ABOUT
Hi there, I’m Lara Olowofoyeku, a UKRN, entrepreneur and the heart behind this brand.
I am a nurse first, and this shop came second after a long 12-hour shift, a cold cup of tea, and the thought: nurses deserve better than this.
I have been a nurse for over 12 years, I have worked nights and days, bank holidays and Christmas mornings. I have held patients’ hands through the worst moments of their lives and celebrated with families on their best days. I love this job even on the days it breaks me a little.
What I started to notice over the years was how little anyone really marked the milestones that mattered to us. Qualification days that deserved more than a card, retirements that deserved more than a generic bouquet, nurses buying themselves something small after a run of shifts that would have floored most people and feeling slightly guilty for it.
I started Donlarrie Print because I wanted to change that. Not with a mass-produced ‘World’s Best Nurse’ mug from a supermarket but with something that knew your name, your ward, your specialism, and what you had actually been through to earn it.
Why It Is Different Here
There are thousands of nurse gift shops online and most of them are run by people who have never been near a ward, I have and that changes everything about how I design, what I write, and what I think is actually worth making.
When I design a tote bag for an ITU nurse, I am thinking about the 3am shifts, the coffee that went cold, the things that do not make it into the job description. When I write the copy on a qualification print, I am thinking about every year of training, every placement, every moment of doubt
before the certainty clicked in.
I make things that nurses recognise as true. That is the only standard I hold myself to.
What Donlarrie Print Stands For
Donlarrie Print stands for the belief that nurses deserve to feel seen, not just on NHS Appreciation Week, not just when the news needs a good story, but all year round, by the people who love them and by themselves.
Every product is fully personalised with your nurse’s name, ward, specialism, years of service and whatever makes the gift feel like it was made for him/her, and only him/her because it was.
A Note to the Nurses Reading This
If you are a nurse reading this, hello :). You found the right place. This shop was built for you and you are allowed to treat yourself here. You are allowed to buy something that marks your own 5 years, your own qualification, your own survival of the shift from hell. You spend your working life caring for everyone else. It is okay to let something care back.
Thank you for what you do every single day.
