Cornish Masks CV19
1547. Lotty Eccleston
1548. Danni Wills
Lotty Eccleston and Danni Wills, from Cornwall, have made and donated over 14,000 cotton face masks since the pandemic started, primarily focusing on sending soft, cotton masks and ear protectors to NHS workers to wear while they are not working.
Lotty and Danni had never met prior to the pandemic but came together after Danni shared on an online group that she was making some masks for family and friends, and Lotty offered to help. Now, they have been making between 100-150 masks a day, with the project running solely on donations. They have been designing seasonal masks, such as pumpkins for during Halloween and poppies for Remembrance, and are currently working on producing festive face coverings for use over Christmas.
In a personal letter to Lotty, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“By producing over 14,000 soft cotton face masks, you have brought comfort to our fantastic NHS workers. As they work so hard to keep us safe, you too have worked incredibly hard to look after them with these wonderful gifts.”
In a personal letter to Danni, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“I was amazed to hear of your efforts, alongside your daughter Claire, to craft thousands of reusable face masks to keep our NHS workers and communities safe.
“I know you do this with no thought of recognition or reward, but allow me to thank you on behalf of the entire country. Congratulations!”
Lotty and Danni said:
“We were amazed by the news of the award. Things like this don’t happen to us – we are a small team of three (two sewing and one taking orders) and it was started to help us get through lockdown, and it has just gone mental. But to have an award given to us is the cherry on the cake.”
