Meet Not A Phase's Dani St James

With the recent Supreme Court ruling and the rise in hostility towards the trans+ and gender nonconforming communities, this has never felt more important. Meet our Not A Phase Kilt Pin.

We proudly donate £10 from each piece sold to the charity Not A Phase, which is committed to uplifting and improving the lives of trans+ adults across the UK.

"Joy and Inclusivity are at the heart of Tatty Devine, we believe trans+ rights are human rights and that everyone has the right to safety and happiness"
- Rosie Wolfenden MBE and Harriet Vine MBE

We caught up with Dani St James, icon, activist and the founder of Not A Phase, who supports the lives of trans+ adults across the UK. Each Not A Phase Kilt Pin sold will donate £10 to the charity, so let’s find out some more about Dani and Not a Phase...

Describe yourself in 5 words:
Driven, Fun, Passionate, Kind and Loyal

What was it like growing up in Barry Island, Wales? We’d love for you to share with us your journey to discovering who you are.
Hahaha, growing up on Barry Island was a dream, it's strange to say that growing up in a little town in South Wales in the 90s was progressive, but it was! I was in a school that had gender neutral toilets and uniform, my parents were very liberal and Cardiff was a stones throw away, that was where I started to find my tribe, amongst the queer community in Cardiff. I wouldn't change a thing, home is where the heart is, and mine is deep rooted in South Wales. 

Tell us about Not A Phase and what led you to start fundraising for trans+ adults.
We set out with one mission, to support the lives of trans adults, this is in a multitude of ways, socially, professionally and financially. We realised at the start of 2020 that more needed to be done and we were tired of waiting around for someone else to do it, so here we are! Now, Not A Phase is a fully established charity, we have so much support for the projects we are currently running, and we have so much more in the pipeline that is made possible by our supporters, like the Tatty team! 

How does Not A Phase support the Trans+ community and what does the charity invest its donations in?
So we have our Misfits programme, which is all about inner and outer confidence building through fitness, wellness and self defence, we have our safe spaces launching very soon in London and across the rest of the UK, these are friendly environments for adults within the community to meet, make friends and get access to local resources, over time I’d really like to develop some key skill workshops within these as well to help with work prospects. 

Alongside this I do a lot of work with big companies on their diversity strategies and internal training. Lastly we have a resource distribution function about to launch, where trans led organisations and projects around the UK can come to us for support in all sorts of ways, financial, material, legal etc. 

Where can we learn more about the barriers and issues faced by the Trans+ community?
Gosh, there are so many resources available now, it's fantastic, my advice would be to pull from pages like ours, Mermaids, Gendered Intelligence, 5 for 5, Stonewall etc. We all discuss what's going on in the world. There was a fantastic mini documentary done by Vice that was talking about the trans healthcare epidemic in the UK that was presented by Freddie Mcconnell, really recommend checking that out too! 

If you could give your younger self any advice, what would it be?
Nothing changes if nothing changes; you have to make things happen and stop waiting around. Also, stop worrying that it won't work out, I promise you it will.

Keep up to date with Not A Phase on Instagram, shop our Not A Phase Kilt Pin online or in our Covent Garden store or donate to the charity here.

Share Article