June 11, 2025 • 28 mins
Lizzie Eastham and Sam Rickard present Studio 1 - Vision Australia Radio’s weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view.
On this week’s show
"Storm Menzies - ByStorm Beauty”
Lizzie and Sam catch up with Storm Menzies, the founder of By Storm beauty; a set of beauty accessories that make applying cosmetics more accessible.
Studio 1 welcomes any input from our listeners. If you have any experience or thoughts about issues covered in this episode or believe there is something we should be talking about.
EMAIL: studio1@visionaustralia.org or leave comment on the station’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VARadioNetwork
Thank you to Storm, for talking to us from Bali; and to Jason for helping set up the interview.
You can learn more about ByStorm Beauty here: https://bystormbeauty.com/
This program was made possible with support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. Find out more at https://cbf.org.au/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:06):
This is studio one on Vision Australia radio.
S2 (00:11):
Oh, yeah. What's the weather like there right now? Oh,
you're going to hate me because it's so nice. Yeah.
What's it like 15 here?
S3 (00:18):
Yeah, it's a lot.
S2 (00:19):
That's rough. Yeah, I think it's 32 degrees here today,
so it's like. It's really nice. I'm sweet. There you are.
S3 (00:26):
Oh, dear.
S4 (00:32):
Hello.
S5 (00:32):
I'm Sam and I'm Lizzie.
S4 (00:34):
And this is Studio one, your weekly look at life
from a low vision and blind point of view. Here
on Vision Australia Radio.
S5 (00:39):
On this week's show, we catch up with Storm Menzies,
creator of By Storm Beauty.
S4 (00:45):
As we always say at this point, please do get
in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of
any of the issues covered on this week's episode of
Studio One, or if you think there's something we should
be talking about, you never know. Your story and insight
may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar.
S5 (00:59):
You can contact us via email at studio One at org.
That's studio number one at the Australian. Or of course,
you can find us by going to the station's Facebook
page at facebook.com, Slash Radio Network.
S4 (01:14):
Good attempt there. I can tell you're struggling.
S5 (01:17):
Thanks.
S4 (01:20):
Alright. Coming to us all the way from Bali, of
all places is Storm Menzies. How are you today?
S2 (01:27):
I'm great, thank you. Yeah. Really good.
S4 (01:30):
You would have to be great in Bali. Uh, also
joining me, of course, is, um, sounds like Renee Geyer
at the moment, but it's actually Lizzie Eastham. Hello, Lizzie.
S6 (01:38):
Hey, how are we going today?
S4 (01:41):
So, uh, let's begin with, um, you storm. What? What
are you doing over in Bali?
S7 (01:45):
Yeah, well, I am here for my sister's wedding, which
has been lovely, but, um, inconvenient timing when you're, um,
launching your business at the same time.
S4 (01:57):
Wow.
S8 (01:58):
But as you were saying. Yes.
S4 (01:59):
You have got something coming up soon. We'll come to that, um,
a little bit later. But what got you started down
the line of beauty products?
S2 (02:09):
Yeah. So I, um, where do I even start? So
I was born with cerebral palsy. That affects the right
side of my body, but honestly had lived with very
few barriers in life. I mean, I desperately wanted to
be a dentist when I was younger. And, um, you
kind of need two hands and lots of dexterity to
do that. So other than my childhood dream of being
(02:31):
a dentist, which I know is a very strange, um,
childhood dream and, um, not being able to play the
trumpet properly, which, again, another strange childhood dream. Um, other
than that little bit very, very few barriers. But about
two years ago now, I broke my dominant hand. Honestly
(02:51):
didn't think too much of it, but when I went
to do my makeup, I realized how much I actually
relied on my dominant hand, and I'd never really thought
about that before, to be honest. I've just kind of
compensated so much with my left hand, which is my
dominant hand. I just didn't realize. And I went to
do my makeup and couldn't open the tube of mascara.
(03:15):
Just I just couldn't do it, let alone, you know,
hold it steady and use it. And it was this
kind of light bulb moment for me because I was like,
this is so hard. How does anyone with disability do
their makeup? This is really I just, you know, I
was like, this is just I never saw how inaccessible
it was. So I did, you know, the, the normal thing,
(03:37):
which was you Google thinking, oh, okay. You know, one
plus one equals two, right. Of course is going to
be accessible makeup. So just, you know, search accessible makeup
in Google. And nothing came off. And I was like
this is so bizarre. Like there was one country in
the US that didn't ship to Australia. And I'm like,
this just makes no sense. So I called one of my, um,
(03:59):
one of my girlfriends, and she has severe cerebral palsy.
And we've been friends for like, I don't know, probably
ten years, and I've never once asked her how she
did her makeup, ever. She always looks beautiful and it
just never crossed my mind. And I asked her how
she did it and she said, still with great difficulty,
(04:20):
makeup isn't made for people like me. And why would
it be? No one thinks they're beautiful. And it was
this moment for me that was a just heart breaking
and shattering mixed with a whole lot of, you know,
shame as well. To be completely honest. And I was like,
this just is not okay. And this is not right.
(04:41):
And I felt very, um, a lot of shame that
I'd never asked the question before and I didn't realize.
So that kind of, I guess, got me down the
track where I am now. It was just honestly complete
naivety until I had the lived experience myself. And I
was like, oh my God, why is no one doing
anything about this? Like, this is just insane.
S4 (05:01):
Well, I mean, even blind or vision impaired people, I mean,
we struggle with packaging of any sort, really. I mean, Lizzie,
you've encountered the joy of the childproof lock in the past,
haven't you?
S5 (05:12):
Oh, of course I have. Yeah. And just back to
the whole makeup thing. I've done the same thing. I
tried to Google accessible makeup, and we even had in
here in Adelaide, there's some blindness organizations that have tried
to run, like accessible makeup classes and stuff. And it's
just so hard. You get to a point where unless
(05:33):
you want to do the basic like eyeshadow and stuff,
if you want to do any more than that, you
end up needing support. So it's really cool that you've
decided to go into making some, like, changes into the
accessibility of makeup.
S2 (05:46):
It was honestly just a problem I couldn't ignore, and
I think a lot of it was, you know, I
just had never thought about it before. And I have
quite a lot of shame around that because I've, I've
worked in the disability space for, you know, ten years.
