ANP Allies: THE SPOONIE SOCIETY
ANP are bringing to you local Australian brands that we align with and love. First up in the ranks, we’d love to introduce to you, The Spoonie Society.
The Spoonie Society was founded in Melbourne, by Dominique and Helene who are very familiar with the suffering and stigma that is associated with having a chronic illness as they both suffer from Endometriosis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
Dominique was diagnosed with Endometriosis in July of 2019 via laparoscopy & endometriosis excision. She has since undergone multiple procedures in order to obtain the best quality of life.
Helene was diagnosed with Endometriosis in August of 2018 and has also undergone multiple surgeries & procedures including many ketamine infusions for pain. She Also suffers from Adenomyosis and PCOS.
Dominique and Helene met through social media in 2020 after sharing their journey’s with Endometriosis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Together Dominique and Helene hope that through The Spoonie Society, chronic illness sufferers will find their voice and help gain awareness on chronic illnesses.
So why are they called “The Spoonie Society”?
Let us drop some knowledge for you! The ‘Spoon Theory’ is a disability metaphor used to give a visual representation that signify’s the decreased amount of both mental and physical energy available for activities.
These activities can be as simple as washing your hair to going into the office and represent both essential and productive tasks.
Each activity requires any given amount of spoons which can only be replaced through rest. Once a person has run out of spoons they are unfortunately only able to rest until they have replenished their spoons.
There are so many chronic and invisible illness’ covered under the spoon theory and individuals who suffer from these refer to themselves as Spoonies.
With Helenes education in Textiles and Fashion she used this to design and create The Spoonie Society’s wearable heat packs. Sourced from local materials, and manufactured in Melbourne filled with Australian grown lupins, these heat packs are like no other on the market.
Lupins have many benefits in comparison to wheat heat packs. They retain heat longer, are lighter, odourless and Gluten free! They can be used hot or cold, microwave or freezer and are available in many different shapes and sizes.
The Spoonie Society donates $1 from every sale to a different charity each month, in the hope to support other communities.
