ooak started with a problem most people recognise once they have faced it.
The problem
When someone close to us needed a walking stick, the options were everywhere and nowhere. Pharmacies, medical supply stores, online catalogues, all of them offered the same thing in slightly different configurations. Functional. Durable. Clinical. Designed for institutions, not for people.
Nothing existed for someone who cared about design. Nothing was made for a person who had spent their life choosing things carefully and was not about to stop now. The options felt disempowering and shameful, far from the reality of who our user was.
Robbie van Dam
Robbie van Dam is a designer based in Wellington, New Zealand. When his father-in-law needed a walking stick but resisted every option on the market, Robbie applied what he knew to a product category that had never asked for it.
The result was the ooak Uno. A walking stick with a responsibly sourced hardwood stem, recycled plastic components including repurposed fishing nets, and an ergonomic handle designed for extended daily use. Made to order. Available in three sizes and eight colour combinations.
Robbie partnered up with Rikki Campbell, another designer with a passion for creativitity and redesigning the way we see the world. Our guys stay in the background. ooak is not a brand built around a designer. It's build to bring life to our customers and tell the stories of our people living more independently because of it.
What ooak is trying to do
The mobility aid category is enormous and almost entirely unloved from a design perspective. Products are designed for procurement, for durability in storage, for clinical settings. Not for the person who carries them every day.
ooak is one of the few brands anywhere in the world addressing this directly. It is stocked at Te Papa Museum, World, The Dowse Art Museum, and the Len Lye Centre along with many others. Not because it is a medical product but because it is a designed object worth putting in a gallery.
That is the standard ooak was built to and a walking stick is just the beginning!
Ready to find yours? Check out the range now.