And I still didn't realize I never asked the question.
So I have a lot of, I guess, um, understanding
(06:08):
when it comes to the big beauty industries not paying
attention because they're probably it's probably not in their orbit,
which is why I'm really passionate about talking about it
and bringing it into people's orbit and understanding that, hey,
there's a huge problem here that affects millions and millions
and millions of people that I was really naive to.
And I think a lot of people are, um, but
(06:30):
I think once you start understanding it, you're like, oh
my gosh, we need to we need to problem solve this.
There has to be a way. But yeah, I just, I,
I couldn't not.
S4 (06:40):
So let's go back a little bit. Let's hear a
little bit about you. What is your, um, background. So
when you're not developing accessible makeup, what do you normally do?
S2 (06:49):
So I, uh, I've done lots of different things. I
started my, my career as a dietitian. Um, and then
I decided I hated it. Um, it's really, really hard
to help people with their diet when they don't want
help with it. Not a lot of people, not a
(07:09):
lot of people want help with their diet. Most of
the time I was seeing patients who were forced there
by their wives or their doctors or, or somewhere, and
they did not want help at all. And I think, um,
as I kind of reflect back on all the, you know,
things that I've done in my life, all I've ever
wanted to do was help people and make a difference.
So I started as a dietitian, and then I, not
(07:30):
knowing what to do, I, um, kind of fell into
the NDIS space as a support coordinator. Don't hold it
against me. Um.
S5 (07:39):
Don't don't worry.
S2 (07:41):
And I, um, I kind of just fell into support,
coordination and specialist support coordination and ended up doing my
master's in mental health and, you know, really loved that
space and moved into, again, don't hold it against me
and guys consulting and front a few NDIS companies. And
I'm really I'm really passionate about the space and, you know,
helping providers create systems and companies that make them able
(08:07):
to provide really good quality service. You know, obviously the
NDIS is a very controversial space and topic at the moment,
but there are some really amazing people in the space
doing really wonderful things. And it's been a um, yeah,
kind of a journey in my career in this space
doing all, all kind of weird and random and wonderful things.
But I really love it.
S4 (08:26):
We could talk probably do a completely separate show about
the NDIS. In fact, we have done completely separate shows
about the NDIS. But let's get back to the matter
at hand here. Tell us a little bit about these products.
S2 (08:39):
Yeah. So look I'll start with kind of coming back
to the problem. So we knew that I was learning
that makeup was really inaccessible particularly, you know, through my
lived experience it was physical, um, accessibility. That was kind
of my first, first understanding of it. I knew that
there was it was inaccessible. And I originally thought, okay,
(09:00):
we're going to need to make accessible makeup, that that
kind of makes the most sense for this. But as
I had focus groups, people with disability of all varying abilities,
we soon realized that the people that I was speaking
to didn't want special makeup. They just wanted to use
the same products that they were hearing about on TikTok,
(09:22):
on on Instagram, with all their friends were using. They
cared about, you know, using cool makeup, not necessarily, um,
wanting different makeup. So we came up with the idea
of making makeup accessories is what we call them. But
you can kind of think of them as like a
grip aid. But, you know, grip aid is not a
(09:42):
very sexy word. It's a very clinical word. So we
came up with makeup accessories, which are products that attach
to makeup items to make them easier to hold and use. Basically,
they basically just provide a bit more surface area and
different kind of shapes to accommodate different kind of like
hand mobility challenges. And one of the biggest things as
(10:06):
well is that they they don't they stop products from rolling, which, um,
I've learned is a very big problem with lots of
the low vision and blind community as well, because when
you drop a product and it's round and cylinder, which is, um,
most makeup items, they then roll and then that makes
it very challenging. So yeah, we kind of came up
with the idea of makeup accessories not actually redesigning the
(10:31):
makeup itself.
S4 (10:32):
So Lizzie, that sounds, um, very handy. I mean, would
you have some experience in all of that?
S5 (10:36):
Well, I've never used makeup accessory, obviously, but there's been
many a lipstick I've lost to the bottom of the
vanity unit when it's rolled underneath, and I can't get it, but.
So how do these actually work? So do they hold
the makeup case for you or, like, in what way
do they actually work?
S2 (10:54):
Great question. Um, we've designed them to be as universally
as adaptive as possible, meaning that they can fit a
whole different range of product types and different brands. Um,
the really I guess common denominator with a lot of
makeup products is they are round cylinders. Um, most makeup products,
so they are silicon and they kind of come in
(11:16):
different shapes, but basically they're silicon attachments that you push
your makeup product into and you push, I guess, the
handle of the makeup product. So if it was a mascara,
for instance, you put it over the top of the
handle part of the mascara or the lid part where
the wand attaches. You put it over the top of that,
(11:38):
and it helps you be able to twist the actual
product open and then I guess, take it out and
use it where you have a bit more control over
using the product because you've got a bit more surface area.
S5 (11:50):
So I wanted to go back to something you said,
which was that you had these focus groups. How did you, uh,
get those focus groups together, and what methods did you
use to collect that sort of data?
S2 (12:01):
Yeah.
S9 (12:01):
So I originally.
S2 (12:02):
Started with just surveys. Well, not really knowing. So I've,
you know, haven't had a business like this before and
I didn't really know what to do. So a lot
of my information was coming from Google to start with
to say, how do I co-design? How do I make
sure people with disability are involved in this, that I'm
making products that actually work for people? So I originally
(12:24):
started with just a survey, and it was just a
Google form that I put on, I think Instagram and
Facebook and just kind of tried to see if I
guess anyone was interested. And the original survey was actually
just trying to understand people's different lived experience when it
comes to maps and beauty. And I think it was
called understanding makeup for people with different abilities, something along
(12:47):
those lines. Um, and then one of my friends, Kelly
from Nobull me.
S3 (12:52):
Uh, we know Kelly.
S2 (12:53):
Oh, you know Kelly. Yes. She's amazing.
S5 (12:56):
Yeah.
