to my first peaceful protest, it was quite a small one while I was at university for Kill the Bill. I just remember afterwards feeling like I’d been a part of something important.

CARYS: Creating posters for Action for Afganistan, to show solidarity with the women in Afganistan. They were used to help promote marches and published in papers. It was great to know work I had done would help these women in some way.

What is your feminist recommendation?

• Film-
• (KATE) Ladybird - The film had an interesting take on a Mother and Daughter’s relationship, how it’s strained because of Ladybirds freedom and it explores ‘coming of age’ relationships  and the characters self-expression (I also love Greta Gerwig)
• (CARYS)  Hidden figures. A true story, showing the issues and discrimination three black women faced working at NASA in the 1960’s. The three women were empowering and strong whilst having to unfairly prove their worth as women of color to their counterparts
• Book-
• (KATE) The 7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo - (I really enjoyed reading this book) A fictional story about a journalist who is able to interview a retired Hollywood film star Evelyn Hugo, as she reveals secrets about her past.
• (CARYS) Lessons in chemistry. Based in the 1950’s. Elizabeth Zott, the main character, challenges a lot of stereotypes placed on women at the time, but defies them with her career as a scientist and later empowering other women through her science based cooking show, by telling them how important the work they do is, whether that is their cooking or careers/goals.
• Show
•  (KATE) The Marvelous Mrs Maisel - Follows a female comedian in the 1950s-60s in New York and the challenges she faces.
• (CARYS)  I may destroy you. Follows the journey of a woman after going through a sexual assult, her coming to terms with it and struggling. The show tackles many important issues around consent and other difficult topics.

What Is your call to action to whoever is reading?

KATE:Put yourself out there and don’t be afraid of having your own opinions on things. There’s a long way to go to become an equal society, making yourself heard, supporting good causes and understanding minorities’ struggles makes all the difference!

CARYS: Be kind to yourself and lift other women up, there are so many societal pressures and expectations put on women that can be impossible to achieve, it can take a toll.