Valentine’s Day was never really my thing. Anonymous cards I always found creepy. These days it’s less of a concern being both older and a nun has its perks. However when the manager of Rusper Village Store mentioned that he had not organised Valentine’s things this year, I heard myself say…
“I could make something.”
It began very simply. I had a pile of coloured card left over from a window display and an idea that whatever I made needed to be honest. I became quietly drawn to the idea of a secret message, something folded, little surprise, an unusual kind of card. That’s how I found the Victorian puzzle card: folded from a single sheet, opening slowly to reveal what’s inside.
The message came without much effort:
“You make my world a better place.”
It isn’t about completion or dependency. It’s simply true that when love is present for a person, a place, an animal, a community, our inner world softens and widens.
Alongside the cards, I began hand-printing tote bags using lino block printing, a process that is relatively new to me. Carving into the block, learning through mistakes, and lifting the cloth to reveal the print brought a quiet satisfaction. Each one is a little different.
The bird felt essential, a messenger, a sign of peace and hope. I was thinking of pigeons crossing borders effortlessly, and of Picasso’s simple dove. Love moving lightly through the world.
Although these were made with Valentine’s Day in mind, they are really a response to how things feel just now. I hear so many conversations filled with worry, division, and powerlessness. It feels important to remember that we are not independent islands, but part of a wide, living web of human kindness.
It also mattered that these would be available locally. Rusper Village Store is community-owned, run by real people behind the counter (even my local petrol station now has a self-serve machine), and woven into my own memories of village life. Supporting it feels like another quiet act of love.
The tote bags are hand-printed in small batches and only available at the shop. The Victorian puzzle cards are printed and folded by hand. They are now in at the Village Store.