S2 (12:56):
Kelly's amazing. So, Kelly, I sent my survey to her originally,
and she said, this is terrible. She's she's very much
a straight shooter and she was like, okay, we definitely
need to redesign this. And she actually, um, helped me
redesign it all and send, um, the survey out to
a lot of people in the disability community with all
(13:17):
different kind of abilities. And we were primarily focused on, um,
different physical and dexterity challenges. And we got, I think,
about 100 survey responses from that, which was amazing. And
one of the survey responses actually named the company. So yes,
my name is storm and it was called by storm. Uh,
it's called by storm. Um, which people go, oh, that's,
(13:39):
you know, because it's named after myself. But actually it
was in response to one of the questions, how does
makeup and beauty make you feel? And someone wrote, it
made me feel confident and powerful, like, I can take
the world by storm. And I was like, oh, that's it.
That's that's that's the name right there. Um, but anyway,
that's we started with surveys. And then from the surveys,
(14:02):
one of the questions was, would you like to be
contacted further about, you know, about what we're doing? And
quite a few people said yes. So from that survey,
I reached out to those people also through my network of, um,
NDIS providers as well. Um, we had focus groups of
people and we really just had brainstorming sessions to start with.
(14:23):
I had already done a few like designs of things,
of what I thought, but we kind of came together.
We had like there were only very small. So like,
I think the first one was 10 or 15 people. Um,
and then the second ones got a little bit bigger
after that. And we were going through, I guess, what
is actually going to work here. I had what I
thought my ideas were and they were so completely wrong. Um,
(14:47):
after doing the groups, I thought, yeah, we're definitely going
to be designing makeup, and this is how it's going
to be. And the feedback that I got was not
we're not doing any of that, um, which was really
great and really eye opening for me. It challenged a
lot of, I guess, the assumptions I'd made, which I
think was one of the most valuable experiences we had
(15:07):
from from doing the focus groups. We had about five
focus groups going back and forth with different, different kind
of products, different variations. We'd go, yep, okay, we think
this is it. And then we go back and go, okay, no,
this isn't it. Let's try it again.
S5 (15:21):
It's great though.
S4 (15:22):
So out of all that, what was the biggest surprise?
I mean, so one was yes, that they didn't necessarily
want special makeup, but was there anything else that actually
took you by surprise?
S9 (15:31):
Yeah, actually. So when I was first.
S2 (15:33):
Designing these, I had in my head I thought we
were designing a different or a product for each product.
So like, you know, we'll make a mascara drink and
then a lipstick grip. Um, and one of the biggest things,
which sounds so simple is someone picked up one of
the accessories and I was like, okay, so this one
we're thinking for mascara. This one we're thinking for, you know,
(15:56):
nail polish. And they literally just picked it up and
then put it on every different makeup item. We're like, well,
can't I just be used across all of them? I
don't want to have like different ones for different makeup products.
And I was like, oh my God, yeah, of course
I can. Like it was just this really like light
bulb moment. So we then ended up going one of
the hardest challenges was going, how do we make this fit?
(16:18):
Different diameters and slightly different shapes so they can fit
across different brands and different product types. So I guess,
you know, brand diagnostic and they can really be used
however you want to use them. I made all of
the first initial prototypes myself, so I taught myself how
to 3D model, and I bought a 3D printer and
started injection silicone molding in my garage. It was a very, um,
(16:42):
very garage setup and, you know, winging a lot of
that because, you know, I have a full time job.
I'm just trying to see what we can kind of
do in every, every other spare minute. I'm I'm working. Um,
so I was able to kind of quickly iterate, which
was really cool. So after every focus group or after
every conversation I had with someone and I'd get an idea,
(17:04):
I'm like, oh, we can change it this way. But we, um,
ended up, uh. I just love myself. I always say, oh,
we ended up doing this. It's all me. But I
feel like we just sounds. Makes me sound so much
more professional. Like I've got a whole company behind me or.
S10 (17:18):
A whole team behind me. That is fair enough, but I.
S2 (17:22):
I ended up probably, I think it was close to
a hundred different revisions we made of just the opening
of the shape. So they were able to accommodate all
the different kinds of sizes between different brands of makeup
and also different makeup types. So that was one of
the biggest, I guess design challenges is how do you
(17:43):
have something that can get on a product easy enough
and be taken off easily enough, whilst also accommodate different
sizes and slightly different shapes, but also stay on enough
to help twist open a product and stay on while
you're using it. So there were kind of lots of
different variables to consider that because I was really trying
(18:05):
to think about, okay, it can't be too difficult to
take on and and take off because you know that
that can be a really big challenge. But we also
need to help open a product. Um, so there were
kind of lots of different conflicting, almost design challenges. But
we we got there in the end, which was really good.
But yeah, that was one of the biggest surprises is
(18:25):
just yeah, of course we could be used across different
product types like it was one of those like, oh,
of course it's so obvious and I never thought of it.
S5 (18:35):
So you are launching your product on the 24th of June? Yes.
Is that correct?
S2 (18:41):
Yes.
S10 (18:41):
I'm very, very excited.
S2 (18:43):
We did a a pre-sale just to kind of test
the waters. The first day I got in I got
to Bali, which was very poor timing. I am really
good at not having any concept of time. So, you know,
it's it's the ADHD. I mean I'm yeah, not very
good at that, but just to, you know, stress test
the waters and it went so amazingly well. I was
(19:06):
so happy and so, so stoked with it. Um, but
we do officially launch in June. Yeah, June 24th when
I get back. So I can be there to fulfill
orders and fix anything that's broken. You know, we had
a little break with the website, um, to start with
on actually the NDIS purchasing place of the website. So
(19:26):
we stress tested that, which was amazing and got it
all fixed. But yeah, 24th of June it's yeah, really,
really exciting.
S5 (19:34):
So these products can be bought using NDIS funding. Is
that correct? Because that's what I seem to understand from
what I've seen.
S2 (19:42):
Yeah that's right. So obviously in the context of it
needs to be reasonable and necessary and related to your disability. Uh,
what I've actually done on the website is create a
reasonable and necessary form so you can actually fill out
that form on the website and click if it is
reasonable or necessary to your disability type and it will
(20:05):
email you your answers. So then you can forward that
through to your plan manager or your support coordinator or
your NDIS planner if you actually need need the evidence. Um,
working in the NDIS space, I know that you need
evidence for everything. So I've read every single piece of
legislation and really tried to make sure I could figure
(20:27):
out a way that this wasn't going to become a
nightmare for people who actually need it. And then the
planner or the sport owner or anyone goes, oh, well,
is this actually claimable? You know, why is it? And
then put that burden on the person who actually just
wants to buy it. I've tried to do that legwork.
