DAVE ‘Freddie’ Matthews loved life. And the thing he most loved about living, aside from his family of course, was going climbing.

Mountaineering took him all over the world, and in his youth, he conquered some of the globe’s most iconic peaks, including Pakistan’s K2, known as the ‘Savage Mountain’ because of the danger and difficulty of its ascent.

Later, he belonged to a small group called the Happy Climbers, with whom he still travelled but also enjoyed more local climbs, such as Peel Crag at Hadrian’s Wall and Corsenside’s Great Wanney.

“He was a fantastic climber,” said his daughter, who is also called Freddie.

But there was one summit Dave couldn’t scale – in late 2014, following two years of unexplained illness, he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system and despite chemotherapy, within five months he had died. He was 75.

“As you can imagine it was a really hard time,” Freddie recalled. “It was very quick from the diagnosis and I have to say that I wasn’t very well. In fact I was totally depressed and lost an awful lot of weight.

“I loved my dad so much and I was so close to him. He would always be the one I would confide in.”

In the weeks leading up to his death in February 2015, Freddie helped Dave plan his funeral.

“One of his favourite sayings was, ‘I’d rather be climbing’ – he had a mug with that written on and he had the mug on top of his coffin because he wanted it with him,” said Freddie.

But staying strong for her father took its toll, and some days Freddie couldn’t even face leaving the house.

“One day a friend of mine, who was trying to get me out, said: ‘Let’s do a craft day’.

“But it was in Whitley Bay and was going to cost about fifty quid so I said, ‘Come on, we’re creative, let’s do something ourselves.’

Her friend said she had some wool stashed away and, puzzling over what materials she might bring, Freddie remembered her dad’s climbing rope.

“Amongst some of the treasures he left behind was a collection of beautiful climbing rope and I hadn’t been able to bring myself to throw it away,” said Freddie, who lives with her mum, Dorothy Savile, in Prudhoe.

Here was the perfect opportunity to upcycle it into mementos for her family and friends.

“To begin with, I wove a lovely mat for myself and a selection of bowls for my family,” she said.

Within a week she’d prepared a powerpoint presentation about her prospective business – turning retired climbing ropes into weird and wonderful objects.

“My mum was on holiday in Sweden visiting my brother at the time, and when she got back I said, ‘I’ve got an idea for a business’,” said Freddie.

Because of the anxiety she had encountered as a result of her father’s death, Freddie was referred for help from the now defunct Northern Pinetree Trust, a charity that provided business start-up support to people with disabilities or mental health problems.

“I got a business adviser who was amazing, and he said he hadn’t seen anything like it.

“He said, ‘Let’s do this’, and by the Christmas I was trading at Christmas markets, and God love them, all my friends turned out for duty!”

Her company, ‘Hanging by a Fred’, officially began trading in November, 2015.

“So I’m still quite new, but I have gone from strength to strength and I’m quite proud of myself,” Freddie added.

It is all quite a departure from her old job as a project manager for Tyne and Wear Museums.

On leaving Prudhoe High School, Freddie went on to gain a degree in archaeology followed by an MA in Heritage Education and Interpretation from Newcastle University.

Now she creates funky jewellery, like statement necklaces and bracelets, as well as a ‘survival range’ of men’s watches that incorporate a firelighter, compass, whistle and paracord you can unravel to fashion a makeshift shelter.

Of course, she has long since run out of her dad’s rope, so she has to source it second hand from willing benefactors. “I’m always on the lookout for good rope!” she said.

She has developed a website and been accepted on the quirky ‘Not On the High Street’ online store.

Her work – ‘for him, for her and for the home’ – is also sold through outlets including Allendale Forge and Elements in Rothbury.

Dorothy gets ‘roped in’ too for fairs such as the North Tourism Fair and Meet the Maker event held at Hexham Mart last week, and at Freddie’s Sunday stall at Newcastle’s quayside market.

“Mum likes to tell people she’s my unpaid helper,” Freddie said.

“But I do get paid in jewellery,” Dorothy smiled, showing off her chunky necklace.

Dorothy, a retired area manager for Wellburn Care Homes, first met Dave when she was on holiday in Majorca with a girlfriend.

“He was from Leicester and was a great footballer,” she said. “We met on holiday and then when we got back home, he rang me. I hadn’t realised, but he had taken one of my luggage tags off my case and looked me up in the phone book!”

He became a loving stepfather to Freddie and Steve, Dorothy’s two children from a previous marriage.

Dorothy said she was sure Dave would have approved of the wittily- named business.

“He would be really proud of her, he would,” she said.

And for her part, Freddie, who never quite caught the climbing bug, despite her dad’s best efforts, said she was pleased to have learned the ropes, albeit in a different way.

“I know it sounds awful, but I would not change a thing because I think if my dad knew that his passing would give me this new lease of life, he would choose that.

Everything I do is about him, so every day is a celebration of him.”