The Review is our annual publication that shares stories about our grantees and provides updates on core areas of Company and Foundation work. Read and learn more.
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Leathersellers’ Review 2024–2025
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Leathersellers’ Review 2024–2025
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Leathersellers’ Review 2024–2025
Contents
FEATURES Master’s Welcome Clerk’s Introduction Excess Strategy: The Surplus Leather Project Room to Think: Helping Adults Overcome the Effects of Childhood Trauma Early Years Grants Programme: Supporting Families from the Start A New Leaf: Funding the Training and Development of Contemporary Bookbinders Small and Mighty: The Small Grants Programme Richard Russell: Reflecting on Two Decades of Service as Headmaster of Colfe’s School Transforming and Enriching Lives: The Success of the Scholarship Programme at the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools Responsive Grants: Urgent Support for Prison Rehabilitation Programmes A Well-Heeled Foundation: Jimmy Choo Academy Gregory Jones KC: Aldermanic Sheriff of the City of London, 2024–2025 Meet John Hatton: 16th Century Clerk and Amateur Artist
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REPORTS The Leathersellers’ Foundation Colfe’s School Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools Leathersellers’ Close Leadership Awards Property From the Archivist Gifts and Acquisitions Environmental, Social and Governance Membership Deaths Obituaries Court Committees From the Honorary Chaplain
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102 104 106 106 109 110 112 114 116 119 120 123 123 124
Front cover: Izzy Thomas, studying for a Foundation Diploma in Books and Binding at West Dean This page: Bookbinder and Leathersellers’ Foundation grantee, Sim Orme Photography: Paul Read
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MASTER’S WELCOME
Today our work with the leather industry is largely centred on supporting all aspects of leatherworking skills and training, from bookbinding to shoe design as well as in encouraging understanding and engagement with the material.
It has been a huge privilege and honour to serve as Master through a truly memorable year in which the Company has continued to champion the leather industry, education and the charitable ambition of the Leathersellers’ Foundation. Having worked for many years in the leather industry I am delighted that supporting the industry remains a key objective. One of the highlights of the year was visiting the Scottish Leather Group factory in China where airline seat covers are made from leather tanned in Glasgow. The fact that leather remains as relevant today as it did to our forebears some six hundred years ago is testament to the qualities of this remarkable material. Today our work with the leather industry is largely centred on supporting all aspects of leatherworking skills and training, from bookbinding to shoe design as well as in encouraging understanding and engagement with the material. To this end, I am delighted that our Surplus Leather Project, featured in this Review , has burgeoned in scope and scale and is now helping students from some sixteen universities to discover and explore the possibilities of leather. Something that embodies both the past and present of leather is the Leather Conservation Centre, an institution that we have supported for many years. It is heartening that this year they have found a new home in a state-of-the-art studio in Leicester. We look forward to following the journey of this world-class body. Now in its fourth year, the main charity grants programme of The Leathersellers’ Foundation is focused on preventing and tackling the consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Most ACEs charities are directly focused on children but DENS, a homelessness charity based in Hertfordshire, supports adults in overcoming the effects of childhood trauma. An essential read in this Review , their evidence shows that on average their clients had experienced six or seven different forms of loss, abuse or neglect before adulthood, and crucially, it helped the Foundation to improve its own understanding of what ACEs look like as a core focus.
It is hard not to be moved by the experiences of our grantees and the people and partners we support. One of the abiding memories of my year was meeting pupils from the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools in Years 8 and 9 taking part in a pioneering Scholarship Programme, designed to raise aspirations using one-to-one mentoring and extracurricular activities. While celebrating the achievements of students who had completed their first year, we were reminded of the extraordinary difference that this initiative is making to their lives. You can read more about this success and why the programme is a source of pride for all those involved at the schools. This is all underpinned by the hard work and dedication of the Leathersellers’ members and staff. I’ve witnessed the incredible commitment of our members in so many important ways, whether on the sporting field, as school Governors, as trustees of Barnet Almshouses or as volunteers on our Small Grants programme. And I would like to thank each and every member of staff for all that they do, day in, day out, to steward and maintain the estate, support our long-term partners, advance our charitable aims, champion the leather trade, and host – we are frequently told – the best dinners in the City. It has been a huge honour throughout the year to welcome members, family, friends and guests from charities, schools and the leather industry to the Hall, not only fostering the fellowship which is the bedrock of all that we do but also drawing people together as a force for positive social change. It has also been a great pleasure to support Leatherseller Alderman Gregory Jones KC over the course of his year as Sheriff of the City of London. Congratulations to our new Master and Consort, Martin and Sharon Dove, and I wish them a thoroughly enjoyable and successful year.
Nicholas Tusting
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CLERK’S INTRODUCTION
The use of the Hall by our funded partners to train, raise money, convene and celebrate has created opportunity and furthered their goals – and therefore ours.
