Introduction to The Wholly Braille

Hi! My name is Kimberley Jeffreys and I really, really like cake! The more predictable ending to that sentence would have been "...and I'm visually impaired/registered blind". It just seems weird throwing that fact in straight away. It's not something I typically say in person, although the white cane and sunglasses usually make it obvious. Honestly, it's not fun writing about my level of sight in this first blog post. There are much more interesting things to talk about. If you have time, I'd like to tell you a bit about my journey.

Originally, The Wholly Braille was the name of my YouTube channel, where I posted a couple of Braille tutorial videos. These were well received by the VI community but required an inordinate amount of effort to produce. Drawing each individual PowerPoint slide with just a mouse and MS paint was a huge challenge. So I stepped back for a few months... which turned into a couple of years. I still fully intend to return to making these YouTube videos in the future. It'll be much easier with my new tablet.

Aside from art, my number one hobby is gaming. Lockdown destroyed many lives but for me it became an opportunity to learn and grow. While stuck at home, my good friend and I started producing a podcast called Redders and Jeffers. We explore gaming from the perspective of visually impaired players and interview a variety of guests. My co-host, Abbie-Rose Reddington, is also registered blind with a similar eye condition to my own.

So how did I go from teaching to podcasting to designing? As you can probably tell, I am afflicted with what is commonly referred to as "Shiny Object Syndrome". Whenever an opportunity presents itself it's so difficult to say no! I'm a mentor for young VI people. I chaperone for various musical theatre companies. I won four different awards at the 2019 finals of the National Blind Tenpin Bowling Association's Winter Trios league. (Sorry for bragging.) It's amazing to look back at the numerous projects I've been involved with over the years. I suppose it's fitting I actually sell shiny objects now as well as collecting them!

My interest in enamel pin badges only developed fairly recently. It wasn't until last Christmas that I set out to create my first collection. I've dreamed of having my own business for years but could never decide what to make. Creating Braille resources was/is a priority but it's so hard to find paid work in this area. Also, I wanted to avoid having a career in blindness, if that makes sense? I love braille and will always advocate for it. It's just that spending too much time focused on my disability can be mentally suffocating. The same few questions are repeatedly asked, even when I'm just trying to pay at the supermarket. At this point the weather is a more interesting topic of conversation.

So now I'm here! It's taken a long time to build up the confidence needed for this kind of venture. The plan is to create many more cute pins and hopefully other products. Please check out my work and thanks for the support!
Kim 😊