At the end of 2014 we asked Brunel University’s Product Design students to produce some stylish wheelchair accessories in our ‘Style My Chair’ competition. There were some brilliant designs and you can see them all here. The three winners included Expression Wheels, The BackBackPack and the Honeycomb cup holder. We hope to see the prototypes produced this summer.
Last year we also wrote about Open Style Lab, whose mission is similar to ours…”to make style accessible to people of all abilities”. Part of Boston’s MIT University they produced some ideas to make clothing more accessible from using magnetic buttons, to more complicated temperature regulating garb and subtly complex designs which allow people to slip clothing on and off quickly and easily. However, the most exciting thing they developed is the RAYN, a unisex hooded jacket with ‘lap cover’. It’s a great idea for wearing when sitting down in the rain and looks like any other sports jacket. The video explains and it looks like it will be on sale soon if they get enough votes for crowd funding, so vote here if you want one !!
Finally we have also been contacted by Black Pebble Medical LLC, a student collaboration launched as an educational project at the Harvard Business School. They want to give dignity to patients in the daily experience of self-catheterization. Their inaugural product is a carrying case for catheterizing equipment, as shown in the classy video below. Self-cathertization shouldn’t be embarrassing and is a way of life for many……….
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The Black Pebble Medical – Kristen Medical Supply Bag is designed to
“organize catheter equipment to facilitate ease of use and minimize risk of infection, but its most important feature is its graceful, colorful, and feminine design, inspired by the handbag lines of Michael Kors and Kate Spade”. They, like BBS, insist that there is a place for “aesthetic pleasure within the context of a chronic condition”.
The bag is available in three styles and can be bought from their website for $25. They’re also looking for input from real customers so please leave a comment on this or any of the other designs featured and we’ll pass them on. It’s inspiring that so many people are using their skills, talent and knowledge to make disability inclusive and stylish……just a different way of life.