{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1793579"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1793579/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1793579","accessionNumber":"T.83:1/1, 2-2026 and T.83:2/1, 2-2026","objectType":"crutches","titles":[{"title":"‘Classic Diamanté Crutches’","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"Established in 2006, the UK brand Cool Crutches produce customisable, CE (Conformité Européenne) certified crutches and walking sticks widely known for their comfort, functionality, adaptability and availability in a wide range of designs. \n\r\nThe company was established by Amelia Peckham and her mother, Clare Braddell, after Peckham sustained a spinal injury. Dissatisfied with the standard hospital crutches with which Peckham was issued and alternatives available on the market, the pair wanted to create comfortable, quiet crutches with soft-grip moulded handles, originally made in black. Prompted by feedback from Peckham’s friends who had been using mobility aids for longer, they started to produce different finishes, later going on to offer Plain, Patterns &amp; Prints, Glitter, and Diamanté ranges and the opportunity to purchase bespoke personalised crutches. In an interview with <i>Country Living</i>, Peckham observed, ‘To people who have had an accident, crutches are like shoes. You want them to look good.’ The award-winning brand introduced walking sticks in 2019 and mobility aids for children in 2023.\n\r\nFeatures of this walking stick include a moulded handle with a machine-washable neoprene grip, a wrist strap, a height adjustment clip designed to secure the chosen height and eliminate clicking, and a shock-absorbing rubber ferrule. It demonstrates the vinyl wrap technique with which Cool Crutches is closely associated. First ordered for the July 2023 Disability Pride Month, this bespoke wrap references the Disability Pride flag.\r\n","physicalDescription":"A pair of black crutches, the shafts of which are decorated with silver diamantés or Zodiac rhinestones (approximately 2,100 per crutch). Each crutch is made up of this adorned aluminium element with a moulded plastic handle and two-part cuff above, an inner aluminium pole, two plastic clips for adjusting the height, a lower seal, a ridged shock-absorbing rubber ferrule and a soft neoprene grip. Designed to separate into three parts for packing.","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Cool Crutches","id":"AUTH406059"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"rubber","id":"AAT12941"},{"text":"aluminium","id":"AAT11015"},{"text":"plastic","id":"AAT14570"},{"text":"glass","id":"AAT10797"},{"text":"rhinestone","id":"AAT10806"},{"text":"diamanté","id":"x33303"}],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"aluminium, plastic, rubber and glass Zodiac rhinestones or diamantés","categories":[{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Disability","id":"THES268732"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"SHLN","id":"THES49063"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"SHLN","id":"THES49063"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES404277"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES404277"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"crutch","id":"AAT236308"}],[{"text":"accessory","id":"AAT251645"}],[{"text":"crutch","id":"AAT236308"}],[{"text":"accessory","id":"AAT251645"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"UK","id":"x29336"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"Europe","id":"x28842"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"2023","earliest":"2023-01-01","latest":"2023-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":"first made"},{"date":{"text":"2024","earliest":"2024-01-01","latest":"2024-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"this example (right-hand grip)"},{"date":{"text":"2026","earliest":"2026-01-01","latest":"2026-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"this example (left-hand grip)"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Cool Crutches and Walking Sticks","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Weight","value":"730","unit":"g","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"crutch","note":"Cool Crutches website"},{"dimension":"Height","value":"890","unit":"mm","qualifier":"at its shortest","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"crutch","note":"Cool Crutches website"},{"dimension":"Height","value":"1260","unit":"mm","qualifier":"at its longest","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"crutch","note":"Cool Crutches website"},{"dimension":"Diameter","value":"18","unit":"mm","qualifier":"aluminium cane","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"crutch","note":"Cool Crutches website"},{"dimension":"Width","value":"19","unit":"mm","qualifier":"ferrule","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"crutch","note":"Cool Crutches website"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"cool crutches CC","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Shaped in the black plastic close to the handle."},{"content":"'PAT. M.U. 9603028'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Shaped in the black plastic between the cuff and handle."}],"objectHistory":"The right-hand grip crutch and associated neoprene grip were displayed in the <i>Design and Disability</i> exhibition at V&A South Kensington (2025–6) and V&A Dundee (2026). They were acquired during the course of the exhibition as a donation from Cool Crutches and Walking Sticks. The company also donated a matching crutch and neoprene grip to form a pair, and a ‘Disability Pride Flag Walking Stick’ with a neoprene grip which also featured in the exhibition.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"‘Classic Diamanté Crutches’, aluminium, plastic, rubber and glass Zodiac rhinestones, with neoprene ‘Padded Grips for Crutches’, Cool Crutches, UK, made in Europe, 2023, this pair 2024–6 (right-hand grip made in 2024, left-hand grip made in 2026)","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"<i>Design and Disability</i>, exh. cat., Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2025\r\n\r\n"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Lisa Joyner, ‘A Life-Changing Accident Left Me Feeling Invisible. Now I Want People to Notice My Crutch: Entrepreneur Amelia Peckham on Making Crutches Cool Again and Empowering the Next Generation’, <i>Country Living </i>website (22 August 2024), https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/countryside/a61895097/amelia-peckham-cool-crutches-interview/"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"1.31\r\n[Blind and Low Vision icon of an eye with diagonal lines on the left and a larger diagonal line going through the middle]\r\nLarge Print Guide\r\n\r\nCustomised walking stick with Disability Pride flag pattern and diamanté encrusted crutches\r\n\r\nMobility aids like crutches and walking sticks are used by all kinds of people. But standard issue mobility aids are designed as a one-style-fits-all, and for many they feel plain and uncomfortable. Cool Crutches, co-founded by Amelia Peckham and Clare Braddel following Peckham’s own spinal injury, create customisable walking sticks and crutches in an array of colours and sizes. Confidence, comfort and self-expression are at the centre of their design principles. \r\n\r\nCool Crutches\r\n2024\r\nMetal, plastic\r\nUnited Kingdom\r\n\r\n<i>Design and Disability </i>exhibition at V&A South Kensington (2025–6) and V&A Dundee (2026)\r\n\r\n","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["T.83:1/1-2026","T.83:1/2-2026","T.83:2/1-2026","T.83:2/2-2026"],"accessionNumberNum":"83","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":2026,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-08-13","recordCreationDate":"2024-12-13","availableToBook":false}}