Tag Archives: beauty

The Empowered Series: Abigail Style

15 Sunday May 2016

Posted by in The Empowered Series

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One of the most interesting things about being a blogger is the ability to reach and be reached by a ton of different people. As part of the Empowered series, meet Stephanae McCoy, owner/operator of Abigail Style, who wishes to use fun, everyday products to show, visually, that blindness does not mean a lack of confidence and/or fashion sense.

 

About Stephanae

Stephanae (Steph) McCoy is a retired 55 year old mother to three grown sons and a ridiculously cute 3 year old grandson whom she’s “just ga-ga over”. According to the Meyers Briggs Personality Assessment she’s a true INTJ who is an introverted, analytical, somewhat judgmental and intensely focused person who follows the rules. If you ask her sons, she says they would probably say she’s a buzz-kill but with a great sense of humor, who loves playing practical jokes on people she’s close to and seeking change especially when someone is being treated unjustly.
Steph’s vision impairment was diagnosed in 2005 after regular vision checkups, which meant that some conditions such as glaucoma were caught early but needed operation. Seven years ago she had “The talk” with a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic, who advised her that even though she did all the “right things”, due to surgeries and extreme myopia, her vision loss was irreparable.

About Abigail Style

Abigail Style (named after the white cane icon Abigail) is an online apparel and novelties boutique whose message is designed to “Improve humanity by changing the way blindness is perceived. All Abigail Style products carry her signature stylish image and fun slogans. Currently the products offered are women’s, men’s and children’s t-shirts, women’s tanks, coffee mugs, tote bags and iPhone 6/6s cases. Artist Jennifer Barrile designed the logo, and Steph created the images to be printed on the products.
Abigail Style has been open for business for a very short time, but in the future the hope is to hire a marketing director, social media strategist, and a stylist, and increase the product line to include posters, decorative pillows, and baseball caps.

Why Abigail, and What got Her Started?

There are so many stylish women who are blind or have sight loss that Steph felt it was time for a fashionable icon to represent them. Abigail is a beautiful image that evokes power, movement, independence, chicness, confidence and success, a woman on the move stepping forward with purpose.
After Abigail was created Steph reached out to her online community to request their input on a name for her. Abigail was chosen as a play on the word “abilities,” and Nightingale (the small bird that’s known for its beautiful song) – since it looks like she is wearing a divine feather dress.”

What’s Next?

Steph wants to see how far she can take Abigail as she believes the sky’s the limit. Blindness or sight loss has always been one of those taboo topics and it’s time to change this. Is it challenging for people who have previously seen to learn how to adapt to sight loss? Yes it is, but a meaningful life shouldn’t be dependent upon having eye sight and she hopes to see the negative mindset on blindness and sight loss diminish.
Once, an eye doctor told Steph that it would be a tragedy for her to learn how to use the white cane when in fact she believes the real tragedy is the shame many people feel when losing their eyesight. Having a visual image that evokes beauty, confidence and purpose is a way to change the stigma surrounding blindness and/or vision loss.

Conclusion

I want to thank Stephanae for being so open with me, and for taking the time to answer my nosy questions!
If you know someone with a disability who runs their own organization or business, please leave me a comment or find me on Twitter; I would love to feature them here. The word “inspiration” is so often used to describe us, but empowerment is what we do for ourselves.

Beauty is NOT just in the eye of the Beholder

10 Friday Jul 2015

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Sometimes people treat blindness like it’s this endless world of darkness.  Of course, in a sense of visual acuity, this might be the case for some, but certainly not all of us who live with vision impairment.  And in the figurative sense, nothing could be further from the truth.  When someone makes such comments about how drab and boring my life is, the conversation goes something like this.

Random person (RP): “Oh, I’m so sorry you can’t see.”

Me: “It’s not so bad.”

RP: “But you can’t see sunsets or pictures or…”

Me: “True, but I–”

RP: “That must be so tragic.”

And it continues in this vain.  Vision is so integral to sighted life – and, as my friend Leona so eloquently put it, such a greedy sense – that the idea of living without it is viewed as more terrifying than premature death.  I would even go so far as to state that we who live without seeing such beautiful things as sunsets, loved ones, photographs and mountaintops – or seeing them imperfectly – are thought of as “broken” people.

 

But just because I can’t see much at all – or others I’ve met in person or through social media can’t see things clearly – doesn’t mean that beautiful things can’t be appreciated visually.  Last week, I found this gorgeous article by Nicole C. Kear, author of the terrific memoir “Now I see You.”  In the article, she briefly describes what it was like to discover there would be a point at which she wouldn’t be able to see anymore, and a recent experience where she accidentally left her Iphone at home and realized she could still visually catch beautiful things around her.  I found it poignant and moving, and have enjoyed seeing her journey of losing her sight – from “carpe diem” to acceptance, sometimes one in spite of the other.  The world can also be captured through photography, and one doesn’t necessarily need great vision to create works of photographic art.  Not long ago, Dudley Hanks was interviewed about his work as a freelance photographer; in another interview, he showed how technology aids him in capturing, touching up, and developing his photos.

 

But what about those of us who’ve never had vision to begin with and have no memory or reference to colour?  Or those who simply don’t process the world visually?  We are by no means left out when it comes to enjoying the beautiful things of life.  Some have a terrific ear for music, others can identify the call of many birds around the world, still others are fantastic chefs and can find the perfect herb or spice to enhance a dish’s flavour or aroma.  I enjoy working with my hands, particularly with beads; the contrast of size and shape (and, yes, colour) is breathtaking to me.  If you’ve never gone into a bead shop, closed your eyes, and just let your fingers run through the hung strands of beads, take the opportunity and enjoy one of life’s simple pleasures.  Do as I did last weekend and take a step outside on a warm summer night (provided it’s safe to do so), close your eyes and enjoy the quiet of an evening (or the sounds of children laughing), the smell of neighborhood barbecues and backyard fire pits, and the feel of the grass between your toes  without all that greedy vision to distract you.

 

Are there times I wish I could fully see my loved ones’ faces, photographs, and nature, or get in my car and just take a scenic drive through the mountains just because it’s my heart’s desire?  Sure, of course there are.  But I think in some ways my lack of vision has allowed me to appreciate some of those little things that I can smell and touch and hear without the greediest of the five senses hijacking my enjoyment.  And just because someone’s vision isn’t perfect, it doesn’t mean it can’t be used to capture some truly beautiful things visually.  The world can be a wonderful place, filled with sights, sounds, smells, textures and flavours; treating sight like it’s the only way to appreciate beauty is itself a way of denying oneself an enhanced appreciation of beautiful things themselves.