The Reception Room in Leathersellers’ Hall is scene to many diverse events. It can be difficult to appreciate in the busyness – ranging from coffee before meetings and fundraising drinks for a charity partner to the managed chaos of Year Seven students from our associated schools exploring the Hall for the first time – that the room, designed by Eric Parry, is based on the timeless constants of cosmological movement and reminds us that while all is in motion, stability is not just possible but expected. In terms of our ongoing work, that stability is fostered by the enduring elements of stewardship, continuity, fellowship and the common purpose of our members, staff and partners. The passion and commitment of our members to all aspects of Company life is more evident to me with each passing year, expressed in a sincere endeavour to pass on a better organisation to each successive generation. Of course, with each year and each Master (our Chair) there is a different emphasis and character within the parameters of our traditions, governance and strategy. This year, with Nick Tusting’s hand on the tiller, we have doubled down on our roots in the Leather Trade and highlights for me will include my tannery trips with the Master in the UK and China; re-establishing links with the Lineapelle fair in Milan; increasing the Foundation’s support of leather-related projects alongside the number of supported partners; and welcoming new Company members from the trade. The current flourishing of these roots in the creativity and ingenuity of students and craftspeople is evidenced in several of the articles in the Review . Another important aspect of our year has of course been support of our member, Alderman Gregory Jones – and Rosali – as he served as Aldermanic Sheriff. The Sheriffs’ Breakfast and Lord Mayor’s Show, Greg’s work on highlighting issues such as modern slavery and prisoner rehabilitation, and the entry of a Leathersellers’
team in the inaugural Lord Mayor’s Football Tournament have all seen the Company continue to play its part in strengthening the civic and cultural heritage of the City of London. With a stress on continuity and stewardship, Court (our Board) took the opportunity to review our strategy towards the end of this year. It is encouraging to see how many areas have made progress as well as having a clear framework to identify where we need further or greater focus. Some noteworthy aspects of this are of course increasing our overall annual giving to £4m for the first time, with the Foundation’s grants being augmented by additional capital and income transfers from the Company; giving that was furthered by the successful redevelopment and letting of 3 St Helen’s Place and a £5.5m transfer to the endowment. It has also been so encouraging to see the benefit of seeking to ‘add value’ to our grantees beyond crucial financial giving. The use of the Hall by our funded partners to train, raise money, convene and celebrate has created opportunity and furthered their goals – and therefore ours. All of this has been possible thanks to the tireless work of our committees and staff and I am so grateful to all for their contributions. One final thing that stands out from the year has been some remarkable guest speakers, from author and campaigner Chris Wild with his personal and passionate call to action and encouragement of our endeavours supporting organisations addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences and individuals who are care- experienced, to Sir Roger Wright, Chief Executive of the Rothschild Foundation, who recognised our shared belief that being a grant giver is “not about handing down – it’s about working alongside” and that “we are not only caretakers of a rich heritage, but architects of a better future.”
Matthew Lawrence
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EXCESS STRATEGY
Now in its third year, the Leathersellers’ Surplus Leather Project is opening the door of opportunity for the next generation of designers
Joyce Addai-Davis in her studio
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In our more eco-conscious times, manufacturers are having to think carefully about their consumption of natural resources. The use of ‘dead stock’ fabrics – previous seasons’ materials, left gathering dust in designers’ studios and warehouses – has seen growing popularity, with even high-end fashion houses promoting the use of upcycled and surplus materials.
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eather, as a by-product of the meat industry, is a natural fit for this heightened sense of awareness. From a waste material, tanners are able to create a durable, versatile material with far-reaching applications. As with any production chain there remain redundant samples, off- cuts, seconds and dead stock at tanneries, workshops and factories producing goods from leather that would otherwise be discarded. Recognising the value of utilising this high- quality material – particularly when it comes to the promotion and development of skills – the Leathersellers launched the Surplus Leather Project in 2022. The initiative accepts donations of leather no longer of commercial use to tanneries, factories and studios and distributes them to universities for use on their design courses. Some students might be looking to experiment with unfamiliar leather-working techniques, but could have been put off by the high cost of the material. Others might not have thought of working with leather, but having it laid on the table provides the opportunity to broaden their material experience. Educating the students about where leather comes from, its versatility and sustainable advantage over synthetic alternatives, is pivotal to the initiative. “We started this project because we want to give tutors and students access to leather, and allow them to learn about the possibilities of using it and explore a range of techniques,” explains Natalia Rymaszewska, Head of Grants at The Leathersellers’ Foundation. “For the first two years we had six initial education partners sharing this with their students, and now there’s 18. The enthusiasm from tutors and students alike is fuelling the growth of the programme and expansion of our partnerships, who we brought together later in the year to share experiences and strengthen connections.”
Opposite: Design ideas for using the surplus leather at Birmingham City University
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Abbey England, a family-run leather wholesaler established in 1982 that supplies all sectors of leather manufacturing from saddlers to fashion, interior design and film production, was enlisted to handle the logistics of the project, acting as the agent between the donor tanneries and the recipient institutions by storing, shipping and distributing the hides. Scottish Leather Group, C.F. Stead, Sedgwick & Co, Tusting and Waltham Tannery – all storied names in the industry – are the main donors of surplus hides intended for use in upholstery, fashion and cordwaining. “It was important to get at least 13 hides to each university – we felt that it was a good amount to be useful,” says Ishbel Watson, Marketing Manager of Abbey England. “The first time we piloted the scheme we received a range of leathers, including both soft and hard types. While the harder leathers are ideal for applications like furniture and leather accessories, the softer leathers are often better suited to fashion projects students are working on. This time we requested a selection with lighter leathers, which has made a big difference in terms of meeting the needs of both fashion and furniture students. We are incredibly grateful for all the contributions donated by our partners, and no piece goes to waste. In 2024–2025 we ended up distributing 260 hides across 18 universities, which is fantastic.”
Educating the students about where leather comes from, its versatility and sustainable advantage over synthetic alternatives, is pivotal to the initiative.
