When I was first tentatively dipping my toes into the world of wheelchairs for chronic illness, I was rather upset, although unsurprised, to find that so much of what was out there looked like it wasn’t made with younger people, or quite frankly, people that cared very much about aesthetic in mind.
I’m not quite sure how I first found out about Izzy Wheels, but from the first time I saw them on Instagram, I was in love with what they do – and to this day remain sad that I don’t have a chair with wheels big enough to fit their beautifully designed wheel covers.
The business is run by two sisters, Ailbhe and Izzy Keane, who have created a globally recognised brand that has been featured in places like Teen Vogue and Cosmopolitan, and both sisters have been featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. They’re truly making a huge impact in changing the perception of mobility aids – and I just had to find more.
So for today’s post, I was delighted to have the opportunity to interview both sisters, and to showcase some of their beautiful products.
Keep reading to learn more about Izzy Wheels and how these entrepreneurs built a business around their motto: “if you can’t stand up, stand out!”.
Tell us about Izzy Wheels!
Ailbhe: Izzy Wheels are a range of stylish wheel covers for wheelchairs. The prints for the wheels are created by famous artists and major brands from around the world.
What is your background and why did you decide to start your business?
Ailbhe: I studied Visual Communications at The National College of Art and Design Dublin. For my final year project in 2016, I was given a brief to ‘Empower the lives of people living with a long term lifestyle-related health condition’.
I began creating colourful wheel covers for my sister’s wheelchair to match her outfits so her wheelchair expressed her style. The project went viral on the internet and we began getting messages from people all over the world wondering where they could buy our designs.
We set up an online store a few months later and began collaborating with lots of other big designers. We have now collaborated with 60 designers and are selling in 35 countries.
Izzy, can you tell me how you felt when your sister first made you a pair of wheelchair covers?
When Ailbhe decided to focus on improving the aesthetics of wheelchairs for her final year project in college I was absolutely delighted. From the moment I put on my first set of wheel covers I was overjoyed.
Growing up I had always found it really difficult to represent my wheelchair as something positive to someone who was meeting me for the first time and didn’t have any previous knowledge or experience of disabilities.
The very first day I left my house wearing my brand new wheel covers I knew we had uncovered a really effective way of showing my beloved medical device as the positive thing I believe it to be.
I had strangers coming up to me and saying ‘Oh my God, your wheelchair is soo cool’ rather than giving me accidental looks of pity which is what I had become so accustomed to up to that point. It was the best feeling ever!
What makes Izzy Wheels different?
Ailbhe: Izzy Wheels began as a passion project. I saw first hand how much confidence the wheel covers I created gave my sister. I wanted other wheelchair users to receive the same positive attention and that’s why we set up the business.
Can you tell us about the role you play in the business?
Izzy: I am the brand ambassador of Izzy Wheels. When we are about to launch new collections I get to be the first person to wear the designs and model them for fashion shoots.
I have the privilege of being able to hear lots of people’s stories about their own personal relationships with their wheelchairs through social media.
Can you walk me through the process of sourcing and creating your first product? If you have any initial sketches etc that’d be super helpful!
Ailbhe: When I was still in college I experimented with lots of different shapes and types of plastics. We wanted our wheel covers to be waterproof, lightweight and easy to put on and take off. It was a process of trial and error for a few months until we found the perfect material.
We are from Ireland so we are used to lots of rain and harsh weather conditions. Izzy has been a wheelchair user all of her life so she was able to tell me what suited and what didn’t.
We sourced a digital printer in Dublin and still create all of our products locally.
What impact has Izzy Wheels had on your life?
Izzy: Izzy Wheels is honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me. It has given me such an amazing platform to provide a perspective on disability which had been completely under-represented in the media until very recently (that being a positive perspective on disability).
Izzy Wheels has really reminded me that as a wheelchair user I am actually part of a huge community even if it doesn’t feel like that all the time.
Last but not least Izzy Wheels has allowed me to travel to some absolutely incredible places like New York to the Teen Vogue Head office and Denmark for Copenhagen Fashion Week.
It’s been really exciting seeing Izzy Wheels being featured in such high profile publications! Can you share a little bit about how you grew your business and got it to the place you’re in today?
Ailbhe: I really believe in the mantra ‘The harder you work the luckier you get’.
