In this episode we interview Maegan Blau of Blue Copper Design, an interior design company that specializes in adaptive designs for everyday spaces. Maegan talks us through her design process, including incorporating themes and hues from the environment (especially the desert in her home state of Arizona) into home interiors. Learn more about what universal design means for accessible living and how we all can benefit from built-in accessibility as we move through life's spaces.
For more information about Abilities in Motion, go to our website at: https://www.abilitiesinmotion.org/ or you can follow us on social media.
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In this episode we interview Maegan Blau of Blue Copper Design, an interior design company that specializes in adaptive designs for everyday spaces. Maegan talks us through her design process, including incorporating themes and hues from the environment (especially the desert in her home state of Arizona) into home interiors. Learn more about what universal design means for accessible living and how we all can benefit from built-in accessibility as we move through life's spaces.
For more information about Abilities in Motion, go to our website at: https://www.abilitiesinmotion.org/ or you can follow us on social media.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbilitiesinMotionPA
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abilitiesinmotion/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSEXzEkE_CK5WYmOhMAN4Aw
Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by Abilities in Motion. I'm your host, Shelly Houser. Join us for real conversations and no nonsense talk from everyday people with disabilities, living their most independent everyday lives. Tune in for the latest news surrounding disability, accessibility, and independence, where conversations aren't dissed and stories that need to be told aren't missed. So let's talk.
Shelly:Welcome back, everyone, to Disability Talks. This is your host Shelly Houser, and today's guest is Maegan Blau. Is that right, Maegan? And she is from Blue Copper Design all the way out in the state of Arizona, where it's hotter than it is here in Pennsylvania. I found Maegan in a Food and Wine magazine during our COVID little vacation back in March. And, uh, I found that Maegan has a little design company with some really big ideas. Maegan's fresh adaptable designs, make it easy for everyone to enjoy. So many times designers create their spaces first, and don't consider persons with disabilities and designing for everyone in need. I love Meghan's vision and her passion comes from the heart and her knowledge of adaptable designs. She integrates aesthetics with accessibility in a functionally beautiful way. Welcome, Maegan. Good morning.
Maegan:Thanks, Shelly. Thank you for having me.
Shelly:Yes. So, like I said, I found you in Food and Wine during this little COVID break that we all had and, um, in talking to you and on social media, I've found that you've gotten some really, really creative ideas of how to make things way more functional, not just for yourself, but even for somebody like me.
Maegan:I mean, I think, um, I am a disabled woman and I think something that, uh, happens in our community is we only think of our own disabilities and I've been guilty of that in the past--um, where, you know, I haven't really considered people with different kinds of disabilities until recently. So and within the past few years, like really trying to be conscious and keep my mind open of like, oh, this is like a huge world of people that is even, even though I'm a part of it, it's bigger than myself.
Shelly:And it's, once you open that flood gate, then you start thinking of all kinds of different things.
Maegan:Yeah. And for me, um, it's exciting--like, that is exciting to me. Like, I get really excited about that because there's just so many perspectives and, uh, possibilities, I guess, for ways to be creative and like serve peoples.
Shelly:How has it been working with the contractors as far as educating them? I mean, once you open that flood gate in their mind to think outside the box, do they start getting a little more creative each time you work with them?
Maegan:Um, yeah, I would say so. I've worked with two main contractors, um, for my projects. And then obviously, like, when we do furniture jobs, we don't need contractors. So, um, yeah, I do feel like the two that I've worked with majority, like for the majority of my career, um, they kind of get the hang of it now. It's not so much that maybe they're getting more creative, but they're definitely just more open-minded, which to me is just as valuable. Um, so instead of being like, well, this is the way we do it, they're, they're questioning the way that they've done things in the past or the way that they know to do things. I have been able to prove to them, like, it can be done this way. Um, they get more confident in my, in my creativity, I guess.
Shelly:So I guess we should back up for our listeners because I know all about you and I love your, your sense of color and design and simplicity, but for our listeners here on the podcast, I want to have you back up and tell me a little bit about why you started Blue Copper Design, how it got its name and where your passion all comes from. So let's talk about that.