Below: Kingston School of Art students with Course Leader David Weatherhead (far left) and design mentor Bill Amberg (far right) Opposite: Ting Wan Hsu, Kingston School of Art MA student
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Opposite: Gabriel Oladapo, Kingston School of Art MA student, demonstrating leather joint designs
Having access to this donated leather has fired the creativity and opened the door of opportunity for the students.
buy it their ability to experiment wouldn’t be as free. If you can take that out of the equation, you release them to be more expressive,” he explains. “I was encouraging them from the beginning to make – to get it on the bench – understand the material more, play with it and a form will start to evolve from it”. Access to leather has positively impacted module delivery and supported a circular approach to working and thinking about the material. “In the past, when students have used leather, it’s been less experimental and expansive, and they are learning how their work connects to a UK-based industry,” says Weatherhead. Ting Wan Hsu, a student from Taiwan with a background in material science engineering, enrolled on the MA course to explore furniture design. Hsu didn’t think about working with leather initially, but was inspired by Amberg’s use of it. Hsu used vegetable-tanned leather and techniques borrowed from metal workshops, like bead rolling, to shape sculptural seats inspired by human gestures and opera performance. “I never really had a chance to get to work with this material, which is why when we got the donation, I chose it. It opened up my interest in leather,” says Hsu. “It made me understand how precious this material is and the value of it. It made me think about the target audience – who I’m designing for.” In the future, Hsu hopes to apply her newfound leatherworking skills to design table objects, building a brand that creates artistic, functional products. Like Hsu, Kam Liang, who studied industrial design in Guangzhou, China, hadn’t worked with leather before arriving at Kingston, but the opportunity of getting hands-on with this material was invaluable for learning about leather and its qualities. Liang created a multi-tiered leather sitting structure, supported by leather straps and a wool filling. “It made me think, why couldn’t I utilise the flexibility and tensile strength of leather – which is different from other materials – to create my design?” says Liang. “I chose to work with suede because it’s flexible and soft; I really wanted to show these natural qualities instead of using a stiffer leather to create shape.” Having the surplus leather to experiment with was also beneficial to Joe Jackson, who previously studied product design in Manchester before enrolling at Kingston. For the MA course Jackson made a range of sculptural leather
One of the institutions to benefit from the project this year is Kingston School of Art, Kingston University, situated in the picturesque south-west London borough. The long- established school runs courses across all creative disciplines, from fashion and furniture design to fine art, creative writing and architecture. For this year’s Product & Furniture Design MA at Kingston, students were briefed to explore a single material, process or technology to inspire design innovation and consider renewable, surplus and waste materials in the process. A range of materials were offered, including leather from the Surplus Leather Project. Out of 28 students, 15 chose to work with leather in some form. “The students were looking at the material from animal rearing all the way through to design applications,” explains Course Leader David Weatherhead, whose design career includes working with The Conran Shop, Ettinger and MADE.com. “The design approaches of the cohort are varied, and conversations about making extend to the ethics of leather – the lifecycle of the material, repair and upgrade and whether it’s going back into the ground. Surplus is a big part of this.” Students also benefited from the mentorship of veteran leather goods designer and Leatherseller Bill Amberg, who provided support to the students through design critique, visits to his leatherworking studio and donations of additional leather to the students. Despite his vast experience in the field, Amberg was impressed by the ingenuity of what came off of the students’ workbenches as a result of the access to the surplus leather. “It’s so exciting to see how they’ve interpreted it in their own unique ways. One student has done some really interesting scoring and boiling of leather, which was an accidental product of innovation, which is cool because I like the idea that from accidental experiments, something evolves into a product,” observes Amberg. “There’s also another student knitting with leather, and then heating and wet- moulding it. They’re mashing up techniques and something comes of it.” For Amberg, having access to this donated leather has fired the creativity and opened the door of opportunity for the students. “Any nervousness with young designers is around cost and then availability of materials. If they had to
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vessels, using hot-water moulding and an innovative scoring technique. “It got me thinking about ways I could create form, and I sort of accidentally fell upon this scoring of lines to inform the shape of objects,” explains Jackson. “The material reacted naturally around it – it was about embracing its qualities to create sculptural designs.” Owen Li, originally from Fujian, China, majored in industrial design and worked in product design for five years before enrolling on the Kingston MA course to bolster his hands-on production skills. Li was drawn to leather to make a collection of small household products, using a wet-moulding technique to give objects like pencil pots and vide-poches a honeycomb texture and ripple-like finish akin to the pattern formed by waves on a sandy beach. “Previously I didn’t have a chance to use leather to design products, because it’s mostly used in clothes or furniture, so I thought designing and making smaller scale products from it would be very interesting,” explains Li. “Because the donated leather was free, I had the chance to experiment much more with prototypes to figure out my design direction.”
Perhaps one of the most ingenious uses of leather as a component was at the hands of Kenji Chang, from New Taipei, who designed an articulated folding chair and stool inspired by traditional woodworking techniques with hinges made of leather. “I think furniture nowadays uses too much hardware and I think that breaks the beauty. I thought if I could replace the screws with leather, I would add more quality to the furniture. The donated leather gave me the opportunity to get to know the different characteristics and functions of leather and develop my project,” he says. For Aleks Cwikla, a Goldsmiths design graduate from Poland, her decision to work with leather came after gaining more of an understanding about the provenance and ethics of leather, and overcoming her personal reservations about the material. “Although I’ve always found leather a beautiful material, I was a bit conflicted whether to work with it, being a vegetarian,” says Cwikla, who created decorative objects by knitting and wet-moulding strips of vegetable-tanned leather. “Through my research, I found out how many hides go to waste from meat production and it actually pushed me to be a big advocate of leather – as long as the meat industry exists, why waste it?”
