Creativity supporting Charity
Flowers for Susie Creative Charity Projects, our story from the beginning…
Flowers for Susie was originally founded as a creative charity project in 2014 to mark the 1st anniversary of when my mother passed away from rare cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma). My amazing mother was a huge supporter of charities, especially people-focused charities. She always saw the good in people, no matter who they were, what they did, or how they lived. Her natural empathy for others’ situations was so inspiring, she always knew what to say and how to help. She was always a big supporter of the underdog, be that person or project and that has had a big influence on the charities I support.
By far, the charity I give the most support to is the AMMF. Being the only Cholangiocarcinoma charity in the UK, it had become an amazing supporter of research projects to find markers, better treatments and one day, cures for this awful cancer. It is also a vital resource for patients and their families as they navigate this horrendous illness with little information and the poorest of outcomes. We found them the week after mum died and set up a just giving page straight away. We asked people to donate to it instead bringing flowers to the funeral and that’s how the fundraising began.
As I read up more and more, I found out that this charity was small, but mighty, having been set up by one lady after her husband had passed away from this cancer years before. I knew then that it would be my charity for the foreseeable future. To date my flowers for Susie projects have raised £3026.00. This year I have also decided to support other charities through the year that would be close to my mum’s heart.
So let me introduce you to the fundraising projects I have developed. I hope this introduction will give you an insight into the Flowers for Susie journey, the inspiration, the core values of the brand and the direction it is heading for the future. I hope you enjoy the journey…
Creative Charity Project #13
For project #13 I had the opportunity to donate some products to the wonder Michael House Hostel for the Homeless once again.
An inevitable problem with manufacturing products is the waste involved when products aren’t quite right or the colours are a little dark or a little bright. I hate this side of what I do and it’s always a battle between my ’this has to be just right’ head and my ‘we need to produce less waste so we still have a planet in 100 years’ head. So once again after a batch of under fired mugs arrived I realised could help the wonderful people of Michael House homeless hostel whilst stopping my rejected products going into landfill. These products were not damaged or broken, they were just a little dull through not reaching their firing temperature so it felt great to find them all homes with people who really needed them.
This charity use creativity to support their residents who are going through crisis, so it seemed a perfect fit. When I dropped the mugs off last week their CEO Mark (photographed with me in the their garden with some mugs) gave some out to some residents and they were so pleased it really did make my heart sing.
A big thank you has to go to McLaggen Smith mugs who products my mugs and were happy for me to have the seconds mugs free of charge so that they could be donated and not sold as seconds. It’s really lovely when you know the UK manufacturers you work with think the sample way as you.
Creative Charity Project #12
For project #12 I’ve done things slightly differently donating my design skills to make a difference. Having raised money for Michael House previously and also donating seconds to their home to be used by the residents, this year Michael House asked me to design their 2022 charity card celebrating 30years of this great community. The resulting Christmas cards will be sold to raise money both this year and in the future. I loved being part of this project and using creativity to once again make a difference and I hope you like the results.
@michaelsltd do amazing work to help and support people who are homeless, working to help them get back on their feet through providing a roof over their head and a supportive and inclusive environment from which they can grow. They support their residents by teaching them new skills, supporting them to learn and through creativity & gardening, they also support their mental health.
If you would like to buy the cards you can buy them directly from the hostel by calling them or sending an email. You can also buy them via the Michael House Stand or my stand at this years South Coast Makers Market pop up at Bobby & Co in central bournemouth.
Please show your support for this amazing charity at this hugely difficult time.
Creative Charity Project #11
For project #11 I called upon my amazing creative community to help me raise vital funds for 2 amazing charities.
https://ammf.org.uk/ & https://michaelhouse.co.uk/
The Ammf is an amazing charity (the only one in the UK) supporting vital research into bile duct cancer and offering support to those diagnosed and the families that support them. Susie, my mum, died of this awful cancer so the charity is very close to my heart
@michaelsltd do amazing work to help and support people who are homeless, working to help them get back on their feet through providing a roof over their head and a supportive and inclusive environment from which they can grow. They support their residents by teaching them new skills, supporting them to learn and through creativity & gardening, they also support their mental health.
13 creative businesses have donated a piece of their work so that it can be part of our amazing raffle. A massive thank you goes to - Keeley Traae_3D, Dominic Marshall Print, The Knitster, Claire Gent Jewellery, The Cat in the Shoe & Rogan Lamont, Lauren Marina, Air Gardens, Yaz Baxter Creative, Woodshop 51, Emma Leonard Jewellery, Richard Watkins Art & Charlotte Miller Ceramics. I also donated 4 of my Babushka snack trays for the event.
The event was a huge success and we raised £552 - Amazing!!!!
Creative Charity Project #10
May 2021
’Turning waste into good’ rainbow tray donation
An inevitable problem with manufacturing products is the waste involved when products aren’t quite right or the colours are a little dark or a little bright. I hate this side of what I do and it’s always a battle between my ’this has to be just right’ head and my ‘we need to produce less waste so we still have a planet in 100 years’ head. So I got to thinking about what I could do. These products were not damaged or broken, the colours were just not mine. So that’s when I thought of donating Michael House - a local homeless charity whom I’d crossed paths with before. I contacted them and they were delighted to accept the trays and use them in their hostel to serve food to their residents and visitors. This charity use creativity to support their residents who are going through crisis, so it seemed a perfect fit.
