My Life with Ailbhe Keane: I designed wheelchair covers for Barbie and Disney

Ailbhe Keane of Izzy Wheels pic Sarah Doyle

It has been many years since I first decorated my sister Izzy’s wheelchair using tinsel, ribbons and anything at our disposal.

She was just four years old at the time. We’ve been close since Izzy was born, but this was the age that she got her first wheelchair.

I have always loved art and design, so decorating Izzy’s wheelchair was one of my favourite pastimes. Not only that, but it made her so happy.

The quirky designs really changed how people interacted with Izzy. She received so many compliments. Izzy genuinely loved the reactions. Customising the chair became a really big part of our childhood. We started using the designs to mark different occasions.

Every celebration was acknowledged. Christmas was a great time for us because there were so many baubles lying around. We used an array of embellishments the remainder of the year, comprising stickers, beads, ribbons and lights. I even plucked flowers from our garden, so it was anything we could get our hands on really.

Izzy was four years younger than me and, as her big sister, I enjoyed doing nice things for her. I’ll never forget the boost it gave her self-confidence. Years went by, and we kind of forgot about the designs. That was until I enrolled in the National College of Art and Design, where I decided to channel those memories for my final year project.

While studying visual communications, I was tasked with working on a self-directed brief. I wanted to hone in on something that I really cared about. All of a sudden, the memories of decorating my sister’s wheelchair came flooding back to me.

I guess I wanted to develop the idea to explore what the designs might look like for Izzy as a young adult. It culminated in a range of designs to match all of her favourite outfits. I created an Instagram account to showcase the designs. The turning point came when I finished university and everyone was applying for jobs.

Ailbhe Keane (right), founder of Izzy Wheels with her sister Izzy who inspired the business

I didn’t know if I wanted to work in a design agency or a startup. I decided to give this a crack even though I had no experience of running a business.

We didn’t have the kind of money big brands have for photoshoots, so a lot of them we did ourselves. Friends and family got on board to help and it was all very positive. We didn’t want to position ourselves as a medical device company or anything with a clinical feel. The goal was to make the brand really fun and playful, unlike your typical brand associated with medical devices or wheelchairs. In all our shoots, we wore our own clothes. Izzy and I have a very colourful style. The brand and following started growing very naturally. It wasn’t just wheelchair users and their families who were following us. These were people who were really drawn to the colours and the positive message.

Designers started writing to us asking if they could design wheels for Izzy. We then set up an online shop. When big brands reached out to us, we started to become really selective about who we worked with. We only wanted to collaborate with brands that were loved, not just by us, but the community that followed us. The first big brand that we did a partnership with was Barbie. When I received the email from them, I just assumed we had subscribed to the company’s website. However, when I saw, at second glance, that the message was addressed to us personally, I was in utter disbelief.

The company described the project as “top secret.” They wanted us to work with them on creating little Izzy wheels for Barbie chairs that matched their outfits. Fans of the product could also buy the Barbie wheelchair covers. We really wanted more kids to know about mobility devices and not see them as something scary. The fact that Izzy didn’t have a doll that looked like her made this even more important to us. It was a way of normalising mobility devices and making them something fun for kids as well as using them an educational tool.

Ailbhe Keane (right), with her sister Izzy showcasing their new Disney themed wheelchair covers

Our ultimate dream came true when we got a call from Disney two years ago. We have so many customers who are kids and Disney has created such beautiful characters and artwork over the years.

When coming up with designs for them, we always look at what is in fashion at that moment. Whether it’s florals or pastels, I get to create all the artwork. They will tell me what’s popular for them, but we get the final say. They are just honestly so nice to work with.

You have the characters like Cinderella and Belle, and then you have the newer princesses like Moana, who are loved by little girls the world over. Disney also own Marvel, which is great because there are so many little boys who love these characters. We do a collection with Disney every year, and they donate all their royalty fees to the Make a Wish Foundation. It’s collaborations like these that make all the hard work worthwhile.

• izzywheels.com