About HDS
The Story of HDS MEDALLION®
Our story begins with our mother, Hazel Della Snodgrass, pictured above on her 100th birthday. She was feisty and independent. She was always well put together and extremely active until she fell and broke her hip at 99½, and everything changed.
After she moved into an assisted living facility, one of her biggest frustrations was the ugly, medicinal looking, metal walker and her inabiity to carry her things in a stylish purse when using it. Unable to find a walker bag that Hazel liked, her daughters, Carol and Sharon, took matters into their own hands.
Sharon made Mom the first of several walker bags with style and flair worthy of Mom's personality and taste (center picture top of page).
See how stylish she looked at 101 with her last HDS MEDALLION® Bag. Her bags became the rage at the assisted living facility and soon all of Hazel's friends were sporting Sharon's handiwork.
Sharon made Mom the first of several walker bags with style and flair worthy of Mom's personality and taste (center picture top of page).
See how stylish she looked at 101 with her last HDS MEDALLION® Bag. Her bags became the rage at the assisted living facility and soon all of Hazel's friends were sporting Sharon's handiwork.
Carol realized the bags were truly special when the ladies shared how the bags improved their morale and how much they loved all of the compliments they received. HDS MEDALLION (with the initials of their beloved mother's name) was born and these beautiful bags have been lifting the spirits of women who carry them ever since.
Many of the current bags’ features came from this informal test group of Mom and her friends. Her best friends continued to share their experiences with the bags they carried every day for over two years every time we visited. Although we have since lost these three beautiful women, we are ever grateful for their input and support.
Recognizing the opportunity to serve other fashion conscious women using mobility aids, Carol and her husband, Bill, built the company and opened online on April 15, 2011. Sharon continues to design all HDS MEDALLION® Bags as an independent designer. Check out her creative designs in our available bags. To learn more about the company, Carol and Bill, go to Our Company.
Although Mom died at 102 in 2010, we believe she would be very pleased with our name and the products she inspired and her daughters' roles. She was a strong Texas woman who raised two talented women.
Not Just For Seniors Or Walkers
We discovered as the business came alive that there are many more categories of women who can use our bags beyond seniors, whether it is a 13 year old girl with cerebral palsy, a 35+ year old recovering from an injury and resulting surgery on her ankle, a dying friend who used the bag to hold her GI bag, a woman paralyzed by a spinal cord injury, one with MS, and so on. Another customer uses her bag on a cane-chair whenever she is vacationing. Women of all ages and circumstances are using our bags now.
We are so pleased at the applications people have discovered beyond walkers and seniors especially the disabled and the wide variety of mobility devices including wheelchairs they use daily. In May 2012, we introduced our new Premier Bags just for disabled women who use multiple devices, or are in wheelchairs, power chairs, etc. They too gain a psychological lift of being fashionable while receiving great functionality.
So honor your mom, grandmother, aunt, friend, daughter or loved one with an authentic HDS MEDALLION® Bag. Or treat yourself!
