ANONCRAFTS is an artist based out of Spain. Her specialties are pins and patches influenced by menstrual taboos. With international customers sporting her accessory designs like full menstrual cups and ovary hand signs, ANONCRAFTS is helping normalize and honor female reproductive health through notable pieces of flair.

Where are you from?

I was born in a small city in the north of Spain called Oviedo, but I've been based in Barcelona since 2009.

How did you get into art?

As far as I remember I've always felt more comfortable in creative fields than in other fields.

Arts and crafts always caught my attention, and luckily since a very young age my parents always put at my disposal a bunch of materials and resources so I could experiment and develop my artistic skills.

Why pins and patches?

I believe pins and patches are a great way to make my ideas, drawings and designs real and at the same time affordable for everyone, both me and the buyers.

Additionally I think that pins and patches are really cool accessories with a lot of meaning. Through your lapel you can express your ideals and convictions, how you feel or your tastes. I find them very powerful.

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Why did you choose to focus your art on female health?

I never planned to cover this topic, it just happened one day, I probably read something on the internet and doodled a uterus in my sketchbook and it all started there.

It wasn't until I started working on this subject that I saw the potential, how interesting it is and all the stuff that can come out of it.

Until two years ago I only thought about periods three days a month, and just to complain about them! Since I started @anoncrafts I've become much more aware and I think about it daily.

The harder I work to bust period taboos the more I learn about them. It takes constant research and it makes me more conscious about how my body works. I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I'm very glad for everything I have learned on the way.

Why do you think it's important to bust taboos – like periods?

People fear the unknown. So I believe that creating a dialogue with an intimate and humorous approach about a taboo like menstruation, hopefully, helps people talk more openly and become more aware of it.

Anyone who has a period will probably relate to my experiences and opinions, but the problem is we just don't talk about it. We need to stop seeing menstruation as shameful or something to hide, when it's something that affects many people, positively and negatively, in their everyday lives.

I would see it as an achievement if people who aren't so familiar with menstruation learn about PMS, or if someone realizes that there are other options than sanitary pads and tampons. Or for someone to see that they're not the only one who panics when they try to take out their menstrual cup and their vagina acts as a black hole that has decided to suck in their cup forever.

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Have you ever gotten negative feedback for your work?

ABSOLUTELY! But not as much as you would think. Some people think it's gross and I can accept that, what I can't understand at all are all the people who get their period every month and still find it gross! WHAT THE HELL? What are they going to teach their children about periods? They will learn from a really young age that periods are gross and something to hide.

But this negative feedback only makes me think more about how menstruation is still a taboo in our society and that I'm on the right path to normalization. Everyone has a poo emoji on their phone and it's funny but when they see one of my menstrual cups or sanitary pad pins on Instagram they find it gross and disturbing. Sorry, not sorry! :)

*Graphic examples of negative feedback:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCjjJdrqvSx/ https://www.instagram.com/p/_FMBiPqvZt/

Do you have any project plans for the future?

I want to explore other issues also related to the feminine universe but without putting menstruation aside. I want to keep contributing and helping charity projects through my work. Also I have some new merchandising coming soon which I'm very excited about.

Check out the ANONCRAFTS online shop, and download Clue today to start managing your own period.