Have you ever looked at your continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and thought, “Hmm, I wish there was a way to make this cooler”? Well, we have good news for you.
Meet Callum McSharry, a UK-based jewellery designer with type 1 diabetes (T1D), who is turning T1D technology into statement jewellery pieces.
Callum was diagnosed with T1D in 2019, when he was 14 years old. Like many people living with the condition, he initially struggled to come to terms with his diagnosis.
Over time, he has channelled that experience into something beautiful, creating jewellery that allows people with T1D to wear their devices with pride.
He hasn’t done this alone, though. After sharing the idea online, Callum received an overwhelming response from T1D community members eager to support the collection. People living with T1D from around the world sent him their expired sensors to help create prototypes, ensuring the designs could accommodate a wide range of CGM devices.
Expected to launch in April, his unique collection features a range of gold and silver CGM covers designed for Dexcom G6 and G7 sensors, all Freestyle Libre sensors and the Omnipod insulin pump.
We caught up with Callum to talk about his journey with T1D, the inspiration behind turning diabetes tech into jewellery, and what the collection’s success within the T1D community means to him.
Tell us your diagnosis story…
I was diagnosed when I was 14 years old. I remember the weeks leading up to it vividly. Constant dehydration, constant hunger, constant headaches. But what threw me off the most was my bodyweight. It was severely declining to the point I’d consider myself skeletal. I weighed 43kg on my diagnosis date.
The turning point came one night after I had been eating literally everything in sight all day. I went downstairs, and my stepmom asked what I was doing. I made myself a bowl of porridge and four slices of toast, then demolished it without hesitation. She was concerned because despite how much I was eating, I was putting on little to no weight.
Days later, I remember wiping my blurry eyes. It felt like one moment I was in bed, the next I was on my way to school, and then suddenly I was in a hospital.
How did you handle your diagnosis?
I tried to take my diagnosis in a positive fashion, but the constant finger pricking, everything, it got to me. I was severely burnt out.
A couple of months later I tried to commit suicide.
That’s the harsh reality with T1D: feeling burnt out and needing to do the work of a whole organ.
I’ve never been too open with this, so thank you for letting me speak out.
What inspired you to make jewellery?
Venom. I fell in love with that character at a very early age. The symbiotic attributes, morphing weapons, the organic fluid shapes.
That visual language speaks hard to me and is reflected through my work. I’ve watched Spider-Man 3 at least 1000 times.
Who are your creative inspirations?
An old friend called Rish, he goes by @caesar on Instagram. He helped me from a very young age and believed in me when I had nothing.
I also have to pay my respects to H.R. Giger. He really did everything I want to do. Mona Thomas and the people at Alabaster Industries are also so great.
Can you tell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for CGM jewellery?
I started this journey in December.
I was working on a non-diabetic piece and in the process of swapping my sensor when it hit me. I was looking back and forth between my monitor and my sensor, and it was truly a lightbulb moment.
I’ve customised everything else about my playable character, except the one thing that “nerfs” me.
When I posted my first video about it, I was just thinking “this is cool, no one has ever done this before”. But the instant support from our T1D community flicked something on in my brain; people need this.
It has bloomed into something bigger than I could ever imagined, and I’m so grateful it has.
Helping people not hide anymore is a big thing for anyone, diabetic or not.
What are your plans for this collection?
It’s a beautiful thing to transform how people see their illnesses and shine a more positive light on everything related to diabetes.
So many people have reached out about how this will help them, all their messages have touched my soul. You can’t trade that feeling for anything. That’s my plan for not only this collection but many more to come.
What does this project mean to you?
Everything. It’s a part of my life now, there’s no turning back.
I’m 21 now, but this project is for the 15-year-old me who hid my T1D, who administered insulin in restaurants toilets so no one could see, who was too scared to put themselves out there.
I read everyone’s messages, letters and emails. Not only is it a way for me to express myself in a new creative form, but it’s also the fact that I’m helping people ultimately look after themselves more effectively. That’s something you can’t ever let go of.
You can be in control of your diabetes; it doesn’t have to control you.
With the success of this collection, what kind of change do you hope to see for people living with T1D and accessible fashion moving forward?
I think this project will knock the doors down for anyone who has something they struggle with, medical or not. It’s inviting them to turn the things they hate into something people can view differently and appreciate from a new perspective.
I love people labelling it as a “cyborg”, like, yes, this the beginning of a new future, something I’m proud to help begin and transform.
In a world full of inauthenticity, making our everyday experiences more personal is a great thing.
What’s next?
I love the idea of exploring accessible fashion and accessories, it seems like my calling and a full circle moment. We all deserve to feel fly, look fly, and if this is a step in that direction, I want to pursue it further.
The next step is insulin pens; they will get the love they need too.
Follow Callum on Instagram at @cal.mcs and stay up to date with his collection @caljewllery. The collection will be available from April/May.