Right: Draped, sculptural leather design by Birmingham City University student Rohan Scott Opposite below: Kam Liang and Joe Jackson, Kingston School of Art MA students
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“The price tag often blocks students from using leather, but it’s also not knowing the right kind to get.”
Birmingham City University – another of the UK’s premier creative hubs – also benefitted from this year’s Surplus Leather allocation, some of which found its way to a series of specialist leather working masterclasses that form part of the Fashion Design BA. The masterclasses aim to bridge the gap between traditional skills and commercial design, providing students with access to leather and hands-on experience of crafting techniques to foster a deeper understanding of its properties and sustainability. The classes were the brainchild of Senior Lecturer Joseph Turvey – a seasoned menswear designer who established his own namesake label – and Visiting Lecturer and leather goods designer Lauren Broxton, who was raised in nearby Walsall, a place with a rich history of leather crafting stretching back four centuries. “The price tag often blocks students from using leather, but it’s also not knowing the right kind to get. With the Surplus donation we could take it to the Technology Office, get it under the microscope to look at its properties, identify it and understand what each one would do [to use it effectively],” explains Broxton, who also had the support of leather designer and Leatherseller Yusuf Osman with planning the masterclass curriculum and delivering lectures. “Gaining that understanding of the processes and how it got there has made the students actually respect it more,” she adds. “We started this course because many students outside of London would never have the chance to be exposed to these qualities and the level of finishing finesse of luxury leather. It’s about what it means to make something with purpose and intention for that,” says Turvey. ‘The New Heritage’, the brief given to students, encouraged them to explore their own background and identity through their leatherwork. For Kasey Cornwell the resilience of leather fitted the concept of the brief by expressing her trans identity and experience. “I wanted to make something that shows the strength of the community, which is why I chose to make armour,” she explains of her project called ‘Borrowed Heritage’. “Leather is tough. It deals with what you put against it. You actively have to hammer down the seams – I’ve always felt a bit hammered down. I relate to the idea that matter how much you batter it, something beautiful can come out of it.” Like Broxton, Ahmed Khider hails from the leather town
of Walsall, and it was his roots there that made him return to working with the material after studying psychology and biology. Khider’s exceptional collection of vegetable-tanned leather goods is crafted using laser cutting to create stencil- like perforations that reference traditional Arabic art. “I love the luxurious feel of leather – particularly suede and nubuck. I like how precise you have to be with it and it works well with laser-cutting, which is also very precise,” says Khider, who plans to use his skills to launch his own luxury leather goods brand informed by artisanal techniques. “Having access to this material and the specialist equipment has been a big opportunity.” Rohan Scott, from Wolverhampton, studied textiles and fine art before enrolling on the masterclass at BCU. His fascination with garment draping in Renaissance art informs the aesthetic of his jackets and corsets, while his leather bags feature braided handles in a reference to Scott’s Jamaican heritage. “I’ve always been drawn to the way leather looks and the way it ages and the fact that you can do so many things with it, by mixing up different weights, processes and types. I wanted to see how I could play around and manipulate it. The course taught me to be more explorative,” says Scott, who used a combination of Japanese split bovine leather, lambskin and vegetable-tanned leather from the Surplus donation to achieve the draped and sculptural forms in his pieces. Evolutionary inheritance was the stimulus for Sean Pajillero’s collection of architectural bags, which take inspiration from biped evolution and the movement of the human body in dance and sport. “I tried to correlate this to a bag design that incorporates a lot of movement,” explains Pajarillo. Having access to the donated leather took the pressure off the financial commitment to the material and allowed him to focus on experimenting and realise which specific leather he needed for his concept. “I initially worked with a veg-tan leather, but it was too hard for the bag I wanted to design – I needed something softer and gravitated towards nubuck and materials with a more natural drop,” he explains. Molly Waterfield, from Leicester, drew on her hometown’s industrial and multicultural heritage for her bags. Waterfield based the forms of her designs on the city’s industrial buildings and embellished them with handmade flowers
Left: Birmingham City University student Rohan Scott
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recycled from sarees, in tribute to the city’s South Asian community. She specifically chose antelope leather for its qualities, but also its cultural sensitivity, as pig and bovine leather have the potential to conflict with certain cultural and religious beliefs. “Leicester is known for its Diwali celebration, which is one of the largest outside of India – and there are also a lot of factories. So I’ve tried to combine the beauty of the multicultural with the industrial,” explains Waterfield, who hopes to use her leatherworking skills in the bridal industry eventually. While the Surplus Leather Project might only be in its third year, it’s clearly fuelling a fresh wave of creativity and innovation in the leather designers of the future, providing a foundation of skills to foster an industry of resilience and character – much like a well-tanned hide.
2024–2025 was the third year of the Surplus Leather Project to provide donated leather to universities and colleges for use by design students across a number of disciplines. Funding of £11,000 covered the costs of administering donations, packaging and delivering 20 sets of varied leather to 18 education partners across England and Wales.