Izzy Wheels has grown into what it is today from the incredible amount of commitment and passion we pour into it every day. I love what we do and I am obsessed with making it better and better all the time.
I come from a design background so the attention to detail in every image and visual we put out is super important to me.
After I finished Uni I applied for a start your own business training course with Enterprise Ireland. I did business workshops and got mentoring in marketing, finance, sales, and pitching.
I used to be very shy and absolutely terrified of public speaking. When you have a business you need to be able to talk to a crowd of people and investors with confidence, so the pitch training became unbelievably useful.
In order to learn more about the day to day running of a business, I decided I needed to speak to as many founders as I could. I went to lots and lots of networking events for the first few months and entered numerous startup competitions. You can pick up so many tricks from speaking to other people who run businesses even if what they sell is totally different!
We set up our studio in a startup co-working space in Dublin city center in 2017 and we are still based there. It’s really exciting being surrounded by other small businesses and it means we are still learning from the people around us.
What has been your proudest moment since starting your business?
Ailbhe: Every time someone sends us a photo of themselves modeling their wheel covers I am overwhelmed with joy.
Why do you think design is so important when it comes to mobility aids?
Ailbhe: Mobility aids increase people’s quality of life and need to be celebrated and respected.
Having decorated wheels opens up conversation and acts as an icebreaker. When a person adds colour and style to their mobility devices it breaks down the stigma of mobility devices being something negative.
How do you work with designers and choose the designs for your wheel covers?
Ailbhe: We’ve had applications from over a thousand artists, graphic designers, design studios, fashion brands and up and coming designers.
We try and keep our selection as diverse as possible. We choose designers whose work really stands out and who have a similar ethos to us.
What are your favorite pair of Izzy Wheels out of all the designs?
Izzy: To be perfectly honest picking my favourite set of wheel covers would be like picking a favourite child for me!
I have so many incredible memories associated with each design so I really can’t choose. I love them all so much!
Can you talk us through the pricing of your wheel covers?
Ailbhe: We are a small business and all of our wheel covers are made to order, hand-wrapped and each customer receives a hand-written letter from Izzy and I. Izzy Wheels are so much more than a product, they are a work of art.
How do you feel the market for attractive mobility aids/products for mobility aids for disabled people has changed over the years? Do you feel as though things are improving, or are there still challenges to making them more mainstream?
Ailbhe: There are a few businesses popping up which is exciting. Some of our favourite brands working in the space are FFORA, ALLELES Design Studio, and Open Bionics.
I think we still have a long way to go before fashion for differently-abled people is mainstream but we need to keep pushing.
There needs to be more far more diversity in the people who run the major fashion companies. Having differently-abled people on the advisory boards of big companies would really change the game.
Are you facing any challenges running your business?
Ailbhe: Of course! Like every business, there are highs and lows but that’s just part of running a startup.
Learning to not be afraid to ask for help has been really important. You can’t be an expert in everything so don’t be too hard on yourself. We are a small business and we put a huge amount of time and love into every order.
Our customers and community are the most important thing for us. All of our products and packaging are made here in Ireland and we don’t outsource any of our production to China etc.
Each pair of wheel covers are made to order so there is no dead stock and no waste. It may be more expensive to do this but it’s better for the environment and better for the local economy.
What advice would you give to someone who is looking to start a business in this space?
Ailbhe: Speak to as many people as possible who you think would want to use your product. There’s no point in creating something that you think looks cool if nobody will want to buy it.
Do you work with disabled people beyond them being spokes people?
Ailbhe: Some of the artists we work with are wheelchair users themselves. Our studio is fully wheelchair accessible so as our team grows it’s a suitable space for differently-abled people to work.
What can we expect to see from Izzy Wheels in the future?
Ailbhe: We have some other huge brand collaborations being released in 2020 which we’re so thrilled about. As a duo, we are also traveling around to schools, businesses, and conferences teaching people about diversity and equality, entrepreneurship and innovation, disability fashion, and women in business.
A huge thank you to Ailbhe and Izzy for taking the time to answer my questions! You can learn more about Izzy Wheels on their website, and see their latest designs and examples of how people are styling their own wheels on Instagram.
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It is great what those two sisters are doing making this particular for wheelchair for people who desperately need it when they have to go to specific places which are hard to walk.
Beautiful!