Meet Poppy + Monarch: Enamel Pins with Purpose
YourStuffMade Community Feature · California Artist, Advocate and Enamel Pin Designer
Poppy + Monarch is a purpose-driven enamel pin brand founded by California artist Ashley Lundy to create symbols of resilience, visibility and hope.
Inspired by Ashley’s own experience living with Multiple Sclerosis, the brand exists to uplift and connect people navigating chronic and invisible illnesses through meaningful art, storytelling and community.
What Creative Mediums Does Ashley Use?
Ashley combines enamel pin design, symbolic artwork and community-focused storytelling to turn personal experiences into tangible reminders of solidarity and hope.
Enamel Pin Design
Ashley creates wearable symbols that help people express identity, strength and connection.
Symbolic Art
Nature-inspired imagery and thoughtful visual details give each design emotional meaning.
Community Storytelling
Customer experiences and shared stories help the brand create a stronger sense of visibility and belonging.
Advocacy Through Design
Poppy + Monarch uses creative products to support awareness around chronic and invisible illnesses.
How Would You Describe Poppy + Monarch’s Design Style?
The brand’s visual style is thoughtful, empowering and emotionally grounded. Designs draw from nature, healing and the vibrant spirit of California.
Thoughtful
Every detail is chosen to communicate meaning rather than exist as decoration alone.
Empowering
The work encourages wearers to feel seen, validated and proud of their experiences.
Nature-Inspired
Poppies, butterflies and other organic symbols reflect growth, transformation and resilience.
Hopeful
Even when the subject is difficult, the artwork makes space for beauty, solidarity and possibility.
What Products Does Poppy + Monarch Offer?
Poppy + Monarch creates enamel pins that represent strength, solidarity and identity for people navigating chronic illness, invisible conditions and personal healing.
Strength Symbols
Designs that remind wearers of their resilience through difficult seasons.
Visibility Pins
Meaningful pieces that help make invisible experiences more visible and easier to discuss.
Solidarity Pieces
Pins created to build connection between people who share similar health journeys.
Identity-Focused Art
Wearable artwork that validates personal experience and allows people to tell their story on their own terms.
How Did Poppy + Monarch Begin?
In 2018, Ashley Lundy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. As she adjusted to a new reality, she recognised how deeply people living with invisible illnesses needed connection, representation and language for experiences that others could not always see.
In 2020, she launched Poppy + Monarch, combining her interest in enamel pin design with a clear purpose: to create pieces that help people feel recognised and less alone.
The brand grew from Ashley’s personal journey into a wider mission centred on awareness, validation and community.
“I wanted to create pieces that say, ‘I see you. You are not alone.’”
Proudest Milestones and Achievements
Launching Poppy + Monarch
Ashley transformed a personal need for representation into a purpose-led creative brand.
Building a Global Community
The brand has connected with people around the world who recognise themselves in its message.
Customer Stories
Messages from customers who feel seen and validated reinforce the emotional value of each design.
Turning Experience into Advocacy
Ashley has used her own journey to create broader awareness around invisible illness.
Creating Collective Hope
What began as an individual story has become a shared mission rooted in solidarity and healing.
Showing the Power of Small Objects
Each pin demonstrates how a compact piece of art can carry a deeply personal message.
What Challenges Has Ashley Faced?
Running a business while living with MS requires Ashley to balance health needs, energy levels and the demands of entrepreneurship.
She continues by staying connected to the purpose behind the brand. That sense of meaning helps guide decisions and gives the work emotional value beyond the products themselves.
Ashley’s experience also shapes a more compassionate approach to pace, productivity and growth.
“This brand is part of my healing. It helps me, and I hope it helps others too.”
How Does Poppy + Monarch Create Community Through Art?
The brand uses design as a starting point for recognition, conversation and support.
- Create recognisable symbols: visual details help people communicate experiences that may be difficult to explain.
- Centre lived experience: Ashley’s personal story gives the brand honesty and emotional depth.
- Invite shared stories: customer feedback helps strengthen a sense of mutual understanding.
- Use products as conversation starters: pins can open discussions around health, visibility and support.
- Keep purpose visible: every design connects back to hope, validation and community.
What Is Next for Poppy + Monarch?
Ashley plans to expand the collection with designs that speak to more people across chronic illness and invisible disability communities.
- Create new enamel pin designs rooted in visibility and resilience.
- Develop deeper storytelling around each collection.
- Collaborate with artists, advocates and aligned organisations.
- Create resources that support wellness and mental health.
- Reach more people navigating invisible conditions.
- Continue growing a compassionate and validating community.
Ashley’s Advice for Fellow Makers
“Let your passion drive you. Embrace your journey and create with purpose. Your story is powerful and deserves to be shared.”
- Create from lived experience: personal stories can become meaningful sources of connection.
- Let purpose guide decisions: a clear mission can help shape products, messaging and community.
- Share your story honestly: vulnerability can help others feel less isolated.
- Respect your own pace: sustainable creativity often requires flexibility and self-awareness.
- Remember that your work matters: even a small object can make someone feel recognised and supported.
Turning Purpose-Driven Art into Custom Merchandise
Poppy + Monarch shows how a small product can carry a large message. Enamel pins are especially effective for advocacy because they are wearable, collectible and easy to share.
Artists and cause-led brands can build collections around symbols, affirmations and stories that help communities feel represented.
Connect with Poppy + Monarch
Follow Poppy + Monarch to discover purpose-driven enamel pins, community stories and thoughtful reflections on resilience, visibility and healing.
Poppy + Monarch is based in California, USA.
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