Dotty About Braille was founded in May 2023 by me, Hayley Kellard, a disabled entrepreneur based in Greater Manchester.

After finding myself between businesses, I decided to look for a part time, home based jobs, I came across one with the RNIB but you needed to know braille. I did know braille, sort of, a little bit...

I had been taught some braille back in school, but hadn't really shown much interest and although I'd been around braille my whole life, because my mum in particular is an avid reader (read about Bridget's love of braille here), I couldn't really remember much.

So with the job not closing for six weeks, I set myself the challenge of learning braille, both grades one and two.

I didn't get the job at the RNIB, but instead I discovered I had a passion for braille, just like my mum! And this passion led me down a very exciting path.

Being a typical entrepreneur, I wondered how I might turn this into a business venture, and this is when I came up with the idea of braille greetings cards.

I'd always been aware of the limited options for braille greetings cards, how they were often old fashioned, overpriced or not fully accessible.

I created a unique range of braille greetings cards, cards that are fully accessible to blind and visually impaired people. The cards don't have images, patterns or printed text, just braille.

All cards are available in lots of different colours, because yes, blind people do often have a favourite colour. To ensure the cards are fully accessible, I types the colour on the back of the card.

I'm able to type braille in any language where a braille code exists, and so far I've typed braille in English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, French and Polish.

I came up with the business name Dotty About Braille after my mum joked I was "mad about braille" because I rang her multiple times a day to ask questions about braille! Hehe!