Maegan:Yeah. So, um, I've had my business for just about two years now. Um, I've been really working solely on my business for like the past year. So in the beginning I was working for other people and kind of still figuring it out. Um, but I've been really committed for the past year. Um, and my career in interior design started a few years ago. I want to say like four or five years ago now. Um, when I was, uh, let's see, I was like 20, 21 and I bought my first house and it was a huge undertaking as a lot of people know, finding accommodating housing in, like, the rental market can be challenging. So there's usually wait lists for apartment complexes, or if you find, like, a house, like out here in Arizona houses are common, um, that would be accessible--like, that would be like a needle in a haystack. So I was like, you know, what, if I can do it, I'm just going to purchase a house and I'm going to renovate it to my needs. And that's what me and my husband, he was, he was my boyfriend at the time. Luckily his, one of my husband's best friends is a contractor. He was the first one I ever worked with. And, um, he was the first mind I got to change on things. And so, um, he helped me obviously with all the contractor stuff, but I was really in charge of the design process or, you know, I didn't even think of it as a design process then, but it definitely was a design process. And I had a very clear vision for that house and it had to happen. So, um, we worked on that project together. It took about, it took, like, nine months to finish and, you know, we didn't really know what we were doing. It was my first time doing things and doing it all kind of myself. So I would not want my projects to take that long now as a professional, but in the beginning, in my own experience, that's how long it took me to do the kitchen, the bathroom, and then a whole bunch of other stuff around the house too. So, um, at the time I was also working in a retail, a retail store and I was doing their visual merchandising and I was really, really loving that. Like I thought I would try to pursue a career in visual merchandising. Um, but I actually was not really a fan of like the actual retail job. Working retail is difficult, like just the hours and the customer service over and over can, like, wear on you over the years. But I just really, really still loved going and being creative with the visual merchandising side. So I was doing that at work, coming home and renovating my house, and one day it clicked. I was like, Oh, like you just really love to be designing things. It was like being creative. Like that is the common thread between this, these two loves that you have going on right now. And so really thinking of that, u m, and whether I wanted to take that creativity further i n visual merchandising or into interior design, and for me it was interior design. It was a no brainer for multiple reasons, but--which w e I'm sure we'll get into. So, so yeah, so that's kind of how I got started, I guess, in the world of design. And then after I started thinking about it, I was like, you know what, I've always been interested in design, like my whole life. Like I was always changing around my room and painting and everything, which I get, you know, I've heard a lot of my designer colleagues saying the same thing. So I was like, t hey w ere on the right track. Yeah. U m, and so from then we sold that first house, my husband and I, we decided to travel. U m, so we took some time, we e ach h ad like eight or nine months, and traveled around the country i n a trailer, which was awesome. A lot of learning experiences there. And then during that time, we just took, u m, took a moment to do some research on, like, what a career in interior design actually looked like. S o when we got back, I enrolled in a six-month interior design program here in Arizona. And, u m, after that I worked for two companies. U m, I knew that I always wanted my own business, but I just wanted a little bit of time to see what my options were. U m, and then working for those companies, I was like, you know what, like my time is so valuable. And I feel like I have a perspective of, y ou k now, being a disabled person in a wheelchair. And, u m, and I felt like that was too important, u m, to just keep wasting time and not pursuing that goal. So that's kind of a long short story of how my company got started.
Shelly:How did you come up with the name Blue Copper Design?
Maegan:Yeah. So, um, I--naming your business is so difficult. Like it, yeah, it either comes easily or it doesn't and naming things in general for me comes super easy, but this was a process. So, um, my last name in German means blue. So I kind of knew that I wanted to use blue in there somewhere for that. And, um, I've really loved like Southwest Arizona design. I feel like that's where my roots are in my own personal style. Um, but I didn't want to be it to be so obvious. Uh, so copper is I think the national or the state metal in Arizona, it's also just like a really Southwest, like metal that we like to use here. Um, and so I, I dunno after combining a bunch of words, that's how I came up with it. So I didn't want it to be my name because I want my company to be bigger than myself. I didn't want it to be for like geographical or, um, I really didn't want it to have like a pawn on a wheelchair. So I had a lot of things that I didn't want it to be. Um, and that helped me nail down the name, so.
Shelly:It's tricky because you only get one shot at it to name it and then bring it to life. Where do you get your inspiration and design and color from?