Clockwise from above: Ahmed Khider; Rita Silva; Birmingham City University students with tutor Lauren Broxton (top row, far right); Birmingham City University student Imarnie Bennett
Photography: Paul Read
Photography: Paul Read
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ROOM TO THINK
How one homelessness project in Hertfordshire is helping adults to overcome the effects of childhood trauma Warren has some rhubarb for Paula. “He’s got the most amazing allotment,” the therapist says, bursting with pride. Warren shakes his head over the sunny weather outside. “It’s frying at the moment,” he says, “but I’ll get you some cucumbers too.” Warren first met Paula Mates, DENS’s resident psychotherapist, in 2022 through the counselling service at DENS, a charity in Dacorum, Hertfordshire. Originally Dacorum Emergency Night Shelter, a joint project started by local churches, today the service covers both emergency accommodation and housing, as well as wrap-around services such as counselling. DENS became a Leathersellers’ Foundation grantee in 2022, in receipt of a four-year grant totalling £84,000.
Opposite: Paula Mates, Clinical Lead Psychotherapist
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Incidence of what are called Adverse Childhood Experiences (such as abuse and neglect) is higher amongst people who are homeless, which increases individual risk of mental health conditions as does the stress of homelessness itself. At DENS, what practitioners see in clients is a complexity of both childhood and adult trauma – for example, some clients might have a complex post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis. Last year at DENS, the average age of a therapy client was 39 and the average ‘ACE score’ of clients – a method to understand and quantify the impact of childhood trauma – was 6+ ACEs out of a possible 10. This means that the average client had experienced six or seven different forms of loss, abuse or neglect before adulthood. Over 30 clients seen by the service last year scored eight or more, while a score of over six cuts life expectancy on average by 20 years. DENS is unique in offering long-term individual and group work, with clients seeing the same practitioner for over a year. Although long-term work is strongly recommended for people with relational trauma such as abuse, neglect, bereavement or abandonment, it is extremely difficult to fund and provide, and therefore few UK charities can offer it. Warren, now 57, started therapy at DENS when he was in recovery from alcohol addiction. He had lost his father to suicide, experienced self-harm, and four years ago was asked to leave the home he shared with his mum owing to problems arising from his addiction. With the help of DENS, Warren managed to stop drinking and move into his own place. But when he started living alone for the first time, he relapsed. In hospital, he was referred to DENS’s therapy service and began one-to-one therapy with Paula when he got out. Three years later, he’s grateful. “In just the first couple of sessions, I could really feel relief in being able to open up about my past,” he says. ”My recovery wouldn’t have worked without the therapy; I started drinking at an early age at school because of abuse and bullying – that was my way of just covering it up. In recovery your body doesn’t want the alcohol anymore, but all the other underlying things from the past have to be sorted, because they crop up again.” After individual therapy, despite his misgivings, Warren moved into group therapy. “The first day I went, I was so close to running away! But then when I got in there it was like, ‘What was I so scared of?’ The atmosphere was calm and relaxed. That was the beauty of it: talking about myself, listening to other people, and relating to their problems. Their circumstances might have been different from mine, but the suffering resulting from it was similar.” Today Warren works in DENS’s bike project, looks after an allotment, and his doctor says he’s reversed his cirrhosis diagnosis. He’s also cultivated a better relationship with his adult daughter, who’s now 33. ”Of all the benefits from
the therapy and the absence of alcohol, the greatest is my daughter. We have this beautiful relationship now. We can talk! We talk about psychology and everything. She never got that from me in the past, but she’s got it now. She’ll always have that from now on.” DENS’s emphasis on long-term work for people recovering from ACEs, and to prevent ACEs in their own families, helped The Leathersellers’ Foundation to improve its understanding and giving approach. “DENS was integral to challenging our perceptions of what ‘ACEs as a core focus’ looked like in real terms,” says Stacey Lamb, Head of Charity Grants at the Foundation. “By any description, DENS is first and foremost a ‘homelessness’ charity, but their understanding of the origin of their service users’ journeys demonstrated that experience of multiple ACEs was interlaced with the immediate housing need.” This learning was significant because it prevents future charities from being overlooked as a result of a focus on core activity alone. Since working with DENS, the Foundation’s approach is more nuanced. As Stacey explains, “We now determine ‘ACEs-focused’ by considering the prevalence of ACEs across the client group, not by the primary purpose of the activity.” Sammi, 27, also had long-term therapy at DENS. When she was 22 her relationship with her mum broke down. She moved out into her aunt’s house temporarily, but sharing with her seven cousins wasn’t a long-term solution. Sammi’s brother had previously stayed with DENS so she followed him there. She stayed in the charity’s emergency accommodation for a fortnight before getting a room in a shared house. However, it was not long after that when lockdown hit. Sammi referred herself to one-to-one therapy to cope with the loneliness and isolation. “I didn’t want to do it,” Sammi says. “I didn’t really like opening up then and I was so quiet. I wouldn’t talk to anyone; I was just so scared.” It took her several months to open up; in her first session, she and Paula sat in silence for 30 to 45 minutes. After they developed a relationship in therapy, Paula suggested that like Warren, Sammi could try group therapy. “I was nervous, very nervous. I said no, first of all. I wouldn’t talk; it was like being back in one-to-one therapy for the first time, I just sat there.” As the groups went on, Sammi got more confident. “They couldn’t stop me talking by the end of it,” she jokes. Since finishing group therapy, Sammi has completed several online training courses to become a teaching assistant and has begun volunteering in a local school. She plans to start work again at the start of the next school year. She hopes to specialise in working with autistic children (her younger brother is autistic). Sammi credits the therapy with her improved confidence and mood. “When I first came in, I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew I needed to do it. I needed to find myself, and I
DENS is unique in offering long-term individual and group work, with clients seeing the same practitioner for over a year.
