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Samantha on her wedding day to Kevin Thomsett at Gougane Barra, Co Cork, Eire "Handmade by me" may be contacted on 0845 1083682 www.handmadebyme.co.uk Samantha - her story |
Two years later my hip started playing up and I had to have key hole surgery on this to sort the problem out.
Bobbie (Enham's Business Ability area adviser) I believe contacted me as I was on jobseekers allowance and on my file it was noted that I had a disability albeit small. she basically took me through the whole process really. I married Kevin and changed my name to Thomsett on 2nd of December 2005 making a "Fairy Tale" ending.
Samantha Thomsett has moved to
“Dealing with a same sex ceremony is completely different,” says Samantha, sharing information that other wedding providers would do well to heed. “For a start, it’s very common for both partners to be equally involved in the planning, rather than the traditional wedding where the bride does a lot more of the detailed decision-making than the groom. This can lead to more arguments at the beginning: until ideas get thrashed out between the couple. On the other hand, once a decision is made, there’s not so much going back on it, and same sex couples are much more interested in innovative designs and ideas – they tend to reject traditional formats in favour of light-hearted or very personal approaches.”
What might this mean for guests and friends? “One problem that has to be solved quite early on is the ‘bride’s guest’ or ‘groom’s guest’ tradition,” Samantha says. “Often people are friends of both parties and don’t see the need to decide which ‘side’ of the room they belong. We’ve found that picking two strong colours for wedding stationery, say burgundy and navy, and assigning one to each partner helps when choosing buttonholes and other decorative items, and allows people to harmonise their outfits for the ceremony more easily.” Unusual features have included invitations that hint at professions or hobbies by showing stethoscopes instead of ribbons to link the names of the couple and squash rackets and crossed guitars as decorative items.
What is the favourite colour for same sex wedding stationary? “Rainbow, of course,” confirms Samantha.
Handmade By ‘me’ can be contacted by email on
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Delia Hill at work in her studio on Hayling Island. Delia of Delia's Delightful Dolls may be contacted on |
Delia Hill from
“Delia’s Delightful Dolls” was officially launched in July this year. Delia will market her dolls through local fairs and exhibitions, such as the Specialist Dolls’ House Show, but also hopes that the Internet may bring customers from further a field. Delia who has a degenerative spinal disorder, got a dolls’ house as a present when recovering from her first session of spinal surgery in hospital. After struggling to find any dolls that she liked on the market, she decided to make her own. She investigated different materials and found that polymer clay was an ideal material to work with in order to create life like features. Upon popular demand from friends and relatives Delia soon decided to turn the hobby into a business. “It took a little while to do all the research, perfect my techniques, and not least to look into the business side. I was recommended to contact Business Ability for start-up help and I was very impressed by the assistance I received to get my business off the ground. It was really welcome at a time when I needed it the most.” Delia’s Delightful Dolls can be contacted on Tel. 023 92460014 for further information.
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Dr Dee Burrows (PhD, BSc, RGN, RNT) Principle of the recently established PainConsultants, a multidisciplinary team of pain management experts. Telephone: (01494) 866997 |
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Dr Dee Burrows (PhD, BSc, RGN, RNT), a nurse with a life-long interest in pain management, is the leading force behind the recently established PainConsultants, a multidisciplinary team of pain management experts. Between them, the team has over 80 years of combined experience working in acute and chronic pain management within the NHS and private sectors. The members include a doctor, clinical psychologist, nurses, physiotherapist, occupational therapists and a service user consultant.
Up to one third of those living in the community are in pain at any one time. Many lead active lives despite their pain. For others, however, pain can dominate their lives and that of their family and friends. PainConsultants, based in Buckinghamshire, offer one-to-one consultations and group rehabilitation programmes for people who wish to learn how to manage their pain. A range of techniques is used to help people understand and develop strategies to cope with pain. The overall goal is to improve quality of life at home, work and during leisure.
To illustrate, Dr Burrows gives an example of a patient complaining of back pain. An in-depth assessment is undertaken of the patient’s pain and its impact upon activities and life. The patient may be asked to complete an activity diary and other measurement tools. They will be helped to set goals, both short and long-term. For one person, a short-term goal may be to sit down for five minutes, while the long-term goal could be to sit for an entire meal with family and friends or through a business meeting. PainConsultants works with the patient to achieve these goals through a variety of methods, such as pacing activities, understanding pain and the body, relaxation techniques, exercises, advice on drugs and managing work, and changing attitudes and thoughts about pain and its impact. Dr Burrows has her own personal experience of back pain as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. She approached her local Disability Employment Adviser to discuss her ideas of starting a pain management consultancy. He in turn directed her to Enham Business Ability who specialise in providing start-up advice and help for people with health problems or disabilities. “The help and advice I got from Enham Business Ability was invaluable, particularly in terms of creating a viable business plan and getting the business off the ground,” says Karen Cruiks Sucessful Launch of Cybertart Clothing |
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Find Karen on www.cybertartclothing.com Telephone: (01273) 679924
Karen Cruiks has launched a specialist clothing company, Cybertart, with unusual designs for ladies who are looking for creative and sexy outfits for street, club and special occasion wear.
Cybertart features a range of gowns, skirts, corsets, bodices, legsets etc. that can be made to measure and as modest or as daring as you like.
Karen, who has a history of health problems, was helped to start her business through Business Ability, the self-employment programme run by
Karen’s colourful background includes studies in fine art, specialising in sculpture and later a role as higher education lecturer in this subject. After spending some years sailing in various parts of the world, she spent a couple of years in
A friend introduced her to several shows where she could sell her clothes and she worked on her friend’s stall learning about the trade. “My friend allowed me to put six garments on her stall - they sold on the first day!” says Karen. “This was great encouragement, so I spent the next year researching the market and getting things in place to put up my own stall up at the same show.”
“I went self-employed on July 25th this year with great support from Disability employment advisers and charities Scope and Enham. I was guided through the sea of benefits and tax matters and gratefully received a grant to help put my business on to the web and transform my office to an up-to-date creative place to do my own graphics and promotions. I have since posted my new site www.cybertartclothing.com, designed flyers, postcards and swing-tags that I mail out and hand out at the shows.”
Karen started by doing a small, inexpensive show so she could learn without taking too big a risk. She hit her targets and went on from there to do SkinTwo at the Barbican, which was bigger, but so was the reward. She has recently exhibited at the Erotica show at
Always on the look out for new opportunities, Karen is exploring new additions to her range, such as made-to-measure service within up-market boutiques and alternative wedding outfits. “I am really enjoying running my own business and I am looking forward to next year with confidence.”
