Meet Miranda Martin

We recently connected with Miranda Martin and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Miranda, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

When I started out working as a researcher after finishing an undergraduate degree in anthropology, I thought a lot about what topics and issue areas I wanted to specialize in. With a new-found appreciation of the incredible diversity in human cultures and lived experiences, I wanted to find something that connects us all. I landed on food. Although culinary traditions, production practices, and preferences vary widely across the world, we all need to eat. As I embarked on my work as a social scientist, I kept learning about the countless social justice issues in food systems. These issues span the food supply chain, from unsustainable and unjust production practices to inequitable and unhealthy food distribution systems. One issue that especially drew my attention was the dangerous and exploitative working conditions that hired farm workers face in the United States. For many of us on the consumer end of the food supply chain, we don’t see those conditions and don’t fully understand what the amazing folks who harvest our agricultural products deal with at work – heat hazards, musculoskeletal injury, pesticide exposures, underpayment, intimidation from supervisors, long work hours without overtime pay, and so much more. As an eater of food in the U.S., I feel a responsibility to work toward a food system that prioritizes the safety, well-being, and fair compensation of farm workers. I firmly believe that a fairer food system benefits all of us.

Figuring out exactly what form my work on this issue should take has been challenging, though. Working as a researcher in various academic and quasi-academic positions over the last ten years, I have repeatedly found that the industry of academia makes it very hard to work toward meaningful systemic change. In fact, I was explicitly told in a graduate seminar that “if you want to change the world, this is not the place for you.” I received similar advice, including “don’t care so much” and “do the bare minimum you can get away with” from professors and supervisors at various other points in my academic career as well. As a person who is passionate about building a more just world and who constantly struggles with ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I have finally decided to leave academia entirely. Starting this summer, I am now focusing full-time on my craft business called WAFFLE Studio, which stands for “Whimsical Art For Farm Labor Equity.” This project combines my passion for food justice with my lifelong love of crafting artistic pieces with my hands. I hope that using art to joyfully welcome new folks into the movement for fairer food will allow me to contribute in a way that I can personally sustain long-term.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I hand-make a variety of products using fiber arts (especially crochet), paper quilling, and polymer clay techniques. My pieces are inspired by food and include things like bags that look like berries, drink cozies that look like corn cobs, earrings that look like pineapples, greeting cards featuring food puns, and cat beds that look like waffles. I have a ton of fun letting my creativity run free, and I am thrilled to be able to donate 10% of the sale price of each item to partner organizations serving migrant and seasonal farmworkers. For transparency, I post my monthly sales and donation records on my website at wafflestudioshop.com.

I work out of my home studio in south Minneapolis and sell online through Etsy as well as in-person at craft markets in the Twin Cities area. I love vending at markets and delight in watching visitors react to my work. If you come see me at a market, I will probably be working on a paper quilling project. When kids visit my booth, I love showing them how it works and sharing my love of the craft. Something I hope to do at future events is have a project table where folks can learn about a specific farm worker justice issue and then create or finish a paper quilled card to send to their lawmakers advocating for workers’ and migrants’ rights.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

First, I think an inherent curiosity about the world has been a driver for me, for better and worse. I thrive on learning new skills and perspectives and putting them into practice, whether that be a new data analysis technique or a new craft. This means I’m something of a ‘jack of all trades and a master of none.’ It also means I’m pretty good at starting projects but not very good at finishing them; I’ll finish the things I promised to do, but usually this puts considerable strain on my energy and mental resources. But what’s been especially useful about my intrinsic drive to gain new competencies is that it has allowed me some flexibility to pivot and to follow my internal compass, especially when faced with ethical dilemmas. Of course, it’s quite difficult to earn a living when constantly pivoting to new specialties, so I am extremely privileged that my amazing spouse has always supported me both emotionally and financially to pursue what I think is the right thing to do.

Second, I think understanding that multiple truths and perspectives can exist simultaneously has been important. Remembering that my experience of reality is not the only one helps me try to stay humble and learn from other perspectives—especially when it comes to issues that don’t affect me as directly as they affect someone else. As a white woman, I think it’s really important to prioritize checking myself and my privilege in this way. Of course, sometimes a paralyzing self-doubt creeps in and makes it hard to trust myself enough to speak or act on important issues for fear of making things worse. So, gaining both the confidence and skills to speak out about issues that I’m passionate about without speaking for or over those who are most impacted is something I’m actively working on.

Third, I think a sense of humor helps a lot, especially being able to laugh at myself. I do a lot of foolish things in my day-to-day life, and I’m incredibly messy. Being able to giggle about the things that don’t ultimately matter is especially crucial since I tend to be hard on myself about the bigger stuff, such as how I interact with others and/or use my time and resources.

As far as advice, I think I’d encourage folks to lean on people who share your vision for a better world and be there when they need to lean on you in return. None of us can do this alone, especially when our society and economic system devalue work that challenges the status quo. I think it’s going to take community, mutual aid, and more equitably distributed resources to create fairer alternatives that value people over profit. Plus, I think solutions and visions for a better future are stronger when we build them collectively, incorporating all our diverse lived experiences. Of course, I know from experience that finding a community that truly sees and accepts your whole self is easier said than done. As an asexual, neurodivergent trauma survivor, it’s often been hard to find a sense of belonging, even in spaces that were supposed to be welcoming for people like me. So, if you relate to this, please know you’re not alone. And let’s try to make each other laugh and keep searching for our people together.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

I have been really excited recently about learning more about fiber sourcing. I’ve been crocheting for years using finished skeins or balls of yarn. I’ve collected yarns from a variety of places, including yarn shops, art re-use stores, my grandmother’s old stash, etc. But I also have a lot of yarns I impulsively bought from big box stores, usually in a panic to get last-minute supplies for gifts or shop inventory. This year I realized the irony of having a mission-focused business focused on workers’ rights issues and not fully scrutinizing my own supply chain. So, I started sending out emails to a bunch of yarn makers/suppliers asking for details about worker protections in their supply chains. Results have been mixed, and it’s been hard to get meaningful details from yarn producers about their practices.

But as I’ve been learning about fiber production, I’ve gotten ‘hooked’ (yes, pun intended) on spinning my own yarn. Using this process, I’ve started recycling the countless scraps I’ve kept from past projects over the years by re-spinning them into the specific color blends and yarn weights I want to use. It’s been invigorating to gain this new skill. I also spin yarn from wool roving that’s been dyed and prepared, which of course raises questions about the production practices related to raising and shearing the animals, washing and preparing the wool, dyeing the fiber, etc. But as I learn more, I hope to be able to do much of that work myself and/or in close partnership with other small producers so that I can be fully confident that the fibers that I use in my projects are all ethically made. I am so excited to keep learning and improving this aspect of my work!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wafflestudioshop.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wafflestudioshop/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WaffleStudioPage/

Image Credits

Miranda Martin