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did – it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.” In 2022 DENS began offering placements to local counselling and therapy students in order to improve capacity and increase access to the service; this year Paula has already had 20 applicants. With the help of the Foundation’s unrestricted funding, Paula now works full-time at DENS. “Often people will come into the service and initially be a bit resistant to the thought of therapy because their levels of trust are low and they have experience of abuse by authoritative figures,” Paula explains. “But after a while, they will see me around and hear from the other residents who are in therapy, and will then approach us.” Even people who are housed can struggle to attend regular therapy, and the challenges for clients without a home are even greater. Beyond the question of whether the person has a phone, money to travel, or appointments with other agencies, some homeless people are stuck in addictive cycles. After training to be a UKCP-accredited therapist at the Metanoia Institute in London, Paula gained experience as a
therapist at a rehabilitation service before setting up DENS’s service. She herself has experienced homelessness, substance misuse and long-term therapy. She was particularly moved by the work of Carl Rogers, the man behind humanistic therapy and the person-centred approach, and has led her own research into therapy outside of conventional settings. “The system generally fails when it comes to this client group, as it does for any disadvantaged or marginalised groups,” Paula says. “It doesn’t work for them, and it really needs redressing.” DENS’s radical approach to therapy is also a point of pride for CEO Wendy Lewington. “We’ve got 50–60-year-olds that have had a life of trauma; short-term therapy isn’t going to make a difference,” she says. “The fact that it’s based in the hostel means that clients feel at home, and if they miss an appointment, they get another go. If you miss an appointment with the NHS then you can often be wiped off. We have a full- time therapist with significant experience, and we really focus on trauma. Those elements have made it be the success that it is.”
Alongside the housing and therapy that DENS provides, the charity also teaches life skills such as cooking, and workplace skills such as gardening and bike maintenance – all intended to support people to live and work independently after contact with DENS. DENS’s patient, relational approach to resolving homelessness is one of its unique strengths. “Homelessness is a symptom or by-product of other issues,” Wendy says. “Unless you deal with the other issues, there’s going to be a revolving door around homelessness. We’ve seen it. Some people come back to our hostel four or five times. What is that fourth or fifth intervention that means they can take that next step? If you’ve got a life of trauma, it’s going to take more than just a little bit of therapy to work your way through that.” DENS’s local county council, Hertfordshire, faces reorganisation by 2028. Wendy believes that this will bring new opportunities for the charity to extend the work they do. With a new strategy due out at the end of the year, the team is now constantly identifying innovative ways of working to
support the most vulnerable. A long-term commitment works wonders for their clients, and will do the same for the future of DENS, too.
The Leathersellers’ Foundation’s ACEs Main Grants Programme provides multi-year funding to over 60 ACEs-focused charities throughout the UK. Funded partners work with people of all ages affected by ACEs, including infants, soon-to-be parents, young people and adults. In preventing and mitigating the harm of ACEs, we believe that it is never too early or too late to ask for help.
Top left: CEO Wendy Lewington Centre: Paula Mates with Sammi Top right: Warren
Photography: Callum Toy
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EARLY YEARS GRANTS PROGRAMME Supporting Families from the Start
including illness, financial worries or because the parent doesn’t have the support of family and friends. “If a mum is in a vulnerable position, stuck in a situation with no help or support, that affects the development of a child,” says Kelly. “When I first met Mary, she wasn’t in a good place. I was able to encourage her and share parts of my own experience. I’d say to her, ‘Look, I’ve felt like you before, and this is where I am now, helping you. It’s not going to be like this forever.’” Mary was introduced to Home-Start by her health visitor. Her baby, Bea*, turned one in August 2025 and she has a 14-year-old daughter who has special educational needs. “I’m a lone parent. I was lonely and bored,” says Mary. “A lot of things were going on for me. When the health visitor said she could introduce me to Home-Start, I told her, ‘I don’t mind, if it’s going to be of help to me’. And thank God she did.” A Home-Start family support coordinator matches volunteers like Kelly with families like Mary’s. They decide together what support is needed, and help parents to build the skills and confidence required to advocate for themselves. Mary and Kelly spent time getting to know each other. They went for walks and, together, made Mary and her children appointments with the GP and dentist – things that she had found difficult to do on her own. Now they’re visiting children’s centres to find somewhere that Mary and Bea will both enjoy attending. “Getting out has been good,” says Kelly. “Bea has really come out of herself being around other children. She’s enjoying the sensory stimulation; I can see she’s really growing.” Kelly has also been encouraging Mary to play more with Bea when they’re at home together. She’s brought round a bag of sensory toys and books provided by Home-Start. “We do fun things together with the children, including a lot of modelling play**. This helps Mary when I’m not there,” says Kelly. “She interacts with the children differently now. All Mary wanted was for her children to be happy and settled – what we all want for our children.” Mary thinks that Kelly’s support has made a huge difference to her family. “It feels good to see how Bea has changed. And I feel so relaxed now,” she says. “Kelly brought me out of the shell where I was. In the future I’d like to learn to help others, to give back. Because Kelly really helped me.”