Maegan:Oh my gosh. Um, I mean, this is such an easy--an easy answer--is nature. I mean, I feel like we look outside and we see what nature wants the world, the colors of the world to be, and bringing that inside. And the cool thing about that is nature is different everywhere. So, um, I have a personal style, but for my clients, I really do adapt to their style right now. I think having a really specific niche of catering to adaptive design, at least at this point in my career, I also don't want to pigeonhole, um, a very specific style and decide, yeah, like, I'm very open to other styles, but what I, I do feel like my look comes in more with my color palette. So I do tend to more natural colors, more muted tones, um, blues and greens are my favorite to use with a lot of neutrals. So yeah. And, and having, having your home look like it belongs in its surroundings is really important for me. So if I have a client that doesn't want that, like they, maybe they might want like a beach home here in Arizona, I can give that to them, but it has to be toned down, like in Arizona, you know, and it may have to have that little bit of balance, so I like to, I like to have things look like they belong. So bringing inspiration from nature is definitely, um, the strongest point I would say. And then from that, I'm just really, really into like muted tones. So whatever color you want to use, that's fine. But I'm going to really, really mute at that down. I just think it makes it more palatable. And then they'll last a longer time, you know, as far as trends.
Shelly:So I have to ask you, is it more dangerous for you to go into a fabric craft store or shoe store?
Maegan:Oh gosh. Shoe store still. Yes, yes, yes. Um, yeah. For sure shoes, personally, so--
Shelly:I learned about hat making and that's really an art in and of itself as well. Felt, felt hat making. Yeah. So you'll have to maybe check that all out. So I want to know more about what kinds of adaptive designs you've done for some of your clients.
Maegan:Yeah. So, um, obviously my first one was for myself, so we did our first home. Um, and then our trailer, we, we actually have that, um, custom made for, to be adaptable. And I wish I made that trailer more adaptable to be honest, but the bathroom had a roll in shower and I think it was like, um, seven feet by seven feet, the bathroom in general, which is quite large for a trailer. Um, so that I do wish I made like a better point of entry for that but you know, live and learn. And then our second house. So all of those have been adapted. Um, and then beyond that, I've done a few furniture jobs. I've done a few, um, virtual design furniture jobs during COVID which has been fun and then, um, my biggest, yeah, I had a really big furniture job for one of my friends. And, uh, that was probably, that was the biggest furniture adapted that second job for sure. So she had--we did her whole home of furniture and that has been probably the most fun job I've had, both to customize it so she could transfer and use her furniture because before she wasn't, um, and also style wise, like her style is crazy out there. Not natural doesn't look like it belongs in Arizona, literally the opposite of what I just said, but, um, because she's a friend and because it was so different for me, it was like playing dress up a little bit. And then from there, um, I've been getting some, some inquiries, uh, as we're trying to come out of COVID I guess so, we've just been-
Shelly:Crawling our way out.
Maegan:Yeah. Crawling our--crawling our way out. So, um, and then I guess continuing with that, so my, I have a commercial job as well right now. So in Arizona we have a gym and a facility called Ability 360. So one part of it is offices and then the other part of it is a fitness center, which has been such a great resource for me personally. I think it opened up like in this first or second year of my injury and they just needed some renovations. And when they contacted me for that, it was like, Oh my gosh, this is amazing.
Shelly:That's huge.
Maegan:Yeah. It's been huge. Um, just like one--as a business owner to be, have this idea and then be recognized in that way from such a monumental, like, pillar in our community that's how I see them. It's really exciting to have a commercial project, even though, um, I do mostly residential, like for, I would do anything for them, so-
Shelly:How did they include you? How did they bring you in and what was their idea? And, you know, what could you, from a design perspective, but as a person, as a wheelchair user, how, how did you marry that whole concept together? You know, what, what is it that they were looking for? I mean, did they really come to you as the accessibility and design professional or did they already have an idea in mind of what worked?
