INTERVIEW AND WORDS BY NAZ TOORABALLY

T: @NAZTOORABALLY // IG: @NAZTOORABALLY

For each month of 2022, we’re spotlighting a South Asian creative or changemaker in the alternative scene through a series of interviews. You’ll find out how they got into what they do and what they’re up to now. We hope that by sharing these stories, it will inspire alternative South Asians and people of colour.

For our February spotlight, we bring you an interview with Hash and Ish from Sofftpunk, a small online shop based in Nottingham selling political and personal art that champions community, revolution and minority perspectives.

Last month I caught up with the lovely people behind Sofftpunk. I came across their work on Instagram last year and was excited to find a small business led by South Asian punks selling political and queer art in the form of stickers, badges, prints and more.

Sofftpunk was founded by 22-year-old Sri Lanka-born artist Hash Kodithuwakku while they were still at university and is co-run by their partner, 23-year-old undergraduate student Ish Amarasinghe. Speaking with them both, it’s clear a lot of love is poured into what they do, from Hash creating a new design to both of them packing orders together at home.

Starting a small illustration business is no easy feat, and despite the odds, Hash, a Zoology graduate, has built a brand and successful business with no formal training in art – except a GCSE in art – or business management. What counts as success, you ask? Well, we laughed about how making enough money to qualify to pay taxes is a major milestone! But the story and ethos of Sofftpunk is deeper than the capitalist structures of your average business.

“I began my focus in art and Sofftpunk in the second year of university during a really difficult time in my life where I was coming to terms with a lot of my both mental and physical decline over the years,” Hash explains. Creating Sofftpunk has allowed them to support their small family while simultaneously giving back to the community. Working for themself, from home and on their own terms, has been a blessing for Hash due to living with chronic pain. It gives them the freedom and independence that so many disabled people are not afforded when working for someone else. They say that “I'm really not sure what I would be doing because this kind of work, the level of flexibility that I'm able to have means that I can work around my pain, in a manner of ways. I'm able to give myself the distractions I need so that I can focus my ADHD… I do wish other people who struggle with disability were given the same level of freedom as I am.”

“YOU CAN'T SELF CARE YOUR WAY INTO COMMUNITY CARE. HUMANS ARE SOCIAL CREATURES, WE NEED EACH OTHER. AND AS MUCH AS INTERNAL VALIDATION AND SELF-LOVE IS GREAT, EVERYBODY NEEDS EXTERNAL VALIDATION” - Hash

It’s now been three years since Hash founded Sofftpunk. Their anniversary was on 13th March and dated to a tweet before Sofftpunk was even called Sofftpunk. Hash recounts that the tweet read something along the lines of, “I'm frustrated that whenever I want to find like some feminist or political merchandise, I always get something really watered down, like ‘girl power’ when really I want something that's a bit more to the point and less wishy-washy, like ‘guillotine the rich’, because this is straight up.” This ended up being their very first sticker and you can still get one from their website.

“I can't stress how much this journey is because of other people,” says Hash after explaining how a supporter of their work offered to pay a bill after a bad manufacturer and hidden fees set them back before they’d even started. Community is what keeps Hash going and having the means to give back to the community is what they describe as a luxury. “When you live so isolated, as I unfortunately have to, it's very easy to think there's nobody around you,” they say. “But like this community has honestly changed my life in so many ways.” In fact, community is woven into the fabric of Sofftpunk as even the name was suggested by a community member. I, for one, cannot emphasise enough how important community support is, especially in artistic pursuits, not just for what businesses call user-generated marketing, but also affirming that what you’re doing is viable and wanted. Hash puts it perfectly when they say, “you can't self care your way into community care. Humans are social creatures, we need each other. And as much as internal validation and self-love is great, everybody needs external validation”

Despite running a successful art business, Hash admits that their artistic skills is what they’re least confident in. I don’t know why this surprised me, especially as it’s something I relate to. “One of the reasons why I stopped continuing art in the first place was because I was being told that it is a great hobby, it's fun, but you're not gonna use it in the future so it's a waste of your time,” Hash explains. But their confidence has grown through people “seeing my work as worthy, not the finished product, but the fact that I'm creating in the first place. I think having a very first instance, somebody reaching out and saying I'll pay that bill and try again, like you think it's worth me trying again.”

Ish joins us later in the interview to answer a question about working together on Sofftpunk. Ish is currently studying for their undergraduate degree in political geography and wasn’t originally available for the interview, but we ended up speaking for the next hour.

