My name is Katie Isherwood and at 22 I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I was about to start my final year of Fashion Design at Central St Martins, London. On top of creating my final catwalk collection I had to learn to manage my diabetes.
14 years later I was a lingerie designer living in Hong Kong and working for a large manufacturer. My career had taken me around the world, combining diabetes management with an active work and social life. It was tricky at times but I learned to fit diabetes around the life I chose. Over the years my insulin pump and I travelled the world. We've been to desert islands and skied down mountains together. We've been to interviews, yoga classes, wedding banquets, first dates and dance classes. And when I couldn't find pump accessories to fit the outfit or occasion, which was often the case, I made and customised my own, from Body Bands to Pocket Pants. Informed by my underwear design and development experience, and made from cutting edge fabrics I sourced in the Far East, these hand made accessories helped me to comfortably conceal and carry my pump. They lifted some of the anxiety of wearing and accessing my pump in public and so gave me back my confidence and freedom. They also opened my wardrobe back up again. And if they helped me perhaps they could help others? Pump therapy is an incredibly effective way to manage Type 1 diabetes, and after exploring the market for several years I knew first hand that there was a need for products that made these devices easier to wear. And so Hid-In was born.