So we have the evidence there. Um, and I've written
a few templates for support letters as well. So you
(20:49):
can see the support coordinator coming out of me ready
for your support letter like templates that participants can use, um,
to send to the plan managers as well, just to
kind of help the plan manager or the planner and
planner understand, I guess, the need for it. And also
the cost. Cost for benefit, which is, you know, one
of the things the NDA loves to say, but making
(21:11):
sure that it's actually gonna, um, be a reasonable cost
for the NDA and it's going to reduce the reliance
on more expensive supports.
S4 (21:20):
Now, not everybody is actually on the NDIS, so if, um,
they decided someone out there decides they actually need something
like this. Uh, what sort of cost are we looking at?
S10 (21:29):
Um, so the products.
S2 (21:30):
Are $45 and they are a lifetime guarantee. So they're
silicon and very durable and, um, will literally last. Um,
they'll probably outlive me, to be completely honest. So they're
very drop proof and very breakable. Um, very, very, very
clumsy and probably drop mine 300 times a day and
(21:52):
they just bounce straight back up, which is excellent.
S4 (21:55):
How big are they? Because one of the biggest problems
that I as a blind person, uh, tend to have
is that all of these very useful little tool, which
I'll then promptly lose. Is it easy to lose and
leave it and drop it behind a desk or something
like that?
S2 (22:08):
Um, no. Look, they're not I mean, they're not huge,
but they're. I guess their whole purpose is to provide
more surface area. Um, so they're quite reasonable. Uh, I'm
trying to think smaller than a tennis ball, but. But
bigger than a ping pong ball.
S5 (22:24):
Yeah, that is that.
S2 (22:26):
And trying to think of, um, some comparable sizes there.
So definitely not tiny. You're not going to lose it
down the back of your couch.
S5 (22:33):
Just nice enough size to put in the makeup case, right? Exactly.
S2 (22:37):
Still fits inside a makeup case or on your or
in your vanity. I've tried to make all of them
with flat surfaces as well. So something that I learned
by doing a lot of observations of watching people do
their makeup was that, unlike me, who often does their
makeup as they drive in the car, which I'm very
multi skilled at, a lot of people sit in the
(22:58):
one place to do their makeup and like things to
go back in the same spot and everything has has
spots for things, so we've tried to make sure that
everything has a flat bottom. It's not going to roll,
it's drop proof and really try to consider a lot
of those things in the design process, okay?
S4 (23:16):
If somebody wants this product, where do they go? How
do they get it?
S2 (23:21):
Um, they can go to my website which is by
storm Beauty.com ww.com. And if you do go to my website,
I would just like to say, um, I have tried
to make my website as accessible as possible. Um, I've
tested it a million times, but I would love any feedback.
(23:41):
So if anyone does go to my website and they
see that it is not accessible for them, I'm really, really,
really open to feedback and I really want to create
a really accessible shopping experience because I know that's a
huge barrier for a lot of people. So if anyone
would like to provide any feedback to me, I would, um,
really love that.
S5 (24:01):
Well, I actually happened to go to your website today. Oh, great.
And unfortunately, at the moment is not accessible for Apple
Screen readers because there's some sort of like, launching banner
thing that keeps coming up and it just blocks everything
else and you can't get to anything. But I haven't
tried it on my computer yet.
S2 (24:20):
Oh, okay.
S5 (24:21):
Oh my gosh, thank.
S2 (24:21):
You so much for telling me. Oh, I think all
of my, um, stress tests for my website, we didn't
actually have that banner when I was stress testing it.
We kind of only added that in. So that is
so helpful because now I can go and change that.
Thank you.
S5 (24:38):
That's okay. So after the launch goes and um, provided
all goes well, which I'm sure it will. What are
your future goals for Bystorm beauty? What's next? What's next?
S2 (24:48):
Look, I, um, I have a really silly business goal.
Anyone in the business space would be like, this is ridiculous.
So my goal is to actually make my products completely redundant.
I want to make accessibility the standard when it comes
to beauty and makeup. I guess my my goal is
to really be able to educate the big beauty brands
who actually have the funds and means and capacity to
(25:11):
change the way that we interact with beauty as a whole. Um,
and I do have a collaboration with a big beauty brand, um,
launching the month after, which is really exciting because they
have a very, very large audience. And I want to
get the understanding that accessibility in makeup is really important,
(25:32):
and it's a lot easier to do when we actually
build it in from the very start and make it
a design consideration, like we do with so many other
features of makeup. There are certain sets of principles that
we have to design by, and I want accessibility to
be built into the to the foundations of that. So,
you know, stupid business model for me trying to make
(25:53):
my actual products redundant. But I want makeup to be
accessible as the standard so anyone when they can walk
into a, you know, Mecca. Sephora, Priceline, wherever you get
your makeup, knows that they're going to be able to
use it. I know we've probably got a very long
way to go for that, but, um, that is definitely
(26:15):
the big picture. Goal for me is to just, you know, change,
rewrite the entire narrative when it comes to beauty.
S5 (26:22):
I love that. That's great.
S4 (26:23):
Thank you so much for joining us. It has been
a blast. It's, uh, you're you're clearly enjoying Bali. And, uh,
so we'll leave you back to enjoy the swim up
bar and the beach and all that sort of stuff.
S2 (26:36):
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I really,
really appreciate it.
S4 (26:42):
That's a wrap for this week. A big thank you
to Storm Menzies. That was a good show, wasn't it, Lizzie?
S5 (26:47):
It certainly was. And of course, thanks to you for listening.
That includes our listeners on the Reading Radio Network. As usual,
you can find the podcast of this program plus some
extra content by going to Google, Spotify, Apple or your
favorite podcast platform.
S4 (27:02):
Next week we're celebrating the renewal of Studio One for
another three years. Yes we are. Yes, you're stuck with
us for that amount of time. So we will be
reading a few of your emails that we've sent over
the last year or so and going back over some
of our more notable episodes.
S5 (27:19):
But between now and then, please do get in touch
with the show. Whether you have experience of any of
the issues covered on this week's episode of Studio One,
or if you think there's something we should be talking about.
You never know. Your story and insight may help someone
who's dealing with something similar.
S4 (27:34):
Our email address is studio one at org. That's studio
number one at org.