As someone who also lives and works with their partner on creative projects, I was interested to know more about how they work together. When you’re a small business owner selling art, there are many hats you need to wear from planning and creating the art to being your own marketing and PR manager. It can be exhausting, so having each other has meant that Hash and Ish can spread the workload based on their strengths. “You have to deal with the art and the advertising stuff… making all the graphics, contacting people, dealing with customer queries,” Ish explains. “The list just goes on, and the more you do, especially with things like community organising, it gets a lot harder.” Hash adds that, “It's just the small tasks often that I could do if I tried, but they take up so many spoons, and so many spoons away from where my energy is valued and where I can actually make a difference that a lot of the time, you're [Ish] just able to help out with keeping the workload manageable.”

I feel really pleased for them that they have each other to depend on through this journey and that their hard work is paying off. When I ask what keeps them going – apart from making enough money to pay their bills – they tell me it’s community. With them both feeling like they have received community support in abundance, they seek ways to give back through regular fundraisers. In celebration of their 3-year anniversary, they recently announced that they are offering no strings attached grants to people from the LGBTQ+ community. The grant began in their second year as a celebration of Sofftpunk’s birthday. This year, as a result of their growing community connections, they’ve been able to invite other small businesses as grant sponsors, meaning they can support even more small businesses. They raised £750 which will be distributed as grants among 9 recipients from the LGBTQ+ community; there are six £100 grants and three £50 grants available. The £50 grants are sponsored by Hash’s two sisters and The Queer Coffee Co; the £100 grant sponsors are Irisidium, Proud Geek, The Portal Bookshop, Shelf Life Books and Zines, Croatoan Design and Sofftpunk. Applications are open until 10 April 2022 and the grantees will be announced on 24 April 2022. Find out more about how you can apply on their Instagram.

“I UNDERSTAND THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN’T DO THE COMMUNITY WORK THAT I DO BECAUSE THEY ARE SO DRAINED TRYING TO SURVIVE” - Hash

Hash and Ish are anti-capitalist in their approach to business and life, which is why they create these opportunities for other artists using their platform and own money. We talk about trying to make as much money as possible to a) live without worry and b) give the rest away to people who need it more. When you’ve got a business selling anti-capitalist merch in a capitalist society that is seeing greater separation between the richest and the poorest, some people might think that making money from stickers with anti-capitalist slogans is oxymoronic. “I feel like being anti-capitalist is more than just not engaging with money because that isn't really what that's about because we live in a world that is running on this kind of money based token economy,” says Hash. “You know, what my business does try to do is move money away from the same places where it's hoarded.” It’s important to recognise that everyone has their place in movements to dismantle oppressive systems like capitalism. For example, not everyone is able to attend protests due to being disabled or not being able to arrange childcare, and not everyone is able to financially support causes. However, each and every one of us has the power to do something to help others. Hash says that they “don't have a lot of power, but I will not say that I am powerless and I will not just settle for saying I can't do anything and I'm doing nothing.” But with the level of power they have, Hash has chosen to put their energy into Sofftpunk. “I understand that a lot of people can’t do the community work that I do because they are so drained trying to survive. A lot of people have nine-to-fives, so that just totally wipes them out and you have to sleep,” they say. “This is the work that I have the luxury of doing. Like I have the free time, a bit of energy, some time at home to be able to sit and fundraise and put this organisation together.”

Going from pursuing sciences and putting art aside to creating an art-based business which Hash runs full-time since graduating from university is very unconventional. Furthermore, they are using their platform to give back to others from the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. It’s not easy to do what they’ve done and I wondered whether their families have been supportive of their journey.

“IN OUR PARENTS' EYES TO GO FROM A SCIENCE BACKGROUND, SOMEWHERE WITH SECURITY, TO THE ARTS AS THEY SEE IT – I FEEL LIKE THEY MIGHT'VE ALMOST SEEN IT AS A WASTE OF MOVING COUNTRY.” - Ish

“It's been a journey with my family,” says Hash, explaining that their parents did not discourage their art, although it was seen as a hobby. “Because my family never went against my art it was much easier to convince them that it was okay for me to do this.” With recent stats showing that in the UK 1 in 5 businesses fail within the first year and 60% go bust in the first three years, it’s no surprise that both their families had concerns. Our parents want us to be financially secure and have a stable – these are not guaranteed when running your own business. “They weren't wrong though. Like, I am not the normal story. I know that I'm very lucky to be able to do this,” Hash acknowledges. “Even though the intention wasn't to discourage me, it did end up becoming quite discouraging when you're quite young.”

