Imelda Sankson: My deaf son inspired me to set up my own business to promote deaf awareness (BSL)

Hi everyone! My name is Imelda Sankson and I am a deaf business owner. I have an online shop called Hitcreations4u selling BSL clothing, cards and gifts and I live in Lancashire with my husband and our two boys Harry and Theo.

During lockdown when people were wearing masks, I found that I couldn’t understand anyone. I decided to go for a hearing test and after my appointment I was promptly fitted with hearing aids.

I actually had hearing problems when I started school as a child and I always sat at the front of the class. As I got older and left school my parents assumed that my hearing had improved, but it turns out I have simply been lipreading my whole life!

I communicate through speech and British Sign Language. Our home language is British Sign Language as my youngest son Theo is profoundly Deaf due to being born without his auditory nerves and he uses BSL to communicate.

We have been BSL users since he was born taking night classes to learn sign language to always stay ahead of his language development.

Back in 2019 Theo asked me for a t-shirt with his name in BSL on it and I couldn’t find one. So I decided to buy the equipment to make him one instead! He was so proud and would fingerspell his name to everyone he met.

During lockdown I found I had more time to make other items and decided to set up a business selling t-shirts initially, and so Hitcreations4u was born! The HIT stands for Harry, Imelda, Theo. 

Shortly after we started trading we added greeting cards to our range and now, we have a card for every occasion. Over the last few years, we have added mugs, totes and even BSL engraved jewellery to our range.

I was inspired to set Hitcreations4u up by Theo being a BSL user and my passion for spreading Deaf awareness. When I shared his first BSL t-shirt on my Facebook page Deaf friends asked me to make them for their children.

The business has grown since then really and every item we sell creates more awareness and promotes the importance of BSL. Creating awareness is something I am passionate about as I want to ensure Theo grows up proud of his language and has a strong Deaf identity.

As a parent to a child who is a full BSL user I see the challenges Theo faces daily through accessing education due to the closure of Deaf schools, lack of interpreters for mainstream school and the decreasing numbers of Teachers of the Deaf.

All our products promote Deaf Awareness, and I am very proud of them. Our speciality products are our Seat Belt Covers that in the event of an emergency tell the first responders that the person wearing it is a BSL user or a cochlear implant wearer.

I get inspired by the need for inclusion for all of the Deaf community and raising awareness for Sign Language and what a beautiful language it is.

Crafting is great hobby for everyone, whether you are Deaf or hearing and it is a great way to pass time. Accessibility to crafting could be better if there were improvements to the captions on online tutorials as these are not always available.

I currently sell online on Etsy and at Deaf fayres across the North of England. I am at Manchester and Bolton Christmas Fayres and will be attending more events in 2025.

I would say that currently the most popular items I create are greeting cards! Thinking forwards to the future, I would like to grow the business and attend more national events. 

My ultimate dream would be to have my designs stocked by a large High Street chain!

 

Limping Chicken readers can get a discount at Hitcreations4u by ordering direct from Imelda on Facebook or Instagram or by using the code Limping on her online shop.

You can contact Imelda on the links below:

Instagram @hitcreations4u_2

Facebook @hitcreations4u

TikTok @hitcreations4u

Etsy Shop Https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Hitcreations4u

Gmail Hitcreations4u@gmail.com