by Katie Oborn
Plymouth Herald (UK)
A young Plymouth man who has been blind since birth has been making the world a better place for visually-impaired people.
After feeling judged and at times discriminated against, Brandon Hulcoop came up with an idea that has made a huge difference to so many lives.
The 23-year-old got fed up with people thinking he was stupid, he felt judged by many for being blind – and wanted to change things. Hulcoop said that simple things most take for granted, such as reading a menu in a restaurant, are typically not accessible to visually impaired people.
Setting up a business called All Things Dotty, Hulcoop started creating and selling greetings cards using braille, before expanding to create braille menus for cafes and restaurants. Last month he was rewarded for his work – winning the Youth Ambition national award at The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders Awards.
“I’ve lived my life as a blind person, constantly finding different problems with each and every place I visited,” Hulcoop said. “After studying at the Royal National College for the Blind, I realized how inaccessible the mainstream world is and I was filled with a determination to try and solve some of these problems.”
“The idea for All Things Dotty came to me from not being able to read my birthday cards. I realized I didn’t know what the world around me looked like. The fact that it’s 2024 and it’s still not a legal requirement for restaurants to have a braille menu, it’s like they don’t care.”
“I think life is what you make it no matter what your situation, but I’ve found people ignoring the fact that I was blind or even assuming blind people like myself are stupid,” Hulcoop said. “I got fed up with relying on other people to read the menu for me when eating out, so I started creating braille to make everyday things more accessible.”
Hulcoop makes the most of every opportunity and hopes his business will have a positive effect on how society treats blind people. He also said that when he checks into a hotel none of the safety signs or room numbers on the door are available in braille – and this is what he wants to change with All Things Dotty.
“Since I was a child attitudes towards the visually impaired in society have not really changed even though equipment and resources have evolved,” Hulcoop said. “I’m lucky to have a good network of friends and family who support me and I’m trying to take things forward and in the right direction with All Things Dotty. My real dream is to provide national restaurant chains with braille and large print menus, and, hopefully, to move into our own offices.”
Hulcoop said that winning the Youth Ambition Award was the “proudest occasion” of his life. He set up All Things Dotty in 2023 with help from The Prince’s Trust.
Mike Hogan is Hulcoop’s Princes Trust mentor, but has also become his best friend. Mike is the “eyes of the business” and an “all-round good laugh.” Earlier this year the pair visited Lord David Blunkett, who is also blind, at the House of Lords.
“Lord David Blunkett has been really fantastic and we’re lucky to have his support and ideas that have really moved things forward with business,” Hulcoop said.
As well as providing braille menus to restaurants across the UK, All Things Dotty offers braille tuition and disability awareness courses. Greetings cards, coloring books and board games are all available in accessible formats – and Hulcoop’s next plan is to create braille bus and train timetables to help visually-impaired people travel independently.
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