Opposite, left to right: Early years practitioner at Base Zero nursery in Lewisham; MammaKind team members sorting clothes for the baby bank; Home-Start volunteer with mum and baby
Research shows that the first 1,001 days of a child’s life have a fundamental impact on their future. Funded by a joint initiative between The Leathersellers’ Foundation and Merchant Taylors’ Foundation, meet the organisations making sure that more families in south-east London get the support they need during this critical time.
“I t’s so nice to see Mary* laugh,” says Kelly*, Kelly is a volunteer at the family support charity Home-Start. She and Mary are part of a programme in Lewisham where trained volunteers provide emotional and practical help to families with children under five, who are having difficulties with managing parenting. This could be for any of a number of reasons, “because when I first met her, she cried a lot. Seeing her with her baby, smiling like this, makes me feel really fulfilled.”
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Left: Home-Start volunteer with mum and baby
Organisations receiving the two-year grants have the added benefit of becoming part of a network of early years charities that can share expertise. The five grantees meet twice a year. Becca Jones, CEO of Home-Start Southwark, says she’s enjoyed getting to know other leaders from the charities. “We support each other and compare notes. It massively benefits the families we support too, because we know more about what other local projects are doing and can refer to them.” One of the other Early Years grantees Becca has connected with is the National Literacy Trust. Their First Words Together programme in Lewisham supports babies and toddlers under two with speech, language and communication. The programme involves training and peer support for early years practitioners, who then deliver a series of activities at their nursery. The National Literacy Trust also provides books and resources for parents and carers so that they can continue to support their children’s development at home. First Words Together has already run in Birmingham and Cornwall, and thanks to the Early Years grant, it’s being delivered in London for the first time. Holly Muldowney, Programme Manager of Early Years at the National Literacy Trust, says that First Words Together is addressing a gap in language and literacy provision. “There tends to be a heavy emphasis on children being prepared for school, which has led to this gap for the very early years,” she says. “Yet we know that the first 1001 days are the most significant time in child development. Even if your baby isn’t talking, it doesn’t mean that they’re not communicating or absorbing everything around them.” Working with speech and language therapists, the National Literacy Trust developed First Words Together to communicate the importance of everyday interactions to parents and caregivers. The programme supports practitioners to understand and share how engagement, activity and routines will have a positive impact on the youngest children.
and children to look at and listen to each other. There’s a related activity to try, such as playing peek-a-boo and helping their child to join in the game. Parents are asked to comment on the back of the postcard about how the activities have gone and share feedback with their nursery practitioner. Rochelle says that this feedback has helped her to build rapport with the parents and allowed them each to understand better where the child is with language and communication. Comments from parents on the resources have been extremely positive. One said, “Our son now asks to read stories every night. His ability to express feelings and speak clearly has improved significantly. This programme really helped us build a better reading habit with him.” Another stated that the picture books were really helpful and, also, the parent postcards, which helped them to bond with their child. Of the parents who completed a survey, 94% felt that they now know more about supporting their child’s early language and are more confident with engaging in activities to support it. The programme received equally positive feedback from nursery practitioners, with 100% of those who submitted a delivery log noticing benefits and changes in children’s communication skills from taking part in the programme. “I’ve seen a significant change with at least four out of five babies,” says Rochelle. “I was shocked when I heard them expressing themselves so confidently, singing along during our circle time, or trying to indicate something to me, even when they don’t know how to say it yet. People sometimes underestimate what children can learn and understand. But when you have that focused time, you see that the babies’ comprehension is incredible.”
Above: Early years practitioner reading to children as part of the National Literacy Trust’s First Words Together programme
Connecting parents and practitioners Rochelle Palmer is a nursery assistant in the baby room at the Base Zero nursery in Bellingham, one of the first nurseries in Lewisham to take part in First Words Together. “We’re with the babies when they’re first learning how to communicate, verbally and nonverbally,” says Rochelle. “On the training, we discussed what we can do to encourage babies to build their communication and to feel confident to express themselves, whether that’s through actions, facial expressions, trying to say words or just experimenting with sounds, like babbling.” First Words Together helps practitioners like Rochelle support parents to create a good ‘home learning environment’, where they can continue what happens at nursery. Rochelle says the ideas from the programme can easily be worked into a parent and child’s day-to-day routine, such as singing a song at bathtime or naming items together as they unpack shopping. “We know that parents are really busy,” says Rochelle. “When we give them tips, we look at things they’re already doing and how they can stretch those further. That’s where the free resources and books can help.” Each week, families are gifted a book that links with the First Words Together session. By the end of the programme, they have built mini libraries in their homes. Families also get a postcard with a talking tip, such as ‘Be face to face with your child’, as this helps parents
Reaching more families, earlier There are around 180 local, independent Home- Starts across the UK. The Leathersellers’ Foundation and Merchant Taylors’ Foundation’s Early Years Programme grant is supporting Home-Start Southwark to expand its work into Lewisham. All of Home-Start’s work is rooted in the belief that the earliest years make the biggest impact – the key driver behind the grant programme. “Our research shows that a child’s brain is 80% developed by the age of two,” says Jane Hindle, Education Manager at Merchant Taylors’ Foundation, ”which is why the programme focuses on families with nought to three-year- olds. We know that the skills and confidence developed in those years lay the foundations not only for formal education but for lifelong learning and well-being.” This partnership is the first time that The Leathersellers’ Foundation has focused on the early years. It’s part of a strategic shift to supporting organisations throughout the educational journey. “There’s a cumulative effect of disadvantage in educational achievement,” says Natalia Rymaszewska, the Foundation’s Head of Grants. “Focusing support on the early years can help to break a cycle of inter- generational disadvantage and be a driver of social mobility.”
