A READING-BORN woman has raised more than £1,000 for charity by hand painting t-shirts and corsets and selling them via Instagram.

Jessy Blakemore, 20, had raised £1070 by mid-June for charities including Reading’s leading homelessness prevention charity Launchpad.

After boredom set in during lockdown at her family home in Reading, Jessy - who is studying Philosophy at the University of York and enjoys painting and singing in her spare time - started hand painting Basquiat-inspired art onto a top.

She posted her creation on Instagram (@jessyblakemore) to her 5,000 followers and received countless messages and comments, requesting that Jessy make more to sell.

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Since the end of April, Jessy has been selling her hand-painted t-shirts for £15, long sleeve tops for £20 and corsets for £35 – and her political fashion makes statements about vulnerable individuals in society, racism and an underfunded health system in the UK.

All profits from her sales are then donated to Reading’s homelessness charity, Launchpad; You Okay Doc?, a mental health charity for doctors; NHS Charities Together; and Black Lives Matter charities and crowd funding pages for people including Belly Mujinga and George Floyd.

Jessy said: “What started as a distraction from uni work and lockdown, has become a really amazing opportunity to do something creative for some good causes.

“I’m really pleased with how popular the tops have been and how much they’ve raised for charity so far – I’ve had orders from across the UK and abroad (Finland, Portugal, Singapore, Paris and Amsterdam), some of which I’ve had to put on hold so I can keep up with the demand!”

She continued: “I think the art reflects the feelings and frustrations of many people at the moment, and I’ve picked charities which directly relate to the statements the tops are making – all of which mean a lot to me personally.”

Jessy praised the “amazing work Launchpad do to support people who are homeless and in need in my town, and they’ve continued that work with the pandemic going on”.

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Kate Martin, Fundraising Manager at Launchpad, added: “Jessy is a true inspiration using her time and talent in lockdown to raise vital funds for such important causes.

“We were bowled over when we saw her amazing creations - fundraising has never looked so cool!

“And it’s efforts from people like Jessy which make our work during the pandemic possible.”

She explained the charity is still providing clients with “emotional support and ensuring they have access to the food, treatment and benefits they need - and we are housing rough sleepers so they have a clean, stable and safe place to live” during the pandemic.

She added: “We are so grateful to Jessy and our wider local community for making that possible.”

Jessy has been taking orders for the hand-painted tops and corsets via her Instagram page – with payment being made by Paypal, which she then donates to her chosen charities minus costs for the garments and paint.