A Sunshine Coast local’s unique creations are taking the world by storm, including gracing the podium at the 2024 Paralympics.
Jo Chambers is the creator and founder of Colour My Wheels, a business that creates decorative wheelchair covers.
She originally started the business after being inspired by her own mother.
“I started it 18 months ago after my mum went into a wheelchair a number of years ago, so she was kind of the catalyst for me,” said Ms Chambers, from Noosa.
“I wanted to bring colour and joy into her world, and that’s what got me started with this.”
Ms Chambers also wanted to create a product that made customers feel ‘seen’.
“A customer said the biggest thing for him is that people no longer see his disability; he has people approaching him all the time wanting to talk about his wheel covers. He just said to me he feels human,” Ms Chambers said.
“I’m selling the feeling of being seen, it’s not just the product.”
Ms Chambers’ decorative wheelchair covers showcase the artwork of seven Australian artists, including two Indigenous artists, alongside two from Canada.
“I have one contemporary Indigenous artist Bronwyn David, and one traditional Indigenous artist Brodie George, and she actually just showed at New York Fashion Week,” Ms Chambers said.
“All of their artworks have stories behind them which go to the Ancestors and the land that are so beautifully woven within the artwork.”
Colour My Wheels is an Australian-first.
“I am the first business in Australia to dedicate themselves solely to creating wheel covers for wheelchairs,” Ms Chambers said.
Despite Ms Chambers’ designs being decorative, they do also offer practical benefits by covering the spokes of the wheelchairs.
“There are some wheelchair users that are actually very fascinated by their spokes and like to watch them, but put their own hands in them. So it becomes a very protective sort of barrier for them as well,” Ms Chambers said.
Her designs have been showcased on some of the biggest stages, including the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
“Honestly it’s kind of hard to express how amazing it was to actually watch the Paralympics on TV and go ‘I did those!’,” Ms Chambers said.
Her covers were used by four Australian Paralympians, including outrigger canoe bronze medallist Susan Seipel.
Canadian silver medallist Brianna Hennessy, who shared the podium with Ms Seipel, also had one of Ms Chambers’ covers.
However, it has not been an easy road for Ms Chambers.
“It’s been a really tough 18 months where sometimes it would have been easier to give up, so to see them there at the Paralympics and go, ‘OK, we’ve come this far, this is fantastic’,” Ms Chambers said.
She also prides herself on the sustainable nature of her designs.
“I really did not feel like it was the right thing to do to put another plastic product out into the world without doing it really responsibly,” Ms Chambers said.
“I started right from the beginning and sourced the most sustainable eco-friendly products that I could.”
Ms Chambers is hoping to use Colour my Wheels to help obtain more funding for para-athletes.
“I have recently been made aware of the costs of what it is for a young athlete to perform at an elite level while trying to hold down a job, pay rent, go to training every morning and every evening, feed themselves an athlete diet and all the rest of it,” Ms Chambers said.
“Para-athletes have all these additional challenges, logistics and special equipment that an able-bodied athlete does not endure.
“I am so passionate about awareness and trying to obtain funding for these athletes, so they can perform at an elite level without the major stress of finance.
“I would love to partner with corporations who would love their logos and branding on wheel covers,” she said.
Colour My Wheels designs can be purchased here.
Kelsey Reid is a journalism intern with Sunshine Coast News.
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