Locals patent ironing board clamp

WATERFORD — Nestled in their log cabin home in Western Maine, Claire and Charlie Ball found the pace of retirement a little slow. So when Claire said she needed a device that could help her clean pet hair off her slacks, Charlie was only too happy to see if he could develop a solution. With two dogs and three cats