We are Joyfal...
Joyfal is an initiative with the simple aim to spread joy around Falmouth (and beyond!) while promoting handcrafted activities.
Why? Making others smile is proven to boost your own happiness and studies show that happier people have a greater tendency to give, meaning even the smallest action can spark a chain of positivity. Kindness is contagious, spreading from one person to the next, influencing the behaviour of people who never saw the original act. We believe the little things can make the biggest difference – it only takes a moment to brighten someone’s day!
In a world where we spend so much of our time online, it’s the tangible things that have the greatest impact. That’s why we believe that handmade crafts and personalised messages are the perfect way to make people smile.
What have we been up to...
Joyfal began as a postcard delivery service, giving students and staff at Falmouth University the opportunity to make someone smile. We work with people of all ages from an array of communities, to help spread our message as far as possible. Since then, we have held events at Toast Pop-Up Arts Fair, Falmouth Library and Falmouth Art Gallery. We have also hosted workshops at King Charles CE School and Penryn Memory Cafe, a welcoming and safe space for people with dementia.
Our first event at Falmouth University...
Joyfal began as a group university project, a postcard delivery service held at Woodlane Campus, Falmouth, encouraging students and staff to send handwritten messages and drawings around the UK.
The project involved designing a visual identity, illustrating postcards, and creating both printed and digital promotional material, including our Instagram page (@joyfalness). The event was a big success – the postcards made so many people smile and spread our positive message as far as Edinburgh!
(below you can see a selection of our designed postcards & promotional material)
Joyfal at Toast
Every other week, Toast (a bar in Falmouth) hosts a Pop-Up Arts Fair for students to sell and exhibit their work. In November, we took over the Drawing Corner and asked people to illustrate something that made them smile, around the theme of joy...
The event was really successful and Frank (the organiser) has said we are welcome to do it again!
Workshops at King Charles CE School, Falmouth
From January until March, we spent our Friday afternoons at King Charles CE School, running Joyfal workshops for each year group, based around the theme of friendship. We taught pupils how to make friendship bracelets for each other and designed a new range of postcards for the children to colour in and give to their friends and family. The children especially loved the Joyfal stamps we made to stick on the backs of their cards!
We received really positive feedback from both pupils and staff. It was so much fun to work with a younger audience – the children’s excitement and enthusiasm for our project was contagious!
Workshops at Penryn Memory Café
In February, we organised and delivered a papercraft workshop for members of Penryn Memory Café; a welcoming and safe space for people with dementia. The activity was designed with the needs of our audience in mind – we wanted to keep their hands busy, their minds stimulated and (most importantly!) to make them smile!
We are pleased to report that our workshop was loved by all – even Lewis, who is rarely willing to get involved with activities! The workshop was followed by tea, cake and bingo, making the visit a particularly wholesome experience!
Sharing what we’d been up to on social media prompted a positive reaction from our followers – people were keen to know how they could get involved with this lovely local group. It was great to be able to give them more information and to know that we were inspiring others to join us on our mission!
We were planning to host a second workshop in March, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to coronavirus. We were devastated to miss out on the chance to say a proper goodbye and just hope that everyone is safe!
Celebrating International Women’s Day at Falmouth Library’s ‘Benow Festival’
In early March, Falmouth Library invited us to host a workshop at the Benow Festival; a multiday event in celebration of International Women’s Day. We happily accepted the invitation and designed a range of postcards for people to send to the wonderful women in their lives. The activity attracted people of all ages and it was lovely to hear about so many inspiring women. It was such an uplifting event – proof that we really do rise by lifting others!
Joyfal Bookmarks at Falmouth Library
Keen to spread our message even further, following the Benow Festival we went back to Falmouth Library with a range of colourful bookmarks, designed to encourage individuals to leave a message to make the next reader smile. We hid these in various books – hopefully they will brighten someone’s day!
Joyfal Journals
Having seen what we were up to on social media, Design Bridge got in touch to say that they loved the project and to ask if they could support us. We were flattered by their interest and created our Joyfal Journals in response to their request to get involved.
The publications are designed to be filled with positive messages, uplifting quotes, cheerful artwork, great (or not so great!) jokes, reasons to be grateful, and anything else that prompts a smile. A bit like a guestbook, but for positive reviews only, because focussing on the good things can only be a good thing!
We sent copies to design studios all over the country, along with an introductory booklet and a bunch of other goodies. We also gave copies to independent local businesses, such as the wonderful Huddle Café. We left the remaining Joyfal Journals lying around Falmouth for anyone to find, read and contribute to, with the hope that each publication inspires its own chain of positivity!
The Joyfal Newspaper
Following all of our workshops and events, we created publications. Each issue of Joyfal is a way to document
the experience and inspire other positive acts. We originally created a publication to introduce Joyfal and document our first event; Joyfal Deliveries. This was an opportunity to test our brand guidelines. It also gave us something to show the organisations and businesses we hoped to work with in the future.
The publication showcases how people personalised the postcards they bought, accompanied by a selection of photos taken on the day. The newspaper-style publication is comfortable to read and can be passed around with ease. Each issue is designed with an interactive front cover that reflects the content inside.
Unfortunately, due to the closure of university facilities we were unable to print every issue, but you can view a digital version of each publication here: www.issuu.com/joyfal