S5 (27:40):
Or of course, you can find us on all the
good social media platforms, whether that be Facebook, Instagram or
X by looking for VA Radio Network. We want to
hear from you.
S4 (27:50):
This program was made possible with the support from the
Community Broadcasting Foundation.
S5 (27:54):
Find out more at CBF.
S4 (27:58):
Now you can go back to bed. Good night.
S11 (28:01):
Good night.
This is studio one on Vision Australia radio.
S2 (00:11):
Oh, yeah. What's the weather like there right now? Oh,
you're going to hate me because it's so nice. Yeah.
What's it like 15 here?
S3 (00:18):
Yeah, it's a lot.
S2 (00:19):
That's rough. Yeah, I think it's 32 degrees here today,
so it's like. It's really nice. I'm sweet. There you are.
S3 (00:26):
Oh, dear.
S4 (00:32):
Hello.
S5 (00:32):
I'm Sam and I'm Lizzie.
S4 (00:34):
And this is Studio one, your weekly look at life
from a low vision and blind point of view. Here
on Vision Australia Radio.
S5 (00:39):
On this week's show, we catch up with Storm Menzies,
creator of By Storm Beauty.
S4 (00:45):
As we always say at this point, please do get
in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of
any of the issues covered on this week's episode of
Studio One, or if you think there's something we should
be talking about, you never know. Your story and insight
may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar.
S5 (00:59):
You can contact us via email at studio One at org.
That's studio number one at the Australian. Or of course,
you can find us by going to the station's Facebook
page at facebook.com, Slash Radio Network.
S4 (01:14):
Good attempt there. I can tell you're struggling.
S5 (01:17):
Thanks.
S4 (01:20):
Alright. Coming to us all the way from Bali, of
all places is Storm Menzies. How are you today?
S2 (01:27):
I'm great, thank you. Yeah. Really good.
S4 (01:30):
You would have to be great in Bali. Uh, also
joining me, of course, is, um, sounds like Renee Geyer
at the moment, but it's actually Lizzie Eastham. Hello, Lizzie.
S6 (01:38):
Hey, how are we going today?
S4 (01:41):
So, uh, let's begin with, um, you storm. What? What
are you doing over in Bali?
S7 (01:45):
Yeah, well, I am here for my sister's wedding, which
has been lovely, but, um, inconvenient timing when you're, um,
launching your business at the same time.
S4 (01:57):
Wow.
S8 (01:58):
But as you were saying. Yes.
S4 (01:59):
You have got something coming up soon. We'll come to that, um,
a little bit later. But what got you started down
the line of beauty products?
S2 (02:09):
Yeah. So I, um, where do I even start? So
I was born with cerebral palsy. That affects the right
side of my body, but honestly had lived with very
few barriers in life. I mean, I desperately wanted to
be a dentist when I was younger. And, um, you
kind of need two hands and lots of dexterity to
do that. So other than my childhood dream of being
(02:31):
a dentist, which I know is a very strange, um,
childhood dream and, um, not being able to play the
trumpet properly, which, again, another strange childhood dream. Um, other
than that little bit very, very few barriers. But about
two years ago now, I broke my dominant hand. Honestly
(02:51):
didn't think too much of it, but when I went
to do my makeup, I realized how much I actually
relied on my dominant hand, and I'd never really thought
about that before, to be honest. I've just kind of
compensated so much with my left hand, which is my
dominant hand. I just didn't realize. And I went to
do my makeup and couldn't open the tube of mascara.
(03:15):
Just I just couldn't do it, let alone, you know,
hold it steady and use it. And it was this
kind of light bulb moment for me because I was like,
this is so hard. How does anyone with disability do
their makeup? This is really I just, you know, I
was like, this is just I never saw how inaccessible
it was. So I did, you know, the, the normal thing,
(03:37):
which was you Google thinking, oh, okay. You know, one
plus one equals two, right. Of course is going to
be accessible makeup. So just, you know, search accessible makeup
in Google. And nothing came off. And I was like
this is so bizarre. Like there was one country in
the US that didn't ship to Australia. And I'm like,
this just makes no sense. So I called one of my, um,
(03:59):
one of my girlfriends, and she has severe cerebral palsy.
And we've been friends for like, I don't know, probably
ten years, and I've never once asked her how she
did her makeup, ever. She always looks beautiful and it
just never crossed my mind. And I asked her how
she did it and she said, still with great difficulty,
(04:20):
makeup isn't made for people like me. And why would
it be? No one thinks they're beautiful. And it was
this moment for me that was a just heart breaking
and shattering mixed with a whole lot of, you know,
shame as well. To be completely honest. And I was like,
this just is not okay. And this is not right.
(04:41):
And I felt very, um, a lot of shame that
I'd never asked the question before and I didn't realize.
So that kind of, I guess, got me down the
track where I am now. It was just honestly complete
naivety until I had the lived experience myself. And I
was like, oh my God, why is no one doing
anything about this? Like, this is just insane.
S4 (05:01):
Well, I mean, even blind or vision impaired people, I mean,
we struggle with packaging of any sort, really. I mean, Lizzie,
you've encountered the joy of the childproof lock in the past,
haven't you?
S5 (05:12):
Oh, of course I have. Yeah. And just back to
the whole makeup thing. I've done the same thing. I
tried to Google accessible makeup, and we even had in
here in Adelaide, there's some blindness organizations that have tried
to run, like accessible makeup classes and stuff. And it's
just so hard. You get to a point where unless
(05:33):
you want to do the basic like eyeshadow and stuff,
if you want to do any more than that, you
end up needing support. So it's really cool that you've
decided to go into making some, like, changes into the
accessibility of makeup.
S2 (05:46):
It was honestly just a problem I couldn't ignore, and
I think a lot of it was, you know, I
just had never thought about it before. And I have
quite a lot of shame around that because I've, I've
worked in the disability space for, you know, ten years.
And I still didn't realize I never asked the question.
So I have a lot of, I guess, um, understanding
(06:08):
when it comes to the big beauty industries not paying
attention because they're probably it's probably not in their orbit,
which is why I'm really passionate about talking about it
and bringing it into people's orbit and understanding that, hey,
there's a huge problem here that affects millions and millions
and millions of people that I was really naive to.
