Jane’s journey to setting up her braille business
We spoke with Jane, Coalition Member and also Board Member of the Coalition, about her journey to creating her braille business.
At the age of nine Jane learnt how to touch type, every Monday afternoon she would have a lesson with her teacher on how to type and she still remembers these methods and skills. Touch typing is using a keyboard without looking or being able to see the keys.
Fast forward to eighteen, Jane attended the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford where she learnt how to read and write braille, whilst also learning business skills. During this time Jane used the Perkins machine, which is a braille typewriter and Jane recalled how heavy it was and still is to this day!
After her time at the Royal National College for the Blind, Jane worked for Barclays Bank as a telephonist, but was made redundant in 2002. Which led her to return to college for three months to learn and develop her braille technology skills. Also, in the year 2002 Jane met Jonathan Fisher, the current Coalition Chair and this was how Jane later became involved with the work of The Coalition. During this time Jane focused on voluntary work and hobbies, such as learning to play the guitar and having classical guitar lessons.
Skipping forward to December 2007, Jane continued to grow her skills through taking on a new project, which was learning how to take a photo with very little sight. Jane joined a four-week photography course, with her friend Jason.
Jane focused her photography project on pictures of her family. She also took photographs of her home, garden and videoed birds singing. One of Jane’s photography projects involved being in Tooting Market and taking a photo of an enormous and colourful rack of shoes! At the end of the course there was an exhibition which showcased one of your favourite photos from the course, Jane entered a photo of her mum at La Cala beach in Spain. Her family came to view the exhibition and they were blown away by the quality of work, her dad said, “I would have paid to have gone round there again”.
Jane has learnt a range of skills and knowledge from her career, projects and studies which has led her to setting up her own braille business. In September 2012, Jane started running her Braille Transcription Service, which involves transcribing documents, menus, newsletters and much more. If you’d like to learn more about Braille Transcription Service, please visit Jane’s website: Braille Transcription Service – Enabling visually impaired people print equality through Braille services