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The Early Years Programme is a joint initiative between The Leathersellers’ Foundation and Merchant Taylors’ Foundation. It provides grants to charities that support the early years development of children from low-income households in Lewisham, in areas which are often under- served by other charities. The programme has awarded the following five charities a total of £220,000 over two years, with services provided in 2024–2025 and 2025–2026.
The items provided by MammaKind enable parents to attend groups and activities that their children enjoy and that help their development. “I don’t mean to sound like an Instagram post, but our goal is that families don’t just ‘survive’; we want them to thrive,” says Kelly. “For example, parents who’ve received a package from MammaKind might think, ‘Now that I have the towel and the lovely swimsuit, maybe we’ll go to that free children’s swimming class that Home- Start is putting on.’” MammaKind provides high-quality items, tailored to a child’s needs, as well as gifts for mums such as high-end beauty products. Kelly says that this care and attention to detail can deepen the trust between a mother and the professionals who’ve referred them to MammaKind. These include health visitors, midwives, children’s centres, schools and charities. “Asking for help can be a very hard thing to do,” says Kelly. “We’ve created a service where we smash through those feelings of shame related to poverty. The feedback we get about our packages is always off the charts.” Kelly says that meeting and sharing with the other grantees has been “a wonderful experience”. Not only have they been able to share learnings, but everyone around the table now has a connection with MammaKind if they didn’t already. Kate Bird, Senior Project Manager at the National Literacy Trust, agrees and says that being part of this group of grantees has helped with signposting. “For example, we can make sure our nursery practitioners know about MammaKind and promote them to families,” she says. “Working with a mix of national charities, like ours, and local ones has really helped us to develop a detailed on-the-ground understanding of the borough, such as knowing where the pockets of deprivation are. This Early Years collaboration offers a unique opportunity that strengthens the services local families can access – and will have an even more powerful impact.”
Home-Start Southwark and Lewisham What do they do?
Early Years Alliance What do they do?
Home-Start provides high-quality support for families with babies and children under five, empowering them to create happier lives for their children. What’s their approach? They bring together a community-based team of trained peer volunteers and family support workers to assist parents in challenging circumstances. What will the grant fund? Expanding their core service across Lewisham.
Early Years Alliance is the largest early years membership organisation in England, working to support young children and their families, particularly in areas of disadvantage. What’s their approach? The work they do with Alliance members includes: – Advocating for children, families and all childcare and early education providers. – Encouraging safeguard-led practice and raising standards and quality of childcare and early education. – Providing high-quality training support and advice. What will the grant fund? A project in three deprived areas of Lewisham providing play opportunities with professional and peer support available targeted at families whose children have, or are suspected to have, special educational needs and disabilities. Specialist equipment and understanding provides an accessible and enabling environment to help their development. The Parent Village and St Mark’s and St Luke’s, Downham What do they do? The Parent Village provides services to support parents with their mental health, well-being and confidence. Their coaching- style course is provided in tandem with enriching weekly ‘stay and play’ sessions for children at the two churches. What’s their approach? They help relieve the pressure that parents experience by providing routes to join with other parents, and by offering tools and resources to take positive steps and build a network of support. What will the grant fund? Equipment and costs for the stay and play sessions in Downham, alongside group learning opportunities for parents.
Above: The MammaKind team
Collaborating for impact It’s the first time that the National Literacy Trust has worked in the Lewisham area, and being part of the Early Years Programme has introduced them to other local grantees. Thanks to a chat in the car park after one of the grant partners’ meetings, they now donate books and resources to a project for young mothers run by the MammaKind baby bank. MammaKind provides clothes, toys, baby equipment, essential hygiene items and baby food to families experiencing poverty in the London boroughs of Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham. The majority of the families that they support are headed by a single mother, and many have experienced homelessness or violence, or are refugees with no recourse to public funds. “If your baby doesn’t have a safe place to sleep, or access to books and toys, that has a huge impact on their development,” explains Kelly Fort, MammaKind’s Head of Operations. “The clothes, the pram, the toys, they’re not just practical, they are an investment in that child’s future. We had one family where the older child missed over 100 lessons in primary school because mum didn’t have a pram and couldn’t take the baby on the school run. We heard about that on a Friday, the mum had a pram on the Monday. Things like this are vital to stopping the poverty trap. The midwives tell us all the time that MammaKind changes lives.”
MammaKind What do they do?
MammaKind is a baby bank and parent service. They provide a pack of essentials, including prams and carriers, clothes, toys and books, to help prevent and relieve poverty. What’s their approach? They work with a network of referral partners who connect them with families with young children in Lewisham who need support. What will the grant fund? Expanding their core service across Lewisham to enable access to educational opportunities for children from low income families. National Literacy Trust What do they do? This national charity empowers people with the literacy skills they need to succeed in life. What’s their approach? Their vision for early years is: “Every child starts school with language and communication skills ready to grow and learn at school.” What will the grant fund? First Words Together for nought to three-year-olds, which involves training and continued peer support of early years practitioners in the private, voluntary, and independent sector as well as resources for parents.
* Names have been changed to protect identities ** M odelling play, or observational learning, is a method where children learn by watching and imitating others, particularly adults.
Photography: Callum Toy
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