Personal sustainability and illness prevention center in the heart of London

On Purpose April 2017 Fellow Katarina Fischerova interviewed Jane Hutchison, designer and founder of the cancer prevention charity Hello Beautiful Foundation.

Katarina visited their wellness space, or ‘spiritual’ home, where all sales generated at the cafe/design shop and classes/workshops go to support the cause — helping cancer patients access holistic treatments and supporting anyone who wishes to switch to a healthier lifestyle.

„Instead of asking for donations we ask people to come for classes to learn to get healthier themselves and this way also donate to a cause. “

Can you tell us how the idea was born and what motivated you to start Hello Beautiful?

Kevin and I set up a design studio together about seven years ago and about six months in I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I instantly decided I wanted to start a charity to do with raising awareness and talking about cancer in a more open way. I didn't know anything about cancer, no one in my family had ever had it and friends understood little. I wanted to set up a charity to talk openly about breast cancer and about what happens to women who go through surgery. There is so much beauty in change, that’s one of our statements and you don‘t have to have this perfect body to be beautiful. Scars are beautiful because they represent the things you’ve been through. We started spreading awareness through art and education, but eventually decided to open a space (called Hello Love) that would help people going through cancer and talk about prevention of different illnesses as well. We design a lot of the things we sell but we have different artists collaborating. We also get different charities in to do workshops and to tell their story. We do lots of work with Stella McCartney, for example, she designed the double mastectomy bra and bikini for women going through surgery and every October we do a big breast cancer awareness festival.

What makes our world toxic?

Almost everything, especially living in London city, but over the years the whole environment, the processed foods we consume, things that are laced in pesticides and different chemicals. Another one of the big causes of cancer is stress, anxiety and trauma. When we go through trauma our cells don‘t respond properly and this is one of the main things that can cause an illness to manifest. We go to schools and hospitals and start talking to kids, because it’s very important to get young people on the right track. We say you can make small changes every day, you don‘t need to change everything all at once, otherwise it becomes stressful.

Were you conscious about these things before you got diagnosed?

When I got diagnosed I instantly threw out all the cosmetics I was using. I had probably 300 pounds’ worth of nice brands, but they all went into the bin, knowing the chemicals in them. 80% of breast cancer tumours they find are full of everyday chemicals which are just seeping into us via body wash, face cream, shampoos, it’s very scary and there is no real awareness about that. One in two of us now will have cancer if we don’t change things. Now there is also lots of kids with cancer because everything we do to our bodies from conception affects the baby. We are eating microwave foods, eating loads of meat injected with hormones and antibiotics. These animals are also squashed in containers and have so much stress and we are now eating their stress.

You talk about food we eat and products we use, but also about how our mind influences our wellbeing. What role does that play?

We talk about positive emotional awareness aimed at reducing stress and anxiety using holistic practices like qi gong, yoga, meditation, sound massage. The breath work we do physically helps the body heal.

Who are your customers? It seems places like this attract people that are already conscious, do you think you help those who need it the most?

We get a total mix of people, probably because of the location. Parents and relatives of kids that are in Great Ormond Street Hospital will come, lots of people will just wander in and are glad to have found us and a lot of people say they were drawn to this space. We cater to a whole variety of people and, obviously, people with cancer. We give them free holistic treatment, free workshops and we have councillors, that they can speak to. When someone is diagnosed, we create an individual gift pack based on their diagnosis, basically a starter pack to get onto a healthier life style.

What is success for you?

Helping others foremost, being of service to others and not just to myself and my own needs. The more people I help the happier I become personally. If we can help people with cancer, even in small little ways, that is so much nicer than a big fat pay check.

Did this shift happen when you got ill?

Yes, pretty instantly when I got ill. You go along in life thinking everything will be fine but when you have this come to you, that tomorrow I might not be here, it makes you grateful for everything. The days when I used to be stressed about silly things just disappeared. When I got diagnosed I saw people that were much worse off than me and that made me grateful. It could be so much worse. You see people in war zones losing their whole family, you need to be grateful every day and appreciate small things.

Is there a way to spread this message for people to realise before they eventually get ill?

You can’t force people. You can only drop seeds. And maybe you drop the seed now and in 5 years they might start doing this. You can‘t force anyone, you can only suggest. Everyone needs to make their own decisions. You have to think of those that you are helping. You can’t stress yourself out (laugh).

What prevents people from integrating healthy habits into their lives successfully?

Fear stops a lot of people, as well as not having enough discipline, not really wanting to change. We see it here too, people who come and you never see them again and people who come all the time and they are making massive changes. One girl came here, doctors gave her three months to live and now they can’t find any trace of cancer in her body. She has been so proactive changing her lifestyle. You really need to have the motivation to help yourself.

If you want to know more about Hello Beautiful, join their classes and workshops or run a workshop in their lovely space visit www.hellobeautiful.org.