Twin vets Drs Audrey and Alison Shen and Rebecca Lau Marsh have been awarded the 2022 Women’s Small Business Champion Award for merging fashion with medicine and reinventing the uniform for medical professionals.
The working mum trio were recognised at the inaugural Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony in front of around 1,000 guests.
Launched during the pandemic in mid-2021, 21 Scrubs offers water repellent and hair repellent scrubs that lift the professionalism and provide a stylish and flattering fit.
Thanks to the unique fabric used, the scrubs cater to many different industries including the medical, veterinary, dentistry, cosmetic, beauty and hairdressing. The brand’s bestselling item is the 21 Jumpsuit, which has been worn by veterinarians, beauticians, paediatricians, and dentists in Australia and in the United States.
The Shen sisters said that they were thrilled to be recognised for what originally began as an idea to lift the professionalism of the scrubs that they were personally wearing at work.
“We are so thrilled to have won the award for our little business that we started mid-pandemic,” they said. “We started this business as we were both sick of wearing ill-fitting, unflattering and uncomfortable scrubs day in and day out, especially with the long hours we worked at the height of the pandemic.”
Fashion designer and entrepreneur Marsh said that they love bringing a touch of style and fun to healthcare worker’s everyday uniform.
“We all know the power of looking good, feeling good so it’s great to be able to make a difference to their daily work lives,” she says.