Interviews

Wire and Honey

March 22, 2019 by Jaime Vining 18 Comments

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

We dream that our children will grow to be compassionate, loving people and global citizens. Sarah Adams of Wire and Honey is inspiring activism to combat stereotypes that affect children through her apparel designs. “Social activism, feminism, inclusion, and fighting racism are all issues that are important to us and inspire us,” Adams explained. “Our goal is to inspire your (and our) tiny humans to be more empathetic, open minded, and aware than our own generation.”

Wire and Honey

Indeed, activism isn’t just for adults anymore. The Wire and Honey shirts, hats, totes and other related merch celebrate political and social change. “We don’t just want your children to wear our clothing, we want them to know why they are wearing them.” Some of the most popular designs include “the Notorious RBG,” “Smash the Patriarchy,” “Vaccines Save, Bro,” and Adams’ personal favorite, “Shero.” The shirts come in sizes for both tots and adults and “allow for teachable moments and honest conversations about issues that affect children all over our city, country, and the world.” For Adams, the messages are personal. “Dismantling white supremacy is the issue that I am most passionate about because all the issues that we fight against, such as racism and oppression and the patriarchy, are all tied up in white supremacy,” she shared. “If we can dismantle that system, then we can tackle the rest.” And, while Adams has received custom requests for controversial anti-vaccine and pro-Trump designs, she remains steadfast in her progressive mission. “Staying true to my values is more important to me than making money, so if it means that I lose some customers over it, then I am okay with that.” I admire Wire and Honey’s commitment to motivating young changemakers.

Smash The Patriarchy

Based in Baltimore City, Maryland, Adams launched Wire and Honey in December 2014 after suffering a bout of post-partum depression and post-partum anxiety following the birth of her son. “Wire and Honey originally started as a hobby for me to pass the time until I could go back to my career teaching middle school. But I fell in love with it. I started with pop culture designs and quickly evolved to where we are now, supporting feminism and activism in kid friendly ways.” The shop name Wire and Honey is actually a twist on Adams’ home in Baltimore City. “Baltimore is best known to outsiders by the HBO show The Wire (no, our entire city isn’t like The Wire, despite what people think) and Baltimore hons.” “Hon” is a “Bawlmerese” word short for “honey” that has come to define the city’s working class women of the 1960s. As Adams put it, “think John Waters films, like Hairspray.”

Colors Don’t Have Genders

Healing the world requires both justice and charity. Every month, Wire and Honey donates a portion of proceeds to various charitable organizations. Adams asks her family of customers to offer suggestions for different non-profits. “We want our customers to be involved in our philanthropy and have a voice and be passionate about the organizations we report.”

Wire and Honey

Ignite the social activist in your kids and check out the latest designs on the Wire and Honey website here or in Adams’ exclusive Facebook group. Adams has generously offered readers a 20% discount with the code “smallshopdrop.”

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