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CELEBRATING NURSING
CELEBRATING NURSING Kate Thompson
Southsea based illustrator Alison Gardiner has created the perfect design to mark our appreciation for nurses through the ages. The imagery, which depicts Florence Nightingale through to today’s modern nurse, was created as a result of a collaboration with the Florence Nightingale Museum in London which is based at St Thomas’s Hospital. The museum commissioned the mugs and a range of other merchandise including bookmarks and tea towels to commemorate the bi-centenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. And while the design was conceived prior to the pandemic, the illustrations have taken on a poignancy owing to the extra special place in our hearts that nurses now have. “Quite a few friends have bought the mugs for their mothers who were nurses, or for other family members connected to the nursing profession. “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the people who are working in the NHS and the dedication they show. We have seen how nurses are affected by the plight of their patients and their families – they really care so much,” said Alison. Her career as an illustrator has varied from
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greetings cards to textile designs and children’s books.
It was in 2000 that she became involved in not just designing but organising production when the National
Trust commissioned her to design a range of mugs for one of their regions; this led to over 50 designs. Since then Alison has worked with many companies and charities such as The Royal Collection, Highgrove, Canterbury Cathedral , World Wildlife Foundation, RSPCA and RSPB to produce designs for a variety of products. All products are made in the UK, with the mugs made entirely in Stoke-on-Trent, the home of British pottery. Sadly when the lockdown came the Florence Nightingale Museum had to close to comply with government restrictions, and plans to mark the bicentenary of the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ had to be shelved. “I felt so sorry for the museum as they had so much planned for the bi-centenary celebrations. “Anyone buying mugs from my website will see 5 per cent of the price going to the museum and a donation of 25 pence per mug to the NHS COVID-19 charity,” explained Alison. To order a nursing mug go to www.alisongardiner.co.uk
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