It is with sadness that Versus Arthritis has decided toclose Arthr, our start-up business designing and selling original products forpeople with arthritis. We want to thank Arthr’s staff, board, advisors and partnersfor their hard work and dedication over the last three years. We also want to say a heartfelt thank you to Arthr’s loyalcustomers and Changemakers who have generously given their time, expertise, custom and support to Arthr since 2019.

Inclusivity and Confidence in Homeware and Clothing

Accessible design should be available in all spaces and you shouldn't have to choose between function and beautiful products. We are working to make sure that your adapted products and aids not only make your life easier brighter as well.

At Arthr we are looking to spread our message in a wide variety of places and partner with people who are working and thinking in a similar way to us. On Wednesday 11th August we were lucky enough to have a fantastic zoom chat with Mary from the wonderful activewear brand Ilu and therapist Elaine Denton. We focused our conversation on all thing’s inclusivity and the impact homeware and clothes can have on your confidence.

At Arthr we want our products to make you feel empowered. We want them to give you the courage and independence to take back the parts of your life that may have been made more difficult by arthritis or a related condition. We don’t feel this should be done at the sacrifice of your personal identity or style. That is why all Arthr products are not just functional but also beautifully designed and something we hope you would be proud to have in your home.

When you are using an aid or adaptation that does not represent your identity or personality because it looks like it maybe belongs in a hospital or care home and that's not who you want to be seen as then that can be really detrimental

- Ellen Robinson

We speak to people living with arthritis daily about the aids and adaptations they have in their home. The reoccurring theme was that these products, although maybe some quite useful, were ugly, badly made and looked like they belonged in a hospital or care home. This leads many people to avoid using them altogether, they would rather continue to be challenged by their condition than put something they didn’t feel represented their identity into their home. Our homes are so important to us and for many people with arthritis we spend a lot more time in them than maybe we would like, and we shouldn’t have to sacrifice how they look just because of our condition.

Its adapted beautiful things that I can access that are just slightly adapted to make my life easier

- Elaine Denton

Arthr truly values this message and believes that we can have beautiful design without sacrificing function. We also believe that this design should be available in all spaces not just spaces made especially for adapted/disability products.

We want to show that people with arthritis don’t need new spaces created for them, they need the spaces that already exist to be open to having them included and a great start is including us in their designs.

You can watch and listen to the inspiring discussion in the video below:

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