Wilmington-based designer Maeve Parker was dismayed by the results of the November 2016 election. In an effort to express her thoughts and emotions, she turned to what she knew best and started sketching. She quickly drew a safety pin with the word “love” inside it, and the Love Pin Project was born.

Launched on January 19, 2017, the Love Pin Project made over $1200 in its first week. Maeve believes that the enamel Love Pin is a natural evolution of the Solidarity Safety Pin movement that began earlier in the year. While many adopted the practice as a sign of good will toward marginalized groups, some felt there was no legitimacy behind “just wearing a pin.” The Love Pin Project backs up the safety pin symbol with tangible action:

  1. All profits from pin sales benefit the ACLU and ACLU of Delaware;
  2. The pins are sold in sets of two or more so that the wearer may give one or more away to friends;
  3. The project provides resources for action through volunteerism and community involvement.

“At Love Pins we believe that in order to overcome hate we all have to be bold in spreading love," say Maeve and her co-founder Rachel Haine, who handles a lot of the behind-the-scenes work. “We want to transform the safety pin into a symbol of action instead of a potentially empty gesture.”

We thank Maeve and Rachel for their hard work and generosity.