Maegan:Um, I would say it was probably 50/50 on that. Obviously being a gym that caters toward people with disabilities there's a lot of knowledge there. Um, but there was a lot of improvements that needed to be made. So we focused on their free weight area. So they have, you know, the gym equipment and then in another area they have free weights. So focused on that. They knew that they wanted to replace the flooring, so they kind of have their parameters and then they just needed help selecting and then project managing, but going beyond. So the main thing that, um, I wanted to do for them was actually introduce some branding into their facility. They have a really cool color scheme, a really bright, pretty blue. Um, it's a gym, and so in my opinion, that needs to be lively and, you know, like incite activity and fitness and fun and get people going. Um, so incorporating that really bright blue on, in multiple places in their gym area was a suggestion that I made, that they were a little reluctant to, and I'm very glad they agreed to it. Um, it's still very neutral, but I'm like, we just need some pops. So, so that was something that I could see from, you know, just a typical design business standpoint. And then we did a lot of space planning for them. Um, they, you know, they, they knew they wanted to replace the flooring in that area, but I was like, you guys, we really need to like ramp up the space planning. We need to get this space cleared. And now we have this brand new, beautiful rubber flooring, which would, which is a great area for people who do free weights or bands or like high intensity kind of stuff, more like, um, Cross Fit kind of workouts, I guess, too. Um, but now we have all this equipment lying around that's hard to maneuver around and hard to access, like the medicine balls and the dumbbells and the bands and things like that. So creating a space plan for them for storage for their equipment was huge and, um, and making sure all of it is as accessible as possible to every guest that they have. So, yeah. So that's been phase one. Um, and then phase two is into their group finished room. So we're done with phase one. Corona was actually a blessing in disguise with that. I mean, they had to shut down, you know, just like every other gym. And, um, but that gave us a lot of space and time to get contractors in there and not disrupt their guests while we were working. So, so that got done quickly. Now we're into the group fitness room. Again, they had, you know, their parameters of new lighting and new flooring that everything else is kind of up to me. So, um, we definitely updated the aesthetic. We definitely upgraded the lighting. Oh my gosh. That's probably the biggest difference. And then adding a lot of accessible storage in there as well.
Shelly:So they integrated a lot of adaptive equipment throughout the whole gym? Not just like in a back room in the corner.
Maegan:Yeah. The entire facility is all adaptable. I mean, it obviously caters to different disabilities, so they have different equipment for different physical abilities. Um, but yeah, everything is adaptable. It's meant to be that way, which is great.
Shelly:Accessible design is going to be--everybody's going to need it eventually.
Maegan:Yeah. That's what I've been finding, um, in this short time I've had my career as well. So I'm so fortunate that there's places like Ability 360. I'm fortunate that there's one club in my city. Um, I think that's spreading what they do and their mission has been really exciting for me in my journey and being able to partner up with them in that way, but then also, you know, taking what they're doing and then just elevating that. So elevating the design, making it more, inviting, more aesthetically pleasing, and then reminding them of little details of, like, they have right now, I'm working with them on changing out all of their clocks in the whole building. And I know that's not like super glamorous and the life of an interior designer, but it's important and researching, um, clock companies, clock sizes, clock colors, uh, all of those things. And I was like, you guys, we need to have blue lettering on our clocks because for people with low vision, having that red lettering is not going to work like red and green are the hardest colors to see, especially if you have any kind of vision impairment, plus blue is our color. So this works out great for me too like it's a win, win, win. Um, so thinking of all those details, making sure whatever we put in to be on a remote, if it wasn't easily accessible, adding fans so that people who can't, uh, regulate their body temperatures that well, you know, have the option to cool themselves down. So, for me, this is probably--working with Ability 360 in this gym has been the biggest job where I've had to really take myself out of, uh, out of the equation and think about all the different kinds of people that this facility caters to, and that's their mission. And hoping that in the future, you know, I can continue that into other commercial and even residential projects.
Shelly:Yeah. I can tell you before I started working here at Abilities in Motion, I would only think about amputees and more so congenital amputees, which was my situation, but you really need to take a step back because you start thinking much differently and you start seeing your everyday world, at least for me, your everyday world much differently when you say, okay, that works for me, but does it work for Maegan? Does it work for my coworker, you know, with another kind of disability? Um, so I think that's really, really important. So, so the gym has to be one of your favorite projects.
Maegan:It's been such a growing process. And then as a career marker, it's been amazing. Like I like this would have been like a five year goal that's happening right now. So, um, so yeah, I am excited about this. Um, a lot of my other adaptive clients so far in this past year have been a lot of furniture jobs. Um, so I'm hoping I have some in the works, hoping to get some remodels for kitchens and bathrooms and things like that. Um, coronavirus definitely has delayed me on the residential side and accelerated the commercial side for me. Um, so playing with that has been a fun time. But you know, obviously renovations seem--are, are more technical, more difficult. They, you know, they--that they're just as important as furniture as well, and picking the furniture pieces and placing them for your space and for your physical ability. Um, I think we get a little bit more wowed by a nice kitchen remodel, but having a sofa and a living room situation is also just as dazzling and making sure that that is aesthetically pleasing and also fits for what is--
Shelly:Functional.
