“If you can’t stand up, stand out” A brilliant motto of sisters Izzy and Ailbhe who founded Izzy wheels which provides stylish wheel covers for wheelchairs so users can express their individuality. Izzy was born with spina bifida and has always loved to decorate the wheels of her wheelchair which helped to boost her esteem. Her sister Ailbhe’s artistic talent helped spin up a college project idea into a vibrant business named Izzy Wheels by producing stylish designs for wheelchair wheels. Through this successful venture Izzy and Ailbhe have collaborated with a host of award-winning artists, illustrators and fashion designers including Okudart, Orla Kiely, Supermundane, Maser, Camille Walala and many more. The sisters are proud recipients of several awards and recognitions such as being named on Forbes 30 under 30 2018 and Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow Award 2017. They have also been featured in magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue and TechCrunch.

What inspired you and your sister Alibhe to start “Izzy Wheels”? What do you feel is the impact of Izzy Wheels products?I: I was born with spina bifida and as a result I have reduced feeling and movement in my legs. Growing up I found it very frustrating and upsetting that there was nothing available for me to personalise my wheelchair. Ailbhe and I have always been best friends and when we were little we always loved dressing up my chair together for special occasions. Having decorated wheels gave me a huge confidence boost and attracted loads of positive attention.
Ailbhe has always been an incredible artist and she went on to study art and design in college. During her final year in 2016 she came up with the idea for Izzy Wheels. She designed a range of stylish wheel covers for wheelchairs so that users could express their individuality. Together we came up with the motto ‘If you can’t stand up, stand out’. The project gained viral success online.
We now have an online store called izzywheels.com. We provide stylish wheel covers that come in 3 sizes and attach onto any manual wheelchair. We collaborate with artists, graphic designs, illustrators, graffiti artists and fashion designs all over the world to create our designs.

How do you guys usually collaborate with designers and artists?I: We have a very long waiting list of designers who want to be part of our Izzy Wheels collections. We carefully select a number of artists, fashion designs and illustrators for each collection. We select designers who’s work really stands out to us and who have a similar ethos to us. The wheel covers are an interesting shape to design for due to their circular and rotational form. You have to take into consideration that the wheel spins around so the design must look just as good upside down and right side up. We give our designers complete creative freedom when they are designing their wheels so it’s really interesting seeing how they play around with the shape.

What is your favorite cover design and why?I: I don’t have a favourite. Each wheel cover has a special memory and story associated to it so I couldn’t choose!

What is the best thing you love about your sister Ailbhe?I: She is a very positive, bubbly and happy person and it rubs off on everyone she meets.

Designed by James Earley and photographed by Celeste Sloman, all rights reserved

What are your other hobbies?I: I love learning other languages. I am currently studying French, Sociology and Politics in college.

What is your favorite place to visit? What do you like about that place?I: I love going for pizza in a restaurant in Galway called Doughbros. They make the most amazingly delicious pizza!

Can you give some tips/advice for those in our community who want to use their ideas to start a business?I: Being self employed and doing a job that helps others is incredibly fulfilling. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing something that you’ve created bring happiness to others. If you are not extremely passionate about the business you are pursuing then you will loose motivation so pick something that it close to your heart.

Any special message for our community?I: We need to educate each other about disability and the language around it. You should never use the term ‘wheelchair-bound’. It is a very outdated term that is still used a lot in mainstream media. Nobody is ‘bound’ to their wheelchair, wheelchairs are incredible devices that grant people their freedom and increase their quality of life. As we age as a society most of us and the people we love will acquire a disability of some sort. Mobility aids don’t have to be sad, they can be incredibly beautiful and another way for you to express your sense of identity. You can follow our work on Instagram and facebook @izzywheels.