By Paul Richoux

It can be tough running a business. No-one knows this better than Patricia Watson who’s the managing director of Able2 Wear, a clothing company that specialises in designing and selling clothes for wheelchair users.

Where do you begin?

Patricia, along with her business partner and friend Harry Gillispie, had been making and selling high quality clothing, including police uniforms, for some time. It was when a police officer made a casual remark about him not being able to find suitable waterproof clothing for his wife, who was a wheelchair user, that Patricia was stunned into doing something about it. A little investigating told her that specially designed clothing for wheelchair users wasn’t just hard to come by, it wasn’t done at all in the UK.

A change of direction

For Patricia and Harry this marked a new beginning. “We saw there was a problem and we responded to it” says Patricia. The two of them started doing some research which included visiting a spinal injuries ward in Glasgow as well as interviewing people with various disabilities as well as carers. The order of the day was trousers. Wheelchair users largely seemed dissatisfied with the ones they got from regular clothes shops. They were very fashionable, no doubt, but also unpractical for wheelchair users. They decided to make this issue their priority. Harry had been in the clothing industry for years and possessed some rare skills in pattern making. His expert designs would go on to form the back-bone of Able2 Wear.

The tough road ahead

After starting up in 1997 they joined a healthcare group in 2002 to expand the business. This period Patricia describes as being particularly difficult as they were new to this market and were having to learn on the job. But when the group closed down all the small businesses within it in 2004, rather than allowing that to discourage them, they decided to start again.

Powering through the rough

Over the years, Patricia has had more than her fair share of curve balls thrown her way. Aggressive and illegal practices from her new competitors hurt the business in the early days. They repeatedly invaded intellectual property, which could only be fought through courts, “We couldn’t afford to do that back then” Patricia tells me. A fire in March 2008 severely damaged stock, and that same year Patricia was diagnosed with breast cancer which inevitably had a knock on effect on her time in the office with all the treatment involved.

Throughout all of this Patricia simply refused to give in. “I’ve had so many customers say ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you’ and I just thought I can’t let them down”.

The reward for perseverance

Patricia’s diligence over the years is paying off and Able2 Wear is now a successful and thriving business, which has won numerous awards and has now been selected as a finalist for the Glasgow Business Award 2013. “2012 was a good year for us” Patricia tells me proudly. She has herself been recognised for her efforts and, as of recently, may be referred to as Patricia Watson OBE. When I ask her about her award Patricia insists that she sees it not only as a personal reward but also as recognition of the need for this kind of clothing - a need which most people do not realise.  For this reason she concludes that her OBE “should be encouragement for the customers”.

For more information on Able2 Wear click here.

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