One Year
Do you remember what you were doing this time last year? Probably not, but it was a pretty significant time for us at the Irrelevant Society.
On Friday, 6th November last year the concept of Irrelevant Society was officially introduced into this world, although the spark had started long ago.
What went on behind the scenes during those 12 months was messy. There was that time when the tags on ARIE tshirts were falling apart and we had to pull it all out of production, or when we forgot to add washing instructions. The time we spilt almost a whole bottle of kerosene on Robo’s ute the night he took that beautiful galaxy photo for our Winter range. There were missing deliveries, zero sales for a whole month, near zero sales another month – and that’s just in the first six months.
This hurricane lamp nearly cost us a friendship.
Strangely, these are some of the moments that I’m most thankful for and hope will shape us, enabling us to endure for years to come.
I feel genuinely blessed to stand beside those who selflessly support Irrelevant Society and the journey to end violence against women. They are a constant reminder for me to be humble and learn from the meek at heart. I will never take their friendship for granted.
While it’s a time to celebrate the fact we made it through the first year, I also want to recognise that this is also a time to mourn. This time last year, 63 women were killed because of domestic violence in Australia. In the year since then another 60 women have been taken from us due to domestic violence.
Whether it’s in recent years or those from the past who seem to be long forgotten, I would like to acknowledge the lives of these women. Those who didn’t make it through to Christmas, or see their loved ones grow and hear them say “I love you, you are so special”. Their lives are not forgotten and are forever in our hearts.
The journey to create a society where domestic violence is a horrific, inhumane thing only in the past still has a long way to go. Although it is hard to imagine now, we believe as Mr. Mandela said: “It always seems impossible until it is done”.
Irrelevant Society would like to thank God, and the men & women who joined us to stand up and speak out against violence. With your help this year, we were able to give 20% of our profits to support White Ribbon, Bonnie Support Services, Communicare’s Breathing Space program, FVPLS and Women’s Community Shelters. Find out more about them here.
