Taking Born Just Right to the Next Level

Two years ago, Born Just Right started creating more design workshops for kids with physical differences. We have tested different ways to introduce design and encourage iterations while building a level of confidence that can come from creating something from scratch.

Next week, Born Just Right plans to work with five of our workshop attendees and work toward our next phase: A youth design consultancy. This is a group of young people who have shown they understand the design process and they want to continue to grow their skills into a possible career. This group is full of potential and insight!

How The Consultancy Is Coming Together

We are stepping out of the maker space and into a meeting room on the campus of the University of Missouri. These previous attendees of BOOST by Born Just Right will travel to Columbia, Missouri and spend a week collaborating and developing a consultancy. These are young designers who can offer fresh perspectives on inclusive design.

Our senior program director, Kate Ganim, is taking the lead. She will support the group of five work to collaborate, brainstorm, and develop a business plan. We have a temporary consultancy name but the team gets to develop a name they want to use. I can’t wait to see what can happen.

Why a Consultancy?

The consultancy concept comes as the next step in Born Just Right’s goal to create more job paths for attendees of our workshops. The combination of design skills and a disability perspective created the opportunity to work with the Barbie design team. Born Just Right helped provide insight to develop the new Fashionistas prosthetic-wearing Barbie doll. We want to make sure more companies have an easy time finding young people who are not afraid to give full insight into products or product development.

This is a group of kids who are ready to lead. We believe in their potential to provide insight to industries looking for more inclusive perspectives. If you are interested in partnering with us, reach out to Jen or Kate. If you are in the Columbia, Missouri area, we would love your support of donations to downtown restaurants or even snacks. I’m working on daily activities and meals for everyone after the daily consultancy work that ends at 5 PM. We are incredibly lucky to have a friend donate her house for the week. The Missouri School of Journalism Library kindly donated a workspace for the week. This is a real growth process for Born Just Right with the support of our community – near and far!