Creative Charity Project #9
March 2021
‘Little Flower’ Mother’s Day necklace
This was my first dip into a collaborative project that wasn’t a raffle and at a different time of year too, but I couldn’t give up the opportunity to work with with an amazing jeweller, Emma Leonard Jewellery. Emma had been touched by cancer in her close family and wanted to do something for charity using her creativity. She had also followed my story and my products and knew we aligned, both in terms of our design style (mid-century inspired) and our need to help using our creativity.
I wouldn’t normally do a charity project for Mother’s Day as it’s always a difficult time for me, as I celebrate being a mother without having my mother to celebrate with, but I love Emma’s jewellery and the idea that my little flowers would be the centerpiece of some amazing jewellery, I couldn’t say no. I was nervous that nobody would buy them, what if no one liked them? We needn’t have worried, they sold out and the comments we received have kept me buoyant every since. This project was a difficult one emotionally, but amazing at the same time and Emma was a joy to work with giving all of her time for free and even packing and shipping all 10 of the limited edition necklaces.
Creative Charity Project #8
February 2021
‘Little Flower’ Tea Towel Mother’s Day donation
In December 2020 I had a random meeting in a local dress boutique with a lady who was a recruitment consultant. She was helping out her friend in the shop and we just got talking whilst she packed my products and decided we might be able to help each other professionally at some point, so we swapped info. In February 2021 she contacted me, not in a professional capacity, but because she was a volunteer for a wonderful charity, The Wardrobe Foundation. They gift bespoke clothing bags for women across Dorset who need clothing support.
They were looking for product donations to create their special Mother’s Day bags for women. How could I not support this? women helping women, it was a must. I donated some of my ‘Little Flower’ tea towels for them to add to their gift bags - and it felt good.
Creative Charity Project #7
August 2020
‘Rainbow Flower’ Giclee Art print
Well what a year 2020 was. In November 2019 I was made redundant and then at the beginning of 2020 the world turned upside down with the global pandemic. For me it was actually a defining year as I navigated the road to setting up Flowers for Susie as an actual business, a real brand, not just a once a year creative charity project. So as the August charity project loomed and the world was in turmoil it seemed right to combine my beautiful ’Little Flower’ motif with rainbow colours to spread a little joy. The ‘rainbow flower’ print was born and the raffle was created and I think I managed to bring a little joy at a really awful time. The print is now part of my main collection and is available to buy in my shop.
Creative Charity Project #6
August 2018 & 2019
‘Fat Robin’ illustrated Christmas cards
After the success of my note cards in 2018 and with my new print style defined, another development in the Flowers for Susie journey: the ‘Fat Robin’ cards were my charity project for 2019. I think I also introduced my sausage dog cards at this point too but it was a crazy time so things are fuzzy!! These designs were another part of my collection of lino prints that really defined the style for my brand. They proved super popular and so after the charity project finished I made them part of my collection and they still form part of my range to this day.
Creative Charity Project #4
August 2017
‘Sunflowers’. A mixed media creative collaborative raffle
This was my first raffle and the first time I’d called to arms my fellow creatives to help with a creative charity project. I worked with Claire Gent Jewellery, Lucy at The Cat in the Shoe and Sheila Collins, an illustrator and book designer.
Sunflowers were some of my mum’s favourite flowers so I asked each creative to design an item within the sunflower theme. The results were both unique and beautiful and really helped to make this raffle a success. All parties gave their time and materials for free which was amazing. Working with other independent designers to give back was just the best feeling, I wish I could have bottled it!
Creative Charity Project #5
August 2018
‘Little Flowers & Birdies’ illustrated notecards
I have to say when I designed the ‘Little Flower’ and “Little Birdy’ motif something just clicked. My print style was created and I knew that this was how I wanted my designs to look moving forward. The response to these cards was amazing and sowed the seed in my head for Flowers for Susie as a brand. At the time I was busy working as a lighting designer whilst raising my children and it never seemed a possibility, but it is definitely where the dream started.
Creative Charity Project #3
August 2016
‘Little Foxy’ Lino Print illustration
In 2016 whilst working with an illustrator I was introduced to lino printing. Mum loved to use different mediums to create her artwork and so I thought I’d give it a go. The linocut aesthetic really suited my drawing style and from that moment I was hooked. The 2016 creative charity project was lino printing. Looking back my illustrations are still naive, but they were the catalyst for the range you see today. This is what I find truly inspiring about creativity, the more you do the more your work develops and grows. When I look back through mum’s mountain of artworks from over the years I can see this, the work in progress, the repetition to get it right and the trialling of different mediums along the way.
Creative Charity Project #2
August 2015
‘Fox & Flowers’ childrens illustrations
My mum and I shared a very special gift: creativity. My mum also adored children. I decided to combine the two to create the second project to celebrate her life. I created illustrations for children using line drawn flowers & foxes with little pops of colour. This was the starting point for my illustrations today I think, albeit a little naive.
Creative Charity Project #1
August 2014
Flower Brooches
The first year after my mum’s death was the most difficult year of my entire life. I turned to creativity to block out the noise of the grief. I locked my self away every night sketching or making so that my mind could sit idle and try and process what had just happened. During that year I learnt how to make a fabric flower brooch and the seed for ‘Flowers for Susie’ creative charity project was sown. I made all the flowers myself, by hand from August 30th until Christmas and ended up making 170 in total. The flowers were supposed to be a celebration of her through her love of flowers whilst raising money for charity. The total raised for this first project was a whopping £850. And some people still wear their flower brooches to this day.