Saturday, October 9, 2010

Business Owners With Down Syndrome

A list of organizations and businesses owned by individuals with Down syndrome. Please feel free to add more in the comment section.

Aspire CoffeeWorks - coffee shop. Employs people with developmental disabilities.
Brown Bear Products by Erik Behnke
Creekside Cookies & More
DK Arts Visual & Performing Arts Co.
DownRight Special card business
Florida Keys Art by Cinnamon
Group Hug Apparel
Inspires 2 Aspire - started in 2009 by Todd. He launched his first line of inspirational greeting cards in 2010.
Jellen's House of Fabric
KK Glass Art (update) - glass fusion jewelry
Lindseymade Originals (update) - jewelry
Michael Jurogue Johnson Painter, Illustrator, Self-Advocate
Peter's Card Shop by Peter Moisio illustrating and selling greeting cards
Poppin Joe's Kettle Korn
Simply Adorable Blankets
Steamers (update) - coffee shop
Tim's Place (update) - restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and hugs.
True Meaning Jewelry made by people with intellectual and physical disabilities.
Waggies by Maggie & Friends

Motivational Speakers/ Keynote Speakers/ Self-Advocates:
Emmanuel Bishop (facebook page)
Karen Gaffney
Robert Pio Hajjar at Ideal-Way: Seeing Ability in Disability
Sara Wolff

Business Inspired by Someone With Down Syndrome:
Down Syndrome Footprint also employs individuals with Down syndrome. Here is Matthew in one of their shirts. It was the smallest youth shirt available. No worries! Size doesn't matter when you're cute like this.
DS footprint shirt
i did it shirts by Jennifer Varanini Sanchez at Three's a Charm blog.

Other Lists:
Businesses Owned by People with Down Syndrome compiled by Missy at Yo Mamma Mamma blog.

If you have a list you'd like to share, please leave a comment. Thanks!

6 comments:

Looking Up said...

Thanks for sharing. Matthew is the cutest model! :)

Michelle said...

Great list! Tim Harris opened his own restaurant in Albuquerque, NM. http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1779773.shtml?cat=504

Rochelle said...

Great list, what an awesome blog idea! Thanks

To Love Endlessly said...

What a great idea to put this list out there.

There's also Steamers in CO http://www.steamerscoffeeshop.com/

Lindsey said...

Hi, My name is Lindsey and I have my own jewelry business. It is called: Lindseymade Originals

Here is my web site:

www.lindseymadeoriginals.com

Robin said...

I feel silly for posting a comment over a YEAR after this post was made, but I wanted to add a special community like mine and share the kind of wonderful future there is for Matthew's career. My mother works for Ridgeview High School in Orange Park Florida. She is a teacher's aid with the schools Mentally Handicapped program. Every day she and other teachers take a small group of higher functioning students (most of whom have Down syndrome) and take them to Walmart where they learn jobs like stocking shelves, folding towels, and organizing products. They go to the local nursing home/assisted living societies and wash dishes, do laundry, clean rooms. The recycling center has them come in for help with sorting. Most of the jobs they work during school hours they are later hired for after graduation. On the schools campus they run a garden in which they sell peppers to a local hot sauce company, and other vegetables are sold for profit to be used for the program. They also run a wood shop where toys, bookshelves, chairs, and other home goods are made and sold to the community. All this together teaches the students how to run a business, how to work a successful job, independence, motivation, the skills needed to be extraordinary people (which I've seen first hand and all them already are!) I don't know if your area has a program similar to this one, but its made a huge difference in a lot of lives in my home town. I wish the best to you and your son I know the road ahead isn't the easiest one, but with a mother like you by his side, the world will be his oyster.