Custom made: Chariots of Style

When it came to his Model T, Henry Ford said you could have any colour you liked as long as it was black. Mik Scarlet looks at how personal statements can be made by customising your wheelchair

Whatever your style or fashion influences, when you’re disabled there can be one part of your life that is hard to stamp your individuality onto; the kit we have to use.

I remember when I was a teenage Goth, while the rest of me was entirely clad in black my crutches were a standard NHS grey. Ugly and not in keeping with my well planned look. The same went for my wheelchair when I gave up staggering around, and the embarrassing falling down incidents that accompanied my ungainly gate.

Nowadays, it is possible to find really cool crutches and sticks that don’t break the bank. But if you want a wheelchair that suits your own style, it can cost as much as a small car. So how can us wheelchair-users customise our buggies on a tight budget? Well it can be done.

I started messing about with my chair by bolting bicycle accessories to it. I bought new hand grips and handlebar tape and covered it to make it as black as possible. Paul and Jason from a new company called Customise Your Wheelchair customiseyour wheelchair.yolasite.com now offer sets of vinyl graphic stickers that will allow you to make your wheelchair your own, and that can be changed if you get bored or taken off if you have to return or sell on your chair.

Jason explains: “We got into this area as my son has a wheelchair and he was so fed up with how it looked and the choices on offer were so minimal. I thought the option to personalise a chair should be available to everyone”

Another part you can tweak are cushion covers. I made my own in bright fabrics, as well as the obligatory black leather. Luckily I studied fashion at college so I’m a fairly dab hand with cutting a pattern and a sewing machine. But if you’re not, don’t worry it’s not too hard. I found a great “how to guide” to measuring on eHow www.ehow.com/how_6062833_measure-size-wheelchair-cushion.html but if you just want to buy one Covers Plus covers-plus.co.uk make a nice range, including leather (which is a pig to sew together!)

Another excellent article on eHow is by Tamara Warta www.ehow.com/how_7764803_customize-wheelchair.html who gives advice on how to add lights to the bottom of your chair seat and links to a site that has every type of light you might ever need. Imagine a wheelchair that comes right out of Fast and Furious. Very street.

Of course all this tinkering becomes addictive and you might find yourself going down the same road I did and building your own design. I bought loads of parts off eBay ebay.co.uk and second hand chairs that I cannibalized, putting together totally custom builds. I even built one that made me over 1.5 metres in height sitting down. Great when you’re trying to get served in pubs but rubbish if you drop something. I’m now happily at a height of 1.4m. Companies like Sports Mobility stores.ebay.co.uk/Sport-Mobility-Custom-Wheelchairs?_trksid=p4340.l2563 sell used chairs at cut down prices as well as all manner of parts. They also powder coat frames, so you can change the colour of your existing one too.

If all this seems like too much hassle, it is becoming much easier to buy really great wheelchairs. Many companies are finally building chairs where design is as important as function. Cyclone cyclonemobility.com and RGK rgklife.com have some great chairs in their range. A UK company Nomad nomadwheelchairs.com have released a fantastic new design of chair too. My current favourite is the US based company Lasher lashersport.com/index.html who have a range of wondeful, sexy designs. They’re all so great I can’t make up my mind which one to put on my wish list. They are currently in talks with a UK distributor, and once I’ve saved up I know I’ll be the first through the door.

All I will say is, whatever your ability, if you use a chair give customising a go. It makes you feel like you own your chair, and can set you off down a road that will end with a cupboard filled with bits of scrap chair, wheels, tyres, bolts, nuts and other assorted junk. My wife hates mine... but it’s essential!