And I think a lot of people are, um, but
(06:30):
I think once you start understanding it, you're like, oh
my gosh, we need to we need to problem solve this.
There has to be a way. But yeah, I just, I,
I couldn't not.
S4 (06:40):
So let's go back a little bit. Let's hear a
little bit about you. What is your, um, background. So
when you're not developing accessible makeup, what do you normally do?
S2 (06:49):
So I, uh, I've done lots of different things. I
started my, my career as a dietitian. Um, and then
I decided I hated it. Um, it's really, really hard
to help people with their diet when they don't want
help with it. Not a lot of people, not a
(07:09):
lot of people want help with their diet. Most of
the time I was seeing patients who were forced there
by their wives or their doctors or, or somewhere, and
they did not want help at all. And I think, um,
as I kind of reflect back on all the, you know,
things that I've done in my life, all I've ever
wanted to do was help people and make a difference.
So I started as a dietitian, and then I, not
(07:30):
knowing what to do, I, um, kind of fell into
the NDIS space as a support coordinator. Don't hold it
against me. Um.
S5 (07:39):
Don't don't worry.
S2 (07:41):
And I, um, I kind of just fell into support,
coordination and specialist support coordination and ended up doing my
master's in mental health and, you know, really loved that
space and moved into, again, don't hold it against me
and guys consulting and front a few NDIS companies. And
I'm really I'm really passionate about the space and, you know,
helping providers create systems and companies that make them able
(08:07):
to provide really good quality service. You know, obviously the
NDIS is a very controversial space and topic at the moment,
but there are some really amazing people in the space
doing really wonderful things. And it's been a um, yeah,
kind of a journey in my career in this space
doing all, all kind of weird and random and wonderful things.
But I really love it.
S4 (08:26):
We could talk probably do a completely separate show about
the NDIS. In fact, we have done completely separate shows
about the NDIS. But let's get back to the matter
at hand here. Tell us a little bit about these products.
S2 (08:39):
Yeah. So look I'll start with kind of coming back
to the problem. So we knew that I was learning
that makeup was really inaccessible particularly, you know, through my
lived experience it was physical, um, accessibility. That was kind
of my first, first understanding of it. I knew that
there was it was inaccessible. And I originally thought, okay,
(09:00):
we're going to need to make accessible makeup, that that
kind of makes the most sense for this. But as
I had focus groups, people with disability of all varying abilities,
we soon realized that the people that I was speaking
to didn't want special makeup. They just wanted to use
the same products that they were hearing about on TikTok,
(09:22):
on on Instagram, with all their friends were using. They
cared about, you know, using cool makeup, not necessarily, um,
wanting different makeup. So we came up with the idea
of making makeup accessories is what we call them. But
you can kind of think of them as like a
grip aid. But, you know, grip aid is not a
(09:42):
very sexy word. It's a very clinical word. So we
came up with makeup accessories, which are products that attach
to makeup items to make them easier to hold and use. Basically,
they basically just provide a bit more surface area and
different kind of shapes to accommodate different kind of like
hand mobility challenges. And one of the biggest things as
(10:06):
well is that they they don't they stop products from rolling, which, um,
I've learned is a very big problem with lots of
the low vision and blind community as well, because when
you drop a product and it's round and cylinder, which is, um,
most makeup items, they then roll and then that makes
it very challenging. So yeah, we kind of came up
with the idea of makeup accessories not actually redesigning the
(10:31):
makeup itself.
S4 (10:32):
So Lizzie, that sounds, um, very handy. I mean, would
you have some experience in all of that?
S5 (10:36):
Well, I've never used makeup accessory, obviously, but there's been
many a lipstick I've lost to the bottom of the
vanity unit when it's rolled underneath, and I can't get it, but.
So how do these actually work? So do they hold
the makeup case for you or, like, in what way
do they actually work?
S2 (10:54):
Great question. Um, we've designed them to be as universally
as adaptive as possible, meaning that they can fit a
whole different range of product types and different brands. Um,
the really I guess common denominator with a lot of
makeup products is they are round cylinders. Um, most makeup products,
so they are silicon and they kind of come in
(11:16):
different shapes, but basically they're silicon attachments that you push
your makeup product into and you push, I guess, the
handle of the makeup product. So if it was a mascara,
for instance, you put it over the top of the
handle part of the mascara or the lid part where
the wand attaches. You put it over the top of that,
(11:38):
and it helps you be able to twist the actual
product open and then I guess, take it out and
use it where you have a bit more control over
using the product because you've got a bit more surface area.
S5 (11:50):
So I wanted to go back to something you said,
which was that you had these focus groups. How did you, uh,
get those focus groups together, and what methods did you
use to collect that sort of data?
S2 (12:01):
Yeah.
S9 (12:01):
So I originally.
S2 (12:02):
Started with just surveys. Well, not really knowing. So I've,
you know, haven't had a business like this before and
I didn't really know what to do. So a lot
of my information was coming from Google to start with
to say, how do I co-design? How do I make
sure people with disability are involved in this, that I'm
making products that actually work for people? So I originally
(12:24):
started with just a survey, and it was just a
Google form that I put on, I think Instagram and
Facebook and just kind of tried to see if I
guess anyone was interested. And the original survey was actually
just trying to understand people's different lived experience when it
comes to maps and beauty. And I think it was
called understanding makeup for people with different abilities, something along
(12:47):
those lines. Um, and then one of my friends, Kelly
from Nobull me.
S3 (12:52):
Uh, we know Kelly.
S2 (12:53):
Oh, you know Kelly. Yes. She's amazing.
S5 (12:56):
Yeah.
S2 (12:56):
Kelly's amazing. So, Kelly, I sent my survey to her originally,
and she said, this is terrible. She's she's very much
a straight shooter and she was like, okay, we definitely
need to redesign this. And she actually, um, helped me
redesign it all and send, um, the survey out to
a lot of people in the disability community with all
(13:17):
different kind of abilities. And we were primarily focused on, um,
different physical and dexterity challenges. And we got, I think,
about 100 survey responses from that, which was amazing. And
one of the survey responses actually named the company. So yes,
my name is storm and it was called by storm. Uh,
it's called by storm. Um, which people go, oh, that's,
(13:39):
you know, because it's named after myself. But actually it
was in response to one of the questions, how does
makeup and beauty make you feel? And someone wrote, it
made me feel confident and powerful, like, I can take
the world by storm. And I was like, oh, that's it.
