A Dunedin teenager is hoping to bring a little colour to the lives of other young people living with serious illnesses.
Queen’s High School student Olivia Adie, 17, began looking for more options for medical grade hyper-fix tape when she first began using it several years ago while struggling with chronic illnesses.
The illnesses she had included abdominal vascular compression syndrome (AVCS) – which meant she could no longer eat or drink without extreme pain.
She had a central line and was tube-fed, so she needed the tape to hold it in place throughout the day.
But the only options for tape that she liked lacked variety, or had to be imported from overseas and were too expensive.
“I just remembered knowing that there was a gap in [the market] and then with making a business for [the Young Enterprise Scheme], I just wanted to fill that gap, I guess,” Olivia said.
Hospitals supplied white tape or patterns designed for young children that were not appealing to teenagers or young adults.
“There’s not any other options really – it’s very minimal in New Zealand and if you source it overseas where there are more options, it’s really, really, really expensive and it takes forever to get here.”
The choice of tape might seem small, but could mean a lot to people suffering from chronic illnesses.
“You have very little control over things when you are sick.”
For her business, Tubie Time, she used her school’s new sublimation printer to print the designs for the tape, which included checkered, floral and animal designs.
“[I can print] anything pretty much. If someone wants something, as long as they have a photo of it, I can put it on.”
She was making her product affordable by charging at cost to cover the production of the tape and donations to the community.
For every unit of tape she sold, one was given out for free at Dunedin Hospital or a care facility.
She was surprised by the range of people from across the country that had bought the tape from her.
Friends and family members of people who used it would often buy it for them.
Olivia is the Young Enterprise Scheme 2024 class ambassador.
She will be sharing a table with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame event in September.
She was not sure what she was going to talk to him about, she said.
