Quality with a human touch:

By Cameron Rasmusson
Reader Staff

Most people want to feel like they’re a productive member of society regardless of the challenges in their way. That sense is exactly want locally based business bTizzy provides.

It’s to the company’s great credit that it also offers a marketplace full of high-quality products. That those products happen to be made by people with disabilities is almost irrelevant, but then again, it’s integral to the company’s reason for being. For many, bTizzy represents a new opportunity to become self-sufficient.

“Offering [people with disabilities] a platform and presenting it in a way that public could appreciate seemed to be greatest need, and that’s what bTizzy provides,” said business owner Nikki Zimmerman.

One of bTizzy’s products, Alex Elman 100% Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil which features braille on the bottle for those who are sight-impaired. Photo courtesy of bTizzy.

Zimmerman, who herself had a daughter with disabilities, knows full well the talent that many disabled individuals bring to the table. They only need the presentation, professional marketplace and promotion that bespeaks their work’s quality. That’s how the idea for bTizzy came together.

“A lot of our vendors did not have the means to do their own outreach and marketing,” Zimmerman said. “They needed a full platform for them to be seen in positive way.”

Located online at btizzy.com, the marketplace features a professional, easy-to-navigate design with pages featuring the work of each contributor. The artists and artisans themselves come from a variety of circumstances, some suffering from physical disorders like blindness or paraplegia and others from intellectual disabilities. What can’t be denied is the quality of their work, which ranges from beautifully detailed artwork to jewelry to home products like artisinal soaps and olive oil.

“These folks are so tremendous that it’s just a privilege to work with them,” Zimmerman said. “It’s a testimony to their resolve.”

Likewise, the bTizzy producers are happy to have a marketplace for their work. Zimmerman said it’s a misconception that people on public disability insurance are content to stay there. They want the chance to make their own way and support or entirely fulfill their own livelihood.

“I’ve never met one person who didn’t want to participate in the economy,” Zimmerman said.

For bTizzy producer Charlotte, who makes earrings on her bTizzy page, the website is a terrific opportunity to express her creativity and sell a valuable product. She sees it as a step in the right direction for people with disabilities, who want to work but are often limited in their opportunities.

“Any employment or any type of work that a disabled person or any person for that matter can do is great,” she said. “I think that the more people that we have employed the better in any way, shape or form that could possibly be.”

BTizzy product creators come from all over the country, as do the their supporters. Zimmerman said the site has generated significant interest since launching last summer. She’s hoping to build that momentum into a nationally recognized option for disabled people. The company motto is “get into one”—find one artist or producer that sparks your interest—and Zimmerman hopes that call to action will open up new worlds to many.

“We have people all over the U.S. who are contacting us,” she said. “The need is so great and interest is so high, so it’s kind of daunting.”