That's that's that's the name right there. Um, but anyway,
that's we started with surveys. And then from the surveys,
(14:02):
one of the questions was, would you like to be
contacted further about, you know, about what we're doing? And
quite a few people said yes. So from that survey,
I reached out to those people also through my network of, um,
NDIS providers as well. Um, we had focus groups of
people and we really just had brainstorming sessions to start with.
(14:23):
I had already done a few like designs of things,
of what I thought, but we kind of came together.
We had like there were only very small. So like,
I think the first one was 10 or 15 people. Um,
and then the second ones got a little bit bigger
after that. And we were going through, I guess, what
is actually going to work here. I had what I
thought my ideas were and they were so completely wrong. Um,
(14:47):
after doing the groups, I thought, yeah, we're definitely going
to be designing makeup, and this is how it's going
to be. And the feedback that I got was not
we're not doing any of that, um, which was really
great and really eye opening for me. It challenged a
lot of, I guess, the assumptions I'd made, which I
think was one of the most valuable experiences we had
(15:07):
from from doing the focus groups. We had about five
focus groups going back and forth with different, different kind
of products, different variations. We'd go, yep, okay, we think
this is it. And then we go back and go, okay, no,
this isn't it. Let's try it again.
S5 (15:21):
It's great though.
S4 (15:22):
So out of all that, what was the biggest surprise?
I mean, so one was yes, that they didn't necessarily
want special makeup, but was there anything else that actually
took you by surprise?
S9 (15:31):
Yeah, actually. So when I was first.
S2 (15:33):
Designing these, I had in my head I thought we
were designing a different or a product for each product.
So like, you know, we'll make a mascara drink and
then a lipstick grip. Um, and one of the biggest things,
which sounds so simple is someone picked up one of
the accessories and I was like, okay, so this one
we're thinking for mascara. This one we're thinking for, you know,
(15:56):
nail polish. And they literally just picked it up and
then put it on every different makeup item. We're like, well,
can't I just be used across all of them? I
don't want to have like different ones for different makeup products.
And I was like, oh my God, yeah, of course
I can. Like it was just this really like light
bulb moment. So we then ended up going one of
the hardest challenges was going, how do we make this fit?
(16:18):
Different diameters and slightly different shapes so they can fit
across different brands and different product types. So I guess,
you know, brand diagnostic and they can really be used
however you want to use them. I made all of
the first initial prototypes myself, so I taught myself how
to 3D model, and I bought a 3D printer and
started injection silicone molding in my garage. It was a very, um,
(16:42):
very garage setup and, you know, winging a lot of
that because, you know, I have a full time job.
I'm just trying to see what we can kind of
do in every, every other spare minute. I'm I'm working. Um,
so I was able to kind of quickly iterate, which
was really cool. So after every focus group or after
every conversation I had with someone and I'd get an idea,
(17:04):
I'm like, oh, we can change it this way. But we, um,
ended up, uh. I just love myself. I always say, oh,
we ended up doing this. It's all me. But I
feel like we just sounds. Makes me sound so much
more professional. Like I've got a whole company behind me or.
S10 (17:18):
A whole team behind me. That is fair enough, but I.
S2 (17:22):
I ended up probably, I think it was close to
a hundred different revisions we made of just the opening
of the shape. So they were able to accommodate all
the different kinds of sizes between different brands of makeup
and also different makeup types. So that was one of
the biggest, I guess design challenges is how do you
(17:43):
have something that can get on a product easy enough
and be taken off easily enough, whilst also accommodate different
sizes and slightly different shapes, but also stay on enough
to help twist open a product and stay on while
you're using it. So there were kind of lots of
different variables to consider that because I was really trying
(18:05):
to think about, okay, it can't be too difficult to
take on and and take off because you know that
that can be a really big challenge. But we also
need to help open a product. Um, so there were
kind of lots of different conflicting, almost design challenges. But
we we got there in the end, which was really good.
But yeah, that was one of the biggest surprises is
(18:25):
just yeah, of course we could be used across different
product types like it was one of those like, oh,
of course it's so obvious and I never thought of it.
S5 (18:35):
So you are launching your product on the 24th of June? Yes.
Is that correct?
S2 (18:41):
Yes.
S10 (18:41):
I'm very, very excited.
S2 (18:43):
We did a a pre-sale just to kind of test
the waters. The first day I got in I got
to Bali, which was very poor timing. I am really
good at not having any concept of time. So, you know,
it's it's the ADHD. I mean I'm yeah, not very
good at that, but just to, you know, stress test
the waters and it went so amazingly well. I was
(19:06):
so happy and so, so stoked with it. Um, but
we do officially launch in June. Yeah, June 24th when
I get back. So I can be there to fulfill
orders and fix anything that's broken. You know, we had
a little break with the website, um, to start with
on actually the NDIS purchasing place of the website. So
(19:26):
we stress tested that, which was amazing and got it
all fixed. But yeah, 24th of June it's yeah, really,
really exciting.
S5 (19:34):
So these products can be bought using NDIS funding. Is
that correct? Because that's what I seem to understand from
what I've seen.
S2 (19:42):
Yeah that's right. So obviously in the context of it
needs to be reasonable and necessary and related to your disability. Uh,
what I've actually done on the website is create a
reasonable and necessary form so you can actually fill out
that form on the website and click if it is
reasonable or necessary to your disability type and it will
(20:05):
email you your answers. So then you can forward that
through to your plan manager or your support coordinator or
your NDIS planner if you actually need need the evidence. Um,
working in the NDIS space, I know that you need
evidence for everything. So I've read every single piece of
legislation and really tried to make sure I could figure
(20:27):
out a way that this wasn't going to become a
nightmare for people who actually need it. And then the
planner or the sport owner or anyone goes, oh, well,
is this actually claimable? You know, why is it? And
then put that burden on the person who actually just
wants to buy it. I've tried to do that legwork.
So we have the evidence there. Um, and I've written
a few templates for support letters as well. So you
(20:49):
can see the support coordinator coming out of me ready
for your support letter like templates that participants can use, um,
to send to the plan managers as well, just to
kind of help the plan manager or the planner and
planner understand, I guess, the need for it. And also
the cost. Cost for benefit, which is, you know, one
of the things the NDA loves to say, but making
(21:11):
sure that it's actually gonna, um, be a reasonable cost
for the NDA and it's going to reduce the reliance
on more expensive supports.
