SYDNEY: Kirrily Johnston has branched out of her design forte to help raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis Australia.
Johnston has teamed up with Switch Sticks to create a fashionable walking stick which will be given to an MS ambassador to use. It will also be displayed in the Bristol and Brooks store at the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney.
Sydney-based pop-artist Simon Lovelace and Victorian painter Leone Harris have also taken part in creating unique designs for the project.
Director of Switch Sticks Australia Fiona Chapman said the initiative is to raise awareness of MS. In 2011 she intends to hold an event to auction the walking sticks in a bid to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis Australia.
"MS sufferers tend to be younger," she said. "So any walking stick that is more joyful in design rather than a classic black is more appealing to them."
Switch Sticks was launched in 2006 and operates in Australia and the UK. It offers colourful walking stick designs, with the aim to break the stigma associated with using a walking aid.