A North Yorkshire business making crutches and walking sticks is putting its best foot forward as one of Britain’s best small businesses.
Cool Crutches & Walking Sticks is a finalist in the Digital Star Award at this year’s Small Awards, run by Small Business Britain.
Cool Crutches and Sticks was co-founded in Cheltenham in 2006 by Amelia Peckham and her mum Clare Braddel after Amelia suffered a life-changing quad biking accident aged 19, the previous year.
Amelia developed a spinal cord injury that left her partially paralysed from the waist down and she feared she would never walk again.
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Using NHS crutches proved painful, leading her to create crutches that were lightweight, colourful and stylish.
The family relocated to the Harrogate area in 2017 and Cool Crutches and Sticks has grown into a successful online business that sells crutches and walking sticks in a range of designs and colours.
Its products have been used by celebrities including Amanda Holden, Eamon Holmes, Olly Murs, Jonny Bairstow, Frank Dettori and Dame Prue Leith.
Last year, the company, based in Fountains Road, Harrogate, was one of 12 finalists in National Women’s Enterprise Week, a UK-wide celebration of female-led businesses.
It was also one of 100 firms highlighted by Small Business Saturday for Amelia’s entrepreneurial spirit in creating the company to solve a personal need and developing it into a flourishing enterprise that prioritises both functionality and style for mobility aids.
Since Amelia ran the business full-time since 2021, it has enjoyed ‘whirlwind’ growth and with six staff and further expansion planned as it moves into supplying private hospitals, clinics and shops.
As with Lyndsey Watterson of York, whose customers for her Neo Walk sticks and canes include Hollywood celebrities, as the Press recently reported, Amanda sees her devices as transforming walking aids as glasses have done so in recent decades.
Now, it has been selected as one of just eight finalists for the Digital Star Award for best digital only business, which highlights small businesses that only sell online, showing innovation in web design and functionality and growth of sales.
Michelle Ovens, Founder of Small Business Britain, said: “The Small Awards is all about celebrating the inspiring small business owners who are at the heart of the economy and their communities.
“They are an opportunity to recognise and applaud the passion and resilience of the nation’s small firms, particularly amidst such turbulent times. Cool Crutches & Walking Sticks is extremely deserving of being shortlisted for this award and we can’t wait to celebrate with them in May.”
Amelia Peckham said: “Our mission is to establish Cool Crutches as the UK's most innovative and empowering walking aid brand, and we are thrilled to be a finalist in this category!”
The winners will be announced in London at an awards ceremony on May 16.
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