For October’s CreativeMornings Sheffield, the city’s creatives gathered for a sneak peek of a-ten, Neepsend’s new co-working and events space. Not a hub, not an incubator, just a beautiful space for people to work. There’s private offices, a shared space and a promise of a great playlist at all times.

Ahead of the space’s official opening, CreativeMornings has taken over for CM Honesty. To share her story and share some honest truths is Annalisa Toccara. Self-publisher,  social entrepreneur and founder of Our Mel, a leading social enterprise dedicated to exploring cultural identity, Black history and what it means to be a person of colour in Britain today.

“I’ve had to work hard to be the woman I am.”

Annalisa is honest about her battle with mental health issues. She self-published her first book, Lipstick: A Woman’s Best Form Of Defence, to help other women struggling with depression and self-esteem issues. Something Annalisa herself has strived to overcome herself.

As well as writing books to help other women, Annalisa organised Sheffield’s Black Lives Matter march in 2016. A march that stirred up a passion for art, social justice, and cohesion. Passions that soon became Our Mel.

“The motivation behind Our Mel is that representation matters, stories matter and history matters”

With name inspiration coming from melanin, a pigment found in everyone’s skin. And Yorkshire’s favourite term of endearment ‘our’. Our Mel is a social enterprise inspired by Annalisa’s and Gaby’s own journeys of self-love. Our Mel encourages honest conversations about race through events, workshops and one-on-one conversations.

“Some people don’t know how to talk about race, some people shy away from it but Our Mel creates a safe space where people can speak without judgement.”

In November 2016, Annalisa and the other half of Our Mel Gaby held the first Melanin Fest, a celebration of Black History Month which hosts events all year round to showcase talent, discover what it means to be Black and British, explore a rich and vibrant culture and start conversations about race and self-love.  

With Our Mel, Annalisa has appeared on the Naked Podcast, inspired events across the UK, and changed the way people talk about race.

Annalisa began her talk with the words: “I’m fat, I’m black and a woman. But there’s more to me than that.”

And she’s right, there is so much more, too much to mention in this newsletter. Check out @our__mel to discover more.

Words: Molly McGreevy.