Jessica Segal Sasfai is currently trying to manufacture a coat for individuals with disabilities.
Lochwood resident Jessica Segal Sasfai had been uncomfortable in her winter coats. They made it hard to move, were difficult to put on and were uncomfortable when she was in her wheelchair. Her left arm doesn’t straighten all the way either, which made a simple task even more difficult.
A car accident when she was 21 also means Sasfai’s body temperature can become unregulated so while the winter months are a better time for her, finding a decent winter coat was another story. But the wife and mother has taken matters into her own hands.
She began designing a coat that would fit her needs—it would fit comfortably while in her wheelchair, button on the side instead of the front and eliminate the left sleeve, instead having a pocket on the inside for her arm to sit in.
Sasfai took her love for fashion and the experience from two degrees obtained at the Art Institute of Dallas and began designing a unique coat. In October of 2015, and with the help of a friend who enjoyed sewing, Sasfai began creating that winter coat. It was on Christmas Eve that the coat was finished and on Christmas day Sasfai showed it to her family. While everyone loved it, the words of her uncle made Sasfai realize she could do more than just the one piece of clothing.
“My uncle said, ‘Jess, you need to do something, this is awesome,’ ” Sasfai recalls.
Soon she began looking at a way to patent the coat in order to make it for other people with disabilities. A patent attorney Sasfai had contacted found there really was no design like it and by June 2016 the patent was pending. However, she needed $3,000 to finish it.
Because Sasfai’s family lives paycheck to paycheck, she began a GoFundMe page to make her coat a reality. She has now surpassed that mark and still plans to raise $5,000 in total with extra funds going toward the start of production.
Sasfai says people have already started asking if they can order the coat. She plans to use it for individuals who have a wide range of disabilities, whether that is autism or the effects of a stroke.
“It really was just a personal need that was filled,” Sasfai says. “And then I realized there was a bigger market for it.”