S4 (21:20):
Now, not everybody is actually on the NDIS, so if, um,
they decided someone out there decides they actually need something
like this. Uh, what sort of cost are we looking at?
S10 (21:29):
Um, so the products.
S2 (21:30):
Are $45 and they are a lifetime guarantee. So they're
silicon and very durable and, um, will literally last. Um,
they'll probably outlive me, to be completely honest. So they're
very drop proof and very breakable. Um, very, very, very
clumsy and probably drop mine 300 times a day and
(21:52):
they just bounce straight back up, which is excellent.
S4 (21:55):
How big are they? Because one of the biggest problems
that I as a blind person, uh, tend to have
is that all of these very useful little tool, which
I'll then promptly lose. Is it easy to lose and
leave it and drop it behind a desk or something
like that?
S2 (22:08):
Um, no. Look, they're not I mean, they're not huge,
but they're. I guess their whole purpose is to provide
more surface area. Um, so they're quite reasonable. Uh, I'm
trying to think smaller than a tennis ball, but. But
bigger than a ping pong ball.
S5 (22:24):
Yeah, that is that.
S2 (22:26):
And trying to think of, um, some comparable sizes there.
So definitely not tiny. You're not going to lose it
down the back of your couch.
S5 (22:33):
Just nice enough size to put in the makeup case, right? Exactly.
S2 (22:37):
Still fits inside a makeup case or on your or
in your vanity. I've tried to make all of them
with flat surfaces as well. So something that I learned
by doing a lot of observations of watching people do
their makeup was that, unlike me, who often does their
makeup as they drive in the car, which I'm very
multi skilled at, a lot of people sit in the
(22:58):
one place to do their makeup and like things to
go back in the same spot and everything has has
spots for things, so we've tried to make sure that
everything has a flat bottom. It's not going to roll,
it's drop proof and really try to consider a lot
of those things in the design process, okay?
S4 (23:16):
If somebody wants this product, where do they go? How
do they get it?
S2 (23:21):
Um, they can go to my website which is by
storm Beauty.com ww.com. And if you do go to my website,
I would just like to say, um, I have tried
to make my website as accessible as possible. Um, I've
tested it a million times, but I would love any feedback.
(23:41):
So if anyone does go to my website and they
see that it is not accessible for them, I'm really, really,
really open to feedback and I really want to create
a really accessible shopping experience because I know that's a
huge barrier for a lot of people. So if anyone
would like to provide any feedback to me, I would, um,
really love that.
S5 (24:01):
Well, I actually happened to go to your website today. Oh, great.
And unfortunately, at the moment is not accessible for Apple
Screen readers because there's some sort of like, launching banner
thing that keeps coming up and it just blocks everything
else and you can't get to anything. But I haven't
tried it on my computer yet.
S2 (24:20):
Oh, okay.
S5 (24:21):
Oh my gosh, thank.
S2 (24:21):
You so much for telling me. Oh, I think all
of my, um, stress tests for my website, we didn't
actually have that banner when I was stress testing it.
We kind of only added that in. So that is
so helpful because now I can go and change that.
Thank you.
S5 (24:38):
That's okay. So after the launch goes and um, provided
all goes well, which I'm sure it will. What are
your future goals for Bystorm beauty? What's next? What's next?
S2 (24:48):
Look, I, um, I have a really silly business goal.
Anyone in the business space would be like, this is ridiculous.
So my goal is to actually make my products completely redundant.
I want to make accessibility the standard when it comes
to beauty and makeup. I guess my my goal is
to really be able to educate the big beauty brands
who actually have the funds and means and capacity to
(25:11):
change the way that we interact with beauty as a whole. Um,
and I do have a collaboration with a big beauty brand, um,
launching the month after, which is really exciting because they
have a very, very large audience. And I want to
get the understanding that accessibility in makeup is really important,
(25:32):
and it's a lot easier to do when we actually
build it in from the very start and make it
a design consideration, like we do with so many other
features of makeup. There are certain sets of principles that
we have to design by, and I want accessibility to
be built into the to the foundations of that. So,
you know, stupid business model for me trying to make
(25:53):
my actual products redundant. But I want makeup to be
accessible as the standard so anyone when they can walk
into a, you know, Mecca. Sephora, Priceline, wherever you get
your makeup, knows that they're going to be able to
use it. I know we've probably got a very long
way to go for that, but, um, that is definitely
(26:15):
the big picture. Goal for me is to just, you know, change,
rewrite the entire narrative when it comes to beauty.
S5 (26:22):
I love that. That's great.
S4 (26:23):
Thank you so much for joining us. It has been
a blast. It's, uh, you're you're clearly enjoying Bali. And, uh,
so we'll leave you back to enjoy the swim up
bar and the beach and all that sort of stuff.
S2 (26:36):
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I really,
really appreciate it.
S4 (26:42):
That's a wrap for this week. A big thank you
to Storm Menzies. That was a good show, wasn't it, Lizzie?
S5 (26:47):
It certainly was. And of course, thanks to you for listening.
That includes our listeners on the Reading Radio Network. As usual,
you can find the podcast of this program plus some
extra content by going to Google, Spotify, Apple or your
favorite podcast platform.
S4 (27:02):
Next week we're celebrating the renewal of Studio One for
another three years. Yes we are. Yes, you're stuck with
us for that amount of time. So we will be
reading a few of your emails that we've sent over
the last year or so and going back over some
of our more notable episodes.
S5 (27:19):
But between now and then, please do get in touch
with the show. Whether you have experience of any of
the issues covered on this week's episode of Studio One,
or if you think there's something we should be talking about.
You never know. Your story and insight may help someone
who's dealing with something similar.
S4 (27:34):
Our email address is studio one at org. That's studio
number one at org.
S5 (27:40):
Or of course, you can find us on all the
good social media platforms, whether that be Facebook, Instagram or
X by looking for VA Radio Network. We want to
hear from you.
S4 (27:50):
This program was made possible with the support from the
Community Broadcasting Foundation.
S5 (27:54):
Find out more at CBF.
S4 (27:58):
Now you can go back to bed. Good night.
S11 (28:01):
Good night.
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