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Lollipop of Love Designs was created in 2020 by Cara and her mother, Delia, who recognised Cara’s creative talents early in life and wanted to provide Cara with an opportunity for self employment. The family was aware that as a person living with Down Syndrome, Cara might struggle to gain consistent and meaningful employment on completing high school.
They were shocked to learn that in Australia there is no Federal minimum wage legislation to protect people living with disability. The concept of Lollipop of Love Designs was born out of the need to provide an independent income stream for Cara, rather than being wholly reliant on the Disability Support Pension. Of equal importance was the need to provide Cara with a meaningful occupation where she derived a sense of purpose and pride. The choice of business was a natural progression from Cara’s passion for art and design, paired with her ongoing love for animals. And the concept paired well with the family’s key value of promoting sustainability in all aspects of life.
The business concept was explored with the financial assistance provided by a Nexus grant that Cara was awarded in 2018. Under this grant, Cara learnt how to screen print under the tutelage of renowned textile artist, Angela Ferolla. With Angela’s mentoring, Cara developed a range of unique animal designs which were then screen printed by hand onto homewares and t-shirts. Cara then commenced selling these products at select markets in Perth later in 2020.
More recently Cara was delighted to be the recipient of the Robert Juniper Arts Award (RJAA) for the arts in 2020 and is the first person living with disability to win the award in its 33- year history. She was awarded this due to her unique, varied, and joyful arts practice and her contribution to the arts.
The RJAA Award has provided Cara with the opportunity to diversify her product range, offering clothing and homewares using sustainable fabrics and inks and will open up new future avenues for her. With the funds granted through the Robert Juniper Award, Cara is exploring opportunities to collaborate with designers to create her own fashion collection.