THE owner of a personalised greetings business is helping to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.

Lisa Ebdon, who runs Hickory Dickory Designs from a studio in Conway Street, Hove, was approached to get involved in Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month this March, by a friend who had lost her mother to the disease.

Lisa had already been supporting the Rockinghorse charity for sick children in Sussex.

Now she has created a range of bespoke wooden keepsakes for the charity Ovacome.

She has created greetings cards, keyrings which are either round or letter shaped, and purse-sized plaques.

She wanted to avoid the items being overtly cancer-related but at the same time she felt they needed to raise awareness of the disease and to spread the message that Ovacome is always there to give support.

Lisa said: “It has been a privilege to get involved with two such important charities.

“I’m so pleased to have gone into this very rewarding area.

“My keepsakes, made with rosewood, are designed to be kept forever, giving a lasting message, perfect for this sort of thing.

“It’s been great fun too working with the charity staff and meeting Rockinghorse supporters at its Christmas dinner and also Ovacome’s patron, actor, Jenny Agutter, at the photoshoot of the keepsakes.

“She was about to go on holiday and took one of the letter J keyrings with her to put on her case.”

The Ovacome keepsakes are engraved with sentimental words and the circular keyrings and mini plaques have details of the symptoms discreetly on the back.

Lisa said: “We wanted to create beautiful items to be kept forever as a token of a special relationship.”

The Ovacome keepsakes tie in with the charity’s “Because you are special to me” social media campaign this month.

The idea is that women use #Because on social media when choosing somebody close to them to share the symptoms of ovarian cancer.

This directs them to Ovacome’s website where they can find out more about the disease and how to make a donation.

Each Ovacome item costs £14.95 with Hickory Dickory Designs making a £2 donation on each purchase to the charity.

They can be personalised for an extra £1.

Visit ovacome.org.uk/campaigning-volunteering/ovarian-cancer-awareness-month/