
Today, Martyn Hett's friend sadly confirmed that he had died in the Manchester Arena bombing.
Russell Hayward called Martyn, who had been missing since Monday night, 'iconic and beautiful'.
This was just as true last year, when an act of incredible kindness from Martyn was reported on around the world.
After his mother failed to sell many items at a charity craft fair, Matyn rallied the internet and quickly made her store a viral hit.
indy100 are re-sharing this story today to remember Martyn.
The dreams of a mother on the brink of giving up knitting, after she only sold two items all day at a craft fair, were kept alive thanks to her son - and the help of the internet community.
Martyn Hett texted his mum, Figen, to see how she was, and her reply was heartbreaking:
My mum has set up her own stall at a craft fair and has messaged me to say she hasn't sold anything yet and my hear… https://t.co/nFhqUoK7tJ— Martyn (@Martyn) 1480163270
Not long after he tweeted, a friend bought one of his mum’s glove monsters:
My heart is melting, thank you @LiamLambrini for being her first customer https://t.co/m7xjNDz9Cc— Martyn (@Martyn) 1480450522
Then her sales trebled:
Omg guys please continue to buy things, THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY. Her shop is here: https://t.co/wjSvW7sxVQ https://t.co/iQ0WL4qW3Z— Martyn (@Martyn) 1480451429
And trebled again:
What a beautiful end to this story 😭😭😭 I'm weeping. KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE HERE >> https://t.co/wjSvW7aX4i https://t.co/wnHpNdPq0i— Martyn (@Martyn) 1480624074
And her customers were very satisfied:
Thank you so much @FigenMurray for Flora, I promise to take so much care of her 💞 https://t.co/XRIwRzlleQ— Liam (@Liam) 1480716739
@martynhett my teddy has just arrived ! It's beyond adorable !! 🐻 https://t.co/b2C8w339d3— Glen Scott (@Glen Scott) 1480703695
Soon, her online store was reaching new levels of popularity:
@martynhett Your mum's shop is our top active webpage right now! #sonoftheyear— Depop (@Depop) 1480628718
Requests have been coming from across the world:
She's going global! 🌎 https://t.co/AeB82EH0Za— Martyn (@Martyn) 1480626319
And it's becoming difficult to keep up:
To everybody messaging me RE: my mum's shop, I'm finding it really hard to keep up with all the messages but she does ship internationally— Martyn (@Martyn) 1480963150
Met up with me mam for the first time since her viral fame. She's stocked up on materials and has had a very busy w… https://t.co/JAqo3d12Wg— Martyn (@Martyn) 1480860150
Martyn told indy100 his mum found the attention a little overwhelming, but has used it for good:
She's donating money to a local counselling charity, Beacon Counselling, and she's also had lots of messages from people who want specific hearts making in honour of relatives who are no longer with them etc. so it's been quite heartwarming for her to be able help people.
I had no idea it would blow up like it did, but I'm happy it did. My mum is such a character and I like that the world seem to have as much affection for her as I do now!
But Figen also has another project on-the-go now:
Omg she's bought this book to help her cope with her new followers/fanbase on twitter 😂😂 I just love her https://t.co/9R1pUmlYt9— Martyn (@Martyn) 1480870286