Downtown mum Charlotte Dooley wins artwork competition for White Stuff T-shirts

A DESIGN by a New Forest mum has been printed on a T-shirt by fashion company White Stuff to raise funds for family charity Home-Start UK.

Charlotte Dooley, from Downton, entered the competition as part of the international clothing firm’s campaign to “empower women”.

Profits from the T-shirts go to the organisation that supports families with young children going through difficult times like bereavement, postnatal depression or financial worries.

Charlotte, who works as a fundraising manager for Home-Start Hampshire, said: “When I was going through my divorce, I took up art as therapy. By focusing on art, it gave me a break from the situation I was in and helped to switch my attention, even if just for an hour or so.

“I entered one piece into a competition where it was highly commended and later sold in a gallery. That inspired me to keep painting.”

“I want to encourage more people to use art to help improve or manage their own emotional wellbeing.”

Paula Bonham-Carter, buying and design director at White Stuff, said: “We wanted to make this a fun and creative competition where everyone felt they could have a go.

“The designs we’ve chosen are superb and we hope the T-shirts have given the mums who designed them a big confidence boost, as well as inspiring others to push themselves out their comfort zone and try something new.”

To find out more about Home-Start, visit home-starthampshire.org.uk