embrace is a design company founded by entrepreneurs, Bjargey Ingólfsdóttir occupational therapist and owner of BaraHealth, and Huld Magnúsdóttir, management and business leader.

The background

We specialize in the design and development of assistive products and support tools that enhance quality of life through innovative aesthetics, fresh thinking, and functional excellence. Our mission is to empower people to sit more comfortably, rest more effectively, and engage in daily activities with greater ease and independence.

With decades of diverse experience and driven by a passion for identifying real-life challenges and crafting meaningful solutions, we are always on the lookout for smart, elegant ways to do things better.

The idea

Our idea for embrace was born from personal experience, when we saw the need to improve people’s sitting posture in the dental chair. Most of us find it difficult to relax and position our arms and hands comfortably during dental procedures.

We wanted to design a support product that would allow the user to rest their arms effortlessly on their stomach/chest/torso. In that position, we feel the greatest sense of security. After numerous prototypes and tests, we found the right material, appearance, stitching, and durability to withstand the stretch stress that a support product needs to handle.

The embrace

embrace was immediately well received by both users and dentists, who saw how well it supported people’s arms and allowed them to relax without restricting arm and hand movement.

During the design process, we discovered more potential uses for embrace, and today we present it as a versatile support and comfort product that can be used while traveling, sitting at home in the living room, in bed, or on a treatment bench.

We collaborated with an orthopedic doctor who saw the potential for a larger embrace to be used as a sling after shoulder surgeries and accidents. As a result, we designed embracePRO. This new sling design allows people to rest their arm effortlessly in embracePRO without creating tension in the neck and shoulders. This new sling has proven to work very well, and users are grateful to avoid straps and fastenings — not to mention the weight strain/tension on the neck and shoulders. We hope that embrace and embracePRO make life more comfortable, safer, and better for people! 

Our responsibility

We are socially responsible and care about our community — embrace is ethically made and designed to last. embrace is designed in Iceland and made in Europe.