Maegan:Yeah. And functional. And it could be just as expensive to buy furniture as it is to buy kitchen cabinets.
Shelly:But you know a thing or two about--yeah, you know, a thing or two about furniture, right?
Maegan:I do. Yeah.
Shelly:So where does it the tie in with that?
Maegan:Um, my, so my grandpa--going way back--my grandpa started, um, a wood furniture company here in Arizona. I think at the height of his career, he had five locations, um, I want to say, and they specialized in all wood furniture and that was the name of the company: All Wood Furniture. Very simple. Um, so everything was completely made of wood. They did, you know, custom staining and everything like that. So my parents actually owned a branch and I just remember growing up and, um, working there, being with them all the time, like I always had to dust the furniture and vacuum. So I was always working in their furniture store. Um, and then they've since closed their locations and their business. But beyond that, like when I was kind of looking at my career in interior design, all of this stuff with my family started clicking as well. So my aunt has been so talented in design, like she's told me she's like, I wish I would have became an interior designer, but I just, you know, I didn't. And I'm like, yeah, you really should have like, so I've been around that. You know, my grandma has said the same thing. Um, after my parents' furniture stores closed, uh, my dad went into furniture repping. So he's always been in the furniture industry. My uncle is a rep for a big furniture--for a lot of big furniture lines, actually. So, um, looking into that, I mean, you would be like, that would be an obvious--this would be an obvious career choice for me, but you know, hindsight's 20/20, and it's hard to see yourself when you're in it. But yeah, I was like, you know what? I've always been around this world. I've had such a love for like beautiful wood furniture. And whenever I see something I'm like, well, we can re-stain that. We can repaint that. And I think it's just from being in that environment growing up for so long.
Shelly:It's kind of fun to see all the pieces of your puzzle coming together and, and then learning from your aunt and your grandma that this is, this has been your destiny all along. You just didn't know it yet.
Maegan:I just didn't know it yet. And I--I'm really, you know, once I started thinking about design as a career, um, to be honest, I wasn't fully, I knew I wanted to specialize in adaptive design, but I was like, Oh, that will probably be like half of my business, you know, like half and half. And then immediately, like within the first few months of my business, I was like, Oh no, we're trying to make this like a hundred percent adaptive design. Like, that is the goal. So, I mean, at this time, and in the beginning, I haven't said no to any clients yet. Um, I think as a new business owner, you just try to get as much experience and knowledge as you can from whoever's willing to give it to you. Whoever's willing to let you practice on their home--
Shelly:Right.
Maegan:--has, like, been a blessing. Um, but I definitely see my career going more and more that way. So right now I'm already at, like, probably 80% adaptive clients and 20% non-adaptive. Um, but even the non-adaptive has been interesting because they're like, well, what do you think? Like if I have a friend in a chair, I want to make sure they would be able to come over, and I'm like, well do you have a friend in a chair? No, they're like, but what if one of my friends, you know, ends up in a chair, they have a child with a disability, or my parents get old and they want to come over. So the aging, too, is such a big thing. So I, I feel lucky that I've been able to kind of bring my perspective into other people's lives and expand their horizons as well.
Shelly:So we're going to take a commercial break and we'll be back with Disability Talks on the backside.
AD:Abilities in Motion is a Pennsylvania based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities live their lives on their own terms. Abilities in Motion, strives to eliminate psychological stereotypes, physical barriers, and outdated attitudes that prevent social and civic inclusion as well as promote the independent living movement to empower, educate, and advocate for individuals with disabilities. For more information about programs and services Abilities in Motion provides, call(610) 376-0010 or visit our website at www.abilitiesinmotion.org.
Shelly:Okay, welcome back to Disability Talks. If you're just joining us, I am here with Megan Blau from Blue Copper Design all the way out in the state of Arizona. Um, Maegan, just for our, um, our guests, maybe with low vision or no vision, would you please describe yourself to our guests?
Maegan:Oh yeah. Like physically?
Shelly:Sure. Yep.
Maegan:Um, well I have a spinal cord injury, so I'm in a wheelchair. Um, I am technically a quadriplegic. Um, I have blonde hair, um, really light skin. I burn really easily, so that's cool. Um, green eyes and I don't know what else to say. I just--
Shelly:Your spunky personality.
