SUCCESSES FOR TOPSY'S SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMME

A huge thank you to Jeff and Julie Rodrigues for hosting, and to Marek Emczek Olszewiski and Dee Stanford for participating, in the 4 Weekends in May Brighton and Hove Artists Open Houses. This highly enjoyable and inspiring event raised in excess of £1000 for Topsy

• The Shukukushuma (‘Busy Hands’) Beader Group make and sell traditional African beadwork. This self-sustaining group of between 20 - 23 people at any one time, mostly women, each acting as their own business entity, is selling more than 50,000 items per year with a sales value of more than half a million Rand per annum. This year Topsy attended the prestigious Design Indaba for the second time where turnover doubled from last year, with more trader interest in their new products.

• The Tinyiko (‘Special Gift’) Topsy Sewing Project offers skills training to women employed by Topsy to make clothing and household items. Tinyiko was recently commissioned to make aprons and lanyards for Plascon.