Hash explains that the one thing they had to prove was that their idea was financially viable. The pandemic provided unexpected opportunities to prove Sofftpunk’s viability after losing their other jobs which were supposed to provide that financial stability their parents wanted for them. “My parents are always saying like, you know, a real job is more stable and now it's like, stable where? Security where? And now that I'm able to actually support myself full-time, it's not like my parents are pushing me to do a science degree or a science career, just for the sake of it.” The turning point for Hash was doing the recent fundraiser for their mum. “She understands more the work I do does matter, and that it does make a difference,” they say. “I think that really started changing my mind because I'd never seen her as supportive as when I was able to help her carry out her will, because I think that demonstrates that I haven't moved away from the family and that what I do isn't just for strangers.”

“I kind of get where our parents come from,” Ish says. “We know first-hand how much harder it is to have these opportunities out there, and like in our parents' eyes to go from a science background, somewhere with security, to the arts as they see it – I feel like they might've almost seen it as a waste of moving country. At some point I felt that way.” However, they seem more hopeful seeing that their sister who is four years younger is going to study animation and visual effects at university. “They completely switched over their sort of perception of what that is.”

Hash adds that, “I think part of it is also showing my parents, they don't need to worry because it does all come from a position of love… They just didn't want me to end up poor and not taken care of and not fed. And I understand that concern for your baby, right?” Parents don’t always express their concerns for our welfare in the ways we want, but understanding their parents’ perspective has helped Hash and Ish navigate these conversations. Hash recounts a recent phone call with their mum who said that no one in their family has ever done something like this before. “That is exactly how they see this, where it's very unknown, but I’ve just got to show them that I know what I'm doing.”

“STOP STALLING, JUST START, MAKE SOMETHING, MAKE ANYTHING.” - Hash

If you’re thinking of starting your own business, the main piece of advice Hash has for you is to, “just start! Like fricking start, stop stalling, just start, make something, make anything. It doesn't have to be the finished product. Just make the thing. Instead of thinking about making the thing. You'll realise that at least 90% of the process is planning and thinking and hypothesising and fantasising and oh my God. Just stop. And you're already 90% of the way done.” As a staller and worrier, I related to this and can confirm that just starting and forgetting all the excuses is the only way forward – that’s how WEIRDO is now in its second year. The other piece of advice that Hash has is a reminder that other artists are your friends and not your competition. “They are your strongest strength and they are your biggest supporters,” Hash says and I couldn’t agree more. “Do not be fooled into thinking they are anything near your competition, do not be fooled into thinking that there's some scarcity within our community.” Feelings of jealousy and inadequacy are all too common among artists and can lead to feeling insecure about your work. Hash says to “look at everything you see around you with as much gratitude as you can to learn from others.” It’s not always easy, but they urge people to not get “swallowed up by a competitive mentality because it will poison your work. It will drive the love out of your work, and it's going to become obvious when it starts eating away at your motivation.”

“BE OPEN TO GIVING AND RECEIVING, MORE TO GIVING, EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TO GIVE.” - Ish

Ish nods in agreement and adds that, “a lot of people see someone's finished product on the internet… You don't see the process someone goes through. You don't see the 99% of work literally in their bin.” Comparing and feeling in competition with other artists is something they have struggled with like so many of us. Their advice for others is to “be open to giving and receiving, more to giving, even when you don't have much to give. I mean that in like there's always someone you can help, and being willing to do that will definitely bring help your way as well.”

For anyone still unconvinced that other artists are not your competition, Hash says “you will find that artists are the biggest supporters of artists. Like my biggest supporters, the people who are always commenting and liking my posts are artists. They are not my competition, and they're my best friends.”

Sofftpunk is not just a small art business, and certainly not another simply capitalising on trendy phrases. Hash gives people no nonsense wearable political art they’ve been wanting and a way for people to find their people. And at the heart of what they do is using their platform and any leftover income to give back to the community. As well as the grants they are giving out which they hope to continue on an annual basis, Sofftpunk have a few different projects on the go. They are working on an anthology which is a collection of poems and art they created around five years ago which they hope to publish by May 2022, they hope to run workshops, continue fundraisers and attend community events.

Stay up to date on what Sofftpunk are up to on Instagram and Twitter, and buy their art via their website.