Maegan:Okay, my spunky personality. Thanks.
Shelly:And you have a few little four, four footed children at home. Yes?
Maegan:I do. I do. So I have two dogs now. I got a quarantine puppy. I was one of those people. Um, I have a six year old Belgian Malinois, love her. Her name is Odin. And then we just added Luna into our little family and she's a three month old Corgi and she's just the cutest thing ever.
Shelly:She's got that cute little doggy butt in some of your pictures.
Maegan:She's got that doggy butt. Uh, I have to like calm myself down on my business, Instagram with dog pictures. And like, this is not a dog business, but everyone loves it. Well, most people love dogs.
Shelly:So you've been mentioning, um, doing adaptive design during COVID. How are you, since you're not coming into the homes as much, how are you still keeping your business floating with all of this COVID-19 stuff?
Maegan:Yeah. Um, COVID's been fun. I will say that I feel a little bit lucky that my business is where it's at, when COVID had started. Um, this was going to be a really big expansion year for me. I was hoping to hire someone at the end of the year, and I'm grateful that it's just me right now and I don't have to be super concerned with another person's salary. Um, so that's been good. Like I'm able to, I was able in March to really take like two weeks off, um, and digest everything. And when I say take off, I wasn't, you know, I was still kind of working. I think that's just how you are as a business owner. When you work from home. I've always, I've always worked from home since I've had my business. So, um, so it was doing things. I was like, Oh my gosh, like, I don't know. I don't know what this is going to look like. I don't know how bad this is. Um, put things into perspective and, like, is interior design really like necessary during, you know, a pandemic and you got--so being able to take that time, that was really important for me. Um, and then I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna shift. I'm just going to keep doing things. I'm going to make it small. I'm going to focus on other areas of my life if my business is going to need to take a stop right now. And the way that we did that is, um, I ramped up my virtual design marketing and plan, I lowered my cost on virtual design because I know that, you know, finances have been really stressful for people during this time, but also spending--having this downtime and spending a lot of time at home, um, get people thinking about their space like, Oh, I should tackle that project. You know, I should paint that wall. I should do this. I should do that. So giving people an option, um, if they so choose to use this as a happy distraction from what's going on in the world, I still wanted to provide. So--
Shelly:Are most of your clients in, in and around Arizona or do you have clients further away, say out here on the East coast?
Maegan:I'm trying to think for right now. Um, my clients have been in California and Arizona, but yeah. So that's where we've been right now. I haven't had any, anyone on the East coast yet.
Shelly:So speaking of California, Berkeley, California was the home of where Ed Roberts and Judy Heumann and a lot of other major advocates, uh, started gosh, 30 years ago, well, 40 or 50 years ago, really, they started pounding that drum. And this year we're going to be having the ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act turning 30. So I was in college by the time this was even signed in 1990 by President Bush Sr. Um, but how has it affected you since you acquired your, your disability in, uh, later in life? You know, how, what kind of impact did it have on you?
Maegan:Yeah, so, um, for perspective, I was born in'91. So this has really happened within my lifetime. Um, I was paralyzed when I was 17, so I've been in a chair for 11 years and to be quite honest, I haven't been very knowledgeable on what the ADA has given, you know, our country. And then me personally, until about this year, I just, you know, I've obviously reaped the benefits, but really diving into the history of how that came to be has been a fun process and something that I also have taken on in quarantine. Once I realized that this year, I mean, this year I realized that the ADA was only passed 30 years ago. So for me being the age that I'm at and then, you know, being born at, you know, post-ADA, um, I just never thought about it. And I think that is an amazing thing too. I mean, once I've realized that I'm like, Oh my gosh, like, I didn't have to spend my time and energy fighting for basic civil rights, like, I get to be concerned about interior design and colors and pretty things and making things functional, like I--because my rights are taken care of. And so personally that's how I've experienced what the ADA has done for me personally in my life. So I'm very, very, very, very grateful for that. I'm watching the documentary Crip Camp doing a lot of history on the crawl that, you know, in 1990--
Shelly:The steps.
