My name’s Charlotte Robinson, and I was born and raised in Middlesbrough (though London has been my home for almost 10 years!).

I started Minus Cloud Nine during my final year of university, at a time of suffering from extreme PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Unable to focus on my work, Istarted revolving my studies around what felt achievable – and from this emerged the original illustrations, which ended up being my University 'final collection'.

During my final year at University in London, I cared for someone with very severe depression – an experience that lasted for 2 years. As their primary support system, I would always try to understand how my loved one felt, with a response being: “a huge black cloud right above my head.”

As time went by, I tried doing anything and everything I could for them. However, I ended up developing depression, anxiety and PTSD, the latter of which was triggered after watching this individual attempt suicide – an action I was unable to try and stop.

I always make it known that up until this point in my life, I was extremely ignorant (correction: uneducated) when it came to mental health. In fact, this is my main motivation behind pushing the Minus Cloud Nine agenda now.

The project goes beyond just supporting people with mental health problems. It exists to teach one another about the topic, share individual stories, and most importantly, end the stigma!

Plus, a % of every sale is donated to Mind, the national mental health charity. You can learn more about the incredible organisation here: https://www.mind.org.uk/

Always having a love for creating, I started printing my illustrations on to old jumpers in my bedroom (very badly) with very supportive friends always willing to wear and represent and they still do now, (please bin those original ones guys!) I then taught myself how to do embroidery, screen printing & digital printing and I run it all from my garage including making accesories from scratch from factory deadstock.

 

My goal is for people to view Minus Cloud Nine as an invitation to have open, honest conversations about mental health.

Through the online community we’ve created, customers can share photos of themselves wearing the brand and use the #WhyIWearTheCloud hashtag to tell their individual stories. Ultimately, I hope that these discussions will support other people going through difficult periods in their lives – just like I was back in 2015.

I would love for you to become part of the #MinusNineMovement. Below you can check out our latest posts on Instagram (@minuscloudnine) – and don’t forget to give us a follow!

We are so much more than just a brand, we are a community, you're safe with us here.