My Belsize Park: Diahann Brown
Diahann Brown has launched a crowdfunding project providing organic period products. - Credit: Archant
Diahann Brown, a mother of three teenagers, is co-founder of new start up Freda (www.myfreda.com) a business crowdfunding project providing organic period products.
What brought you to Belsize Park?
I loved living in Islington, but I moved across for the schools and green space. I don’t think you can beat Primrose Hill, Regent’s Park and Hampstead Heath for open space in London. Public transport is fantastic and it’s so easy to walk to the West End.
What makes you smile about Belsize Park?
When I open the windows at the back of the house the birdsong is incredible. We’ve had woodpeckers and even a hooting owl. Our local pub The Washington has a cricket team and England’s Lane has all the shops you need.
What would you like to see changed?
Nothing apart from the council’s decision to collect rubbish twice a month rather than weekly.
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What is occupying your time at the moment?
I’m the co-founder of start up Freda, (www.myfreda.com), an ethical and eco-friendly monthly subscription business that delivers organic period care products through the letterbox. Freda is to tampons what Toms is to shoes as we donate a portion of each subscription to provide pads to women and girls in need. It’s super busy at the moment as we’ve just launched a six-week crowdfunding campaign highlighting the fact that 63m girls in developing countries miss a week of school per month due to lack of access to sanitary pads. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/freda.
What issues do you feel passionate about?
In 2017, in one of the richest cities in the world, it’s unbelievable that food banks exist because some people are not earning a living wage to sustain their basic needs, including sanitary products. In tackling this “period poverty” Freda supports A Bloody Good Cause - providing sanitary protection to women’s refuges and refugee women in North London.
If you were editor of the Ham&High what stories would you feature?
I’d like to focus on all the independent shops and businesses. High streets are really struggling and as a community we need to support our local shop owners.
