HOW CAN A SUPER-COOL BIKE CHANGE THE WORLD? HINT: IF IT'S A MOBILITY AID

Here's a question: Who sets out to change the world by designing a mobility aid? 

Unexpected answer: Someone who spent years in Afghanistan building schools for girls.

A few years ago I began reading about the Alinker Walking Bike and was intrigued. So last week, with the help of a mutual friend's invitation, I set out for an Ottawa suburb to meet Barbara Alink, the social entrepreneur and inventor of the Alinker. Barbara is from the The Netherlands and although she lives in Canada now, she still speaks with a soft Dutch accent. Here's a little of our conversation.

ME: How did you become interested in therapy and rehabilitation?


B: I didn't. I am interested in designing for people. I reverse design everything. I don’t focus on fixing a problem. Instead I ask people how they want to live. Most mobility devices are technical solutions for a body with a problem. They're not designed for how you want to live. The challenge I set myself was, 'Can a mobility device be so cool that people without disabilities can wonder how they can be like you?'

John Perry Barlow, lyricist for The Greatful Dead

Model Viktoria Modesta on an Alinker (LA Fashion Week Oct 2016)

ME: So what brought you to designing for older adults and people with disabilities? 

B: Well, I am an architect and I've always been interested in social change and social inclusion. I was building schools in Afghanistan, working with the Turquoise Mountain Foundation and when I went home to The Netherlands, I happened to be out with my mother. She glanced over at some elderly people on the street who were using walkers and scooters. My mother said, "Over my dead body will I ever use one of those!" I set out design a mobility solution for my Mom, but soon discovered that I could set my sights on changing perceptions about people with mobility challenges more generally. 

ME: So what are the features of the Alinker that make it so transformational, not only for users but for the whole of society? 

B: Well, the first thing is that the rider is at eye level with everyone else. This makes conversation easy and it promotes the idea that the rider is someone on a cool bike that offers freedom of movement rather than someone who has limitations. The second thing is that it promotes physical activity. Sitting on the Alinker seat removes gravity, making the forward 'walking' motion on the ground with your feet easier. Riders can travel longer distances without being fatigued.

ME: So how can people try out or purchase an Alinker bike? 

B: The website has that information and check out our partner organizations. Some of our partners are offering members free Alinkers. 

ME: What is the cost of the Alinker? 

B: In Canada the Alinker is sold for CAD $2,480 including taxes, in the United States for USD $1,977, in the Netherlands for $1,650 EUR, in New Zealand for $2,900 NZD, and in Australia for $2,600 AUD. We don't compromise on quality, that's number one for us. There's also a crowdfunding link on our website to make it easy for people who would like to raise the funds to buy a bike that way. 

Here I am on the Alinker - it's super cool and fun to ride - definitely my choice for a mobility bike whenever I need one.

And even if you're not in the market for a mobility device, but just want to know more about what drives someone to design everything from schools in Afghanistan to mobility bikes to change the world, listen to this inspiring TEDX talk by Barbara Alink - Dignity Through Movement. 

DESIGNING WHAT WE NEED THEN AND NOW

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”

― Mark Twain

Caregivers of children or adults with mobility challenges know what I'm talking about when I say that getting your loved one dressed is a lot harder than making dinner for them.  Ensuring winter warmth is a nightmare for carers of wheelchair users. We want our loved ones with mobility challenges to look great and to be au courant with contemporary fashion trends. We need designers who understand our family life and our fashion aspirations.

Today I want to talk about an inclusive fashion innovator of the 1960's and how her work evolved into a contemporary company that's designing and producing a range of high quality, fabulous disability-friendly designs for today's caregiving families.

As it happens, our daughter Natalie Wright is a scholar in American material culture (yes, there is such a specialization in this area!). Very recently, Natalie researched the work of Florence Eiseman, a children's clothing designer in the 1960's who cared deeply about the role clothing could have to help children with disabilities function and fit in amongst their peers (remember, this was the era of polio). Eiseman was also acutely aware of using clothing to teach children to be independent dressers, thus easing the burden on caregivers.

'Florence Eiseman: Designing Childhood for the American Century' is currently on exhibit at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. Here's what Natalie wrote about Eiseman's Functional Fashions label for the exhibition catalogue:

In 1963 award-winning designer Florence Eiseman did something unexpected by creating the first commercially available, ready-to-wear high-end fashions for children with disabilities. At the invitation of leading designer and advocate for the disabled Helen Cookman, Eiseman created pieces that incorporated special features to accommodate a variety of abilities. Their project, which resulted in at least three years of Eiseman designs with Cookman’s Functional Fashions label, constitutes a fascinating case study in histories of disability, design, and childhood and their intersections in the early 1960s. Eiseman and Cookman sought to create clothing geared toward physical accommodation and psychological empowerment. This was meaningful work for Eiseman, whose design ethos presented an inclusive and progressive vision of childhood centered on the idea that “all children are beautiful.” 

Today, 'functional fashions' look different from those in the 1960's, but they're no less fabulous in their design, durability and functionality. Koolway Sports is an innovative Canadian company following in Eiseman's design footsteps. Koolway's outerwear is designed for wheelchair users of all ages, in all weather. It's designed with caregivers in mind, so it's easy to put on and take off. The bright colours and superior quality make it extremely durable and fashionable.

Florence Eiseman's designs were expensive and probably affordable only for upper-income families. Today, the superior quality of Koolway designs means they're not cheap either.  But Canadian and USA families have many ways of accessing funding assistance to ease the financial burden of dressing their loved ones with disabilities very, very well. Koolway's products make it easy for children and adult wheelchair users alike to be warm and dry outside while looking great. This clothing makes a real difference to community participation and to personal happiness - the natural by-products of great design.