Maegan:Yeah. And, um, also just, gosh, the conditions that people with disabilities had to deal with not so long ago, 50's, 60's, 70's even further, um, it's heartbreaking, you know, it was heartbreaking to do research and, you know, obviously have a personal experience and be like, what if that was my life? There would be no way that anyone with a disability could even focus on anything else because we're too busy trying to get out of our house and make that accessible, you know, uh, our brains in our, you know, in our bodies, we're just bogged down with too many things. So I definitely am very, very, very, very grateful for the ADA. I think that it's important to realize that 30 years isn't that much time. Um, I think it's important to realize how much progress has been made in 30 years, but I also think it's important that things can always get better. There's definitely more progress to be made. Um, but I like to, you know, give credit where it's due and have my disabled ancestors, I guess. Um, I'm just really thankful for the work that they've done and they dedicated their lives to.
Shelly:I know in my childhood during those times where Crip Camp was filmed, um, I spent much of my childhood adapting myself to the world. And so it has gotten so much easier and we have gotten so far. Thank God, but you're right. There is so much more work to do. And I'm so glad I introduced you to Crip Camp. Um, and, and that you, you watched it because, um, now you're woke, now you see, and I hope you appreciate it from such a different--from your ancestors, you know, that have come before you, come before me, um, you know, come before Ed Roberts, and Justin Dart, and Judy Heumann and came and, and, and fought, you know, even a hundred years ago to be accessible. And, um, it's such a, it's such a beautiful thing and I hope we never take those new freedoms for granted.
Maegan:And I can see that we're getting there because we're talking about it more, like I feel a huge responsibility, um, especially when, you know, as a business owner and otherwise, like, to now share my perspective with people now that I know what can be done when I do that. So if it wasn't for, you know, I'm going to call them our ancestors, if it wasn't for them speaking up and demanding what they needed, like, we wouldn't be where we are today. And I think that that's just what needs to keep happening. Um, personally, I've had a lot of great experiences in my life being a disabled person. And, um, once I voice myself and express myself in a nice calm way, personally, like, people are like, of course, like, of course I'll do that for you. Like, of course you deserve that. Of course you need that. So I feel like it is our responsibility to keep doing that and not so much expect that others are going to do it for us. And, um, you know, like my, my passion is interior design and other passion of mine is travel. And so in my lifetime, if I can make those two areas better for the future generation of people-- disabled or otherwise--you know, um, I, I would be overwhelmed with joy that I was able to do that. So, so taking that on personally is now kind of my new, um, my new mindset and my new goal as a business owner and as just a person. So--
Shelly:So that's the legacy that you're going to leave this world, and you're going to leave at a beautiful, a very beautiful and inclusive space. And so thank you for that. I was really just excited to see just the beautiful, soft designs that you came up with that were so accessible for anyone to use, that anybody coming into your house with a disability or not would be just so--it's so functioning and so free flowing and so open, and it has a space to just rest and breathe in, in the designs that you've come up with, um, in, in real life, in your photographs that photographs so beautifully or, or virtually that you, you come up with. So, um, I do want clients all over the United States to find you so could in the last few minutes that we have, could you mention, um, to us where new clients and prospective clients can find you?
Maegan:Yeah. So Instagram is a great place. If you want to see a lot of our work, um, Blue Copper Design on there, our website as well has a lot of our business information and contact information. If you are wanting to work with us, um, our website is bluecopper.design. You can also put it in Google and it will pop up. Um, and then we're working on growing our Pinterest, Blue Copper Design. So I've actually gotten a few client inquiries from that. So that's been great. Um, those are three main ways of getting in contact. We're really heavy on Instagram, and we update our website a lot. And we also have a blog that we do about every week or two, um, with design topics, accessibility topics, a blend of both, maybe even some dog stuff, more dog stuff. So my husband was a dog trainer for a while too. So we're dog people, totally. Yeah. But those are the best places to find us.
Shelly:Perfect. Well, I wish you the best of luck and I will continue to stalk you on all of your social media because it is so well-designed. Um, and when I travel to Arizona, I will be sure to look you up.
Maegan:Yes, we'll have to eat coffee, or tacos, or both.
Shelly:Thank you, everybody, for listening to Disability Talks this month. And thank you to Maegan Blau and Blue Copper Design, and we will see you next time on Disability Talks.
Maegan:Thanks, Shelly.
Outro:Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Disability Talks. Want to keep the conversation going? Then visit our website at abilitiesinmotion.org or connect with us on social media. And remember, don't dis my ability.