A FASHION designer from Hartley Wintney, who has seen business plummet during the coronavirus crisis, has turned her hand to making scrubs and eye masks for NHS staff.

Dawn Clarke, whose plans for the year has been decimated after Winchester Fashion Week was postponed and a display at the Venice Museum of Arts was unable to open, is currently being forced to live on just her partner's salary.

But whilst her business has taken a hit, Dawn has decided to use the materials and her skills to sew - for free - eye masks to help workers sleep and scrubs to donate to hospitals in Hampshire.

"I have got family who work in the NHS and are at the front of it all," Dawn said.

"You are always worried and concerned. For me it is that you are doing something.

"We all have to do something. It can be one tiny little gesture but that makes such a huge difference."

She started out by sewing 50 blackout eye masks for staff at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, where her sister works, and has now moved on to making uniform for staff at hospitals across Hampshire under the 'For The Love of Scrubs' campaign.

The scrubs will be sent to Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, before being distributed to Basingstoke and Andover hospitals as well.

Each mask and scrub comes with a handwritten message to the frontline staff.

Dawn continued: “I’m in awe of our NHS workers dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. So when I read they had been asking for eye masks to help them sleep around crazy shift patterns, I knew I wanted to help.

“All my usual commissions require quality fabric, so my studio is a treasure trove of beautiful scraps and offcuts - it’s such a pleasure to upcycle them into something useful.”

Grace Sanderson, one of the hospital staff to receive a mask, said: “We’re really grateful to Dawn for sending these in.”

You can find out more about Dawn's business at www.dawnclarkedesigns.co.uk.