Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Bryan
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 11/09/2016
Neillsville Woman Hits Market (Glove Glider Invention – 2016)
Neillsville Woman Hits Market with Glove Glider Invention
Beth Bryan and her daughter Isabella, 6, demonstrate the frustration of not being able to get gloves on easily. (Contributed photo)
By Todd Schmidt
After nearly three years in the making, Neillsville inventor Beth Bryan’s product, the Glove Glider, is hitting the market later this month.
Bryan and her daughter Isabella, 6, sat in their cozy home in rural Neillsville Thursday and explained the process of getting an invention from the design stage to the consumer and how the inspiration began.
“One cold morning, we were trying to get Isabella ready to go to the early learning program,” Bryan said. “The school bus was coming, and she ran out the door with no gloves on.”
In a hurry, Isabella would sometimes struggle with getting her fingers in the right glove holes. Her mother would get frustrated trying to help her daughter bend her fingers into the proper places.
Bryan got the idea for a product that could help with the situation, while offering other valuable uses. With the help of an attorney from California, Bryan did a patent search and discovered there was nothing comparable to the Glove Glider concept.
She received patent pending for one year beginning April 20, 2015. Non-provisional paperwork was then filed and submitted to a patent examiner for review and approval. Bryan said that process could take up to 18 months.
“We continue to wait, to see if the patent gets granted or not,” she said. “I have always been an inventive and creative person. This is the first time I’ve actually gone forward with an idea like this.”
Bryan recalled, at age 12, helping her sister write-out several wedding invitations. She said they had rather ugly stamps on them.
I came up with the idea of inventing a personalized stamp for U. S. Postage,” she said. “I never pursued that idea. Seven years later, another individual patented the same concept of the idea that I came up with.”
This time around, Bryan was not about to sit idle during the patent process. She worked with a design firm and the marketing company Harvest Growth to develop several product prototypes, marketing materials and advertising campaign. At this point, she estimates having $110,000 invested in the Glove Glider project.
“A big thing for me is using all American product,” Bryan said. “The marketing company suggested having up to 20,000 Glove Gliders made to be ready for the TV sales.”
A direct marketing television commercial will begin airing later this month. She and Isabella flew to Castle Rock, CO several months ago to film the commercial.
Glove Gliders will be offered for sale at $10 each, with a small shipping and handling charge applied. Her main goal is working with the Home Shopping Network, with the Glove Glider eventually being introduced in stores.
Bryan is using an American company as a third-party vendor for packing, distribution and merchant service. She has developed a professional website, www.gloveglider.com, along with a Facebook page.
Bryan said besides putting on gloves for children, adults with arthritis and those with special needs, her invention can be used to dry out regular gloves and sporting gloves in the proper form.
“I knew this product was a good idea,” Bryan said. “I had to keep the development confidential.”
Bryan did an open interview for “Shark Tank” in Minneapolis. She called that “a good experience.”
The Glove Glider makes putting on gloves easy and fast.
Simply slip Glove Glider into the glove, lining it up with the four main finger holes inside the glove. Then slide you hand across the Glove Glider, following the grooves that slide your fingers into place. Pull the Glove Glider out using the pull handle once your hand is in the glove.
For children under age 3 and those with severe needs, work the glove over the Glove Glider with the individual’s hand sitting in the correct finger grooves. Once the glove is in place, use the pull-out handle to remove the Glove Glider.
The design company produced four prototypes before Bryan settle on the current size and red color. In the future, a jumbo size Glove Glider may be produced to fit the large size hands of a farmer or lumberjack.
Bryan owns an adult family home in Neillsville. The facility is certified for two residents and two residents under respite care for less than 30 days. She has three employees.
She has checked into getting the Glove Glider approved through Medicare.
Bryan previously worked for Lutheran Social Services of Black River Falls and the School District of Neillsville. She has a 15-year career working with special needs people.
Bryan was born and raised in the Neillsville area. She is the youngest of four siblings, including a twin sister. In addition to Isabella, she has a son, Isaac, 17.
“It is very exciting to know I am finally going to be launching my invention to the public after this long process of over two years,” Bryan said. “I can’t wait to introduce my invention into my hometown of Neillsville and the homes of many families across the country.
This model shows the ease of putting on a glove using the new Glove Glider tool. (Contributed photos)
Another use of the Glove Glider invented by Beth Bryan of Neillsville is hanging up those wet gloves to dry.
