Keine Produkte im Warenkorb
The demands of a normal workplace are too great, and they don’t feel at the right place in a workshop for people with disabilities – people with special needs are special people. With us, the challenges of the working world are tailored to their abilities – in the truest sense.
How it all began
Sometimes you just have to make things happen. Sigrid Regensberger knows from personal experience. Her daughter Julia has special needs and is therefore one of those people who cannot really be integrated into a conventional working model. That is why the dedicated mother took matters into her own hands. It all began in 2015 with the idea of sewing ponchos for the Christmas market. The first collection was created in a sewing workshop measuring just 40 square metres in Bruneck’s upper town, with white lettering on the window facing the street: VergissMeinNicht. Sometimes success stories start small…
Sigrid Regensberger (initiator)
Sigrid, without you there would be no Vergissmeinnicht…
… no, without Julia we wouldn’t exist. Before our daughter was born, I could never have imagined what it would be like to have a child with special needs. Like all parents, we were committed to her well-being. She was well included in school. But then the last school year came and Julia fell into somewhat of a hole.
What was affecting her so much?
Julia is a very sensitive person. She noticed that her classmates were now studying or had jobs – but she wouldn’t be able to do the same under the given circumstances. That was a terrible time. I had already looked around everywhere to find out what projects there were for people like her. In the end, I came to the conclusion that I had to do something myself. A friend gave me the idea of opening a sewing workshop. Our first product: the poncho.
A difficult start?
There was a lot of going to and from the drawing board. The success of our product surprised even us. People talked about us in every sense. Many people thought that we were financed entirely by public funds and donations. But that is not true. We now generate 89 per cent of our turnover ourselves. The rest is the support we receive for our people with special needs from the public sector and from private sponsors.
What does it mean to be a person with special needs?
It means finding it difficult to fit in. Not being able to be integrated in a normal workplace because the challenges are too great. And at the same time, having the feeling that you are not in the right place in a workshop for people with disabilities. We always say that the Vergissmeinnicht is a place for the people in between. Those who have been forgotten – hence the name.
How do people react?
We don’t have customers, we have fans. Which is wonderful. Many people buy from us again and again. They love our products, not only because of their quality, but also because they are individual pieces. The fact that they buy them with the awareness of giving special people a chance in life certainly plays a part. But it’s also because of the quality.
What else characterises the products?
Nobody is perfect. There is a full range of sizes to choose from. If a piece doesn’t fit, it will be altered. It is as simple as that. We also make models for people with disabilities, amputations or other health restrictions which means they cannot find suitable clothes. That also reflects the social nature of the project. There are the occasional tears, because some people are not used to being thought of.
Markus Pescoller (President)
Our team
Inclusion is a big word. We live it. We sew, sell, discuss and laugh with people with special needs, people who have had to leave their homes, women who want to make a fresh start in their careers and many volunteers who give us their time and expertise. At the heart of the action – with a heart for action – that is us.
There are days when she feels so much pressure in her head and can’t concentrate in the morning.
There are days when he can’t look at patterned fabrics for long because everything starts spinning.
There are days when there are just too many people in the room…
Those are some of the challenges that people with special needs have in their working lives. Giving them the peace and quiet they need, creating suitable premises and ensuring that their needs are catered for and that they are still challenged is just one of the tasks of the social cooperative. It is like a wide net, which also includes the employees. They consciously choose this workplace because the tasks are so different and exciting. And because it makes them happy to help others grow. And then there are the volunteers. Lots of different reasons lead these people to give their time to Vergissmeinnicht. Some have experienced blows of fate themselves, others want to give something back because they were lucky in life. And they all say that it feels good to be part of a community. At Vergissmeinnicht, everyone contributes what they do best.
