November 20, 2023
Image credit: Jessica Lane/BBC
Image caption: Nicola Swann says all her ideas came from feedback she received on social media
A Lincolnshire potter has developed a specially adapted mug for people with disabilities.
Nicola Swann, based in Heckington, near Sleaford, was asked to design a bespoke mug for a friend’s husband, who struggles to hold a mug.
So far, his only option has been a plastic baby cup, which he said he finds humiliating.
Swan designed and created a two-handed mug for him to use.
Since a social media video about her altered face went viral over the summer, she says she’s been receiving up to 100 messages a day and struggling to reply to them all.
“People are saying this is a game changer,” she told BBC Look North.
“People who wouldn’t drink in social situations because they felt embarrassed about having to drink from a plastic cup can now use a mug just like everyone else in the room and not feel like they have to use a medical aid.”
Image credit: Jessica Lane/BBC
Image caption: Swan started by designing a two-handed mug for her friend’s husband.
Her Instagram channel, “Made With Mud,” has garnered around 60,000 followers to date.
Swann says that’s where her ideas come from.
“It felt a little ableist to say, ‘This is what we think you need,’ but this (scope) all comes from feedback,” she said.
She is currently working on designing new handles that are angled and thicker for arthritis sufferers.
They also make mugs for people who use wheelchairs with headrests and can’t tilt their heads back to finish their drinks.
Angharad Brown, an artist from South Wales, bought one.
“The nose is cut out so I can pop it back in easily and drink all my coffee,” she wrote in the video.
“I immediately fell in love with pottery,” said Swan, who learned how to use a potter’s wheel eight years ago.
However, due to the popularity of the mugs, he now hires a company in the East Midlands to make moulds to his designs, glaze them and ship them out.