Who says that only bicycles deserve reflective stickers? Exactly, nobody! So we travelled to Düsseldorf to REHACARE, the world's largest trade fair for rehabilitation and care. 6 square metres served as a showcase for us to present our world of reflective stickers to the wheelchair community. And wow, we hadn't expected so much great and favourable feedback. Our colourful stickers not only made children's eyes light up, but also impressed specialist staff and medical supply retailers.
Where is the lifestyle?
Lifestyle and the desire for customisation options is a topic with room for improvement in the rehabilitation sector, to put it mildly. By way of comparison, you will have no problem finding accessories that are dedicated to the visual refreshment of your bike. Accessories as far as the eye can see. At REHACARE, THE leading international trade fair for rehabilitation: Not a chance! To be honest, we were a little surprised to find hardly any suppliers of creative and colourful accessories there.
This is probably one of the reasons why REFLECTIVE Berlin was so well received. The advantage of additional visibility in road traffic is of course an important factor for wheelchair users when choosing our products. However, we had the feeling that the countless personalisation options offered by our stickers were an even more important argument.
Little impact in the social discourse on people with disabilities
This is not surprising on several levels. Whilst bicycles are optional aids for getting around, those in wheelchairs are often dependent on their vehicle. The wheelchair is more or less like a pair of shoes, first and foremost a necessary commodity. The desire to give the wheelchair a personalised touch is understandably much more present.
We also need to talk about the social marginalisation of people with physical and mental disabilities at this point. People with disabilities tend to receive little public attention and accessibility is perceived as more of a technical problem that needs to be solved. The desire for coolness, self-expression and individuality has little place in a perspective that is tainted by stigma and perceived impositions.
In addition to technical solutions that undoubtedly make life easier for those affected, there is of course also the very mundane desire for opportunities to express one's personality. We seem to have struck a chord with the community with our stickers.
AVAB - All Vehicles Are Beautiful
And this community is bigger than we thought (see the problem of social invisibility). The sheer number of different vehicles and walking aids alone impressed us. The fact that so many people were keen to give their object a new look with our stickers makes us very happy and also a little proud. We would like to take this opportunity to say a big ‘Thank you!’ for all the great feedback!
Thanks are also due to MEYRA, whose prominent presentation of our foil-wrapped chairs has helped to convince forward-looking specialist retailers of the idea of offering their customers funky REFLECTIVE Berlin stickers and thus taking a step towards a more colourful world of rehab. The fact that we have made great international retailer contacts beyond Germany's borders and thus had the opportunity to place our products in a new market is a tangible success for us.
An educational experience
Above all, however, we learnt a lot and in some cases received answers to unasked questions. What motivates the wheelchair community? To what extent do we have to rethink our stand concept when we come to a trade fair where half of the visitors are not on two legs? How does this health insurance system work and does the insurance actually cover our stickers? We enjoyed sharing and learning, and we still have more to learn. We're already looking forward to it.
