When I first learned about 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦'𝘴 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, I was ecstatic. As a woman living in 2024, reading about pioneering female journalists from the Victorian era who travelled the world is priceless. At the same time, while reading, I found myself chanting, “Please don’t say anything disappointing. Please, don’t say anything racially charged.” Quite a sad reality.

However, soon after, I realised that I should consider the context and influences of their time. We are all products of our own era. Hence, I wanted to approach their stories with empathy and compassion, a language beyond time and space.

I interpreted Bessie and Marie’s analysis of other places and cultures as coming from both their political context as socialists and from a standpoint of sisterly empathy and concern. This led me to the subject of sisterhood.

With my bookend design, I visualised sisterhood through braids. Hair braiding is ubiquitous across cultures as an activity that women do to connect with and support each other. Braiding sisterhood 👭🤝

First, I researched and made sketches of different types of braided hairstyles. Among all, a crown braid, wrapping a braid around the head, caught my eye because its look from behind reminded me of the moon. I created this braided shape in 3D modelling software and split it into two pieces of a bookend, each resembling a half-moon, forming a full moon when together.

The middle image is 3D sculpted digitally with a flower on one side and a butterfly on the other due to their prevalent feminine representation across cultures. I believe their symbiotic relationship suits the theme of sisterhood brewed from empathy and compassion, my main inspiration for this project.

When the 3D model was ready, I went through my 3D printing filaments, deciding on the textures and colours of the final piece. Motivated by my eco-feminist ideals and the Dundee Design Festival’s goal for sustainability, I ensured the use of recycled plastics as much as possible.

After generating a 3D printing file, I hit the start button, and magic happened. Of course, there was post-production labour in due course, but let’s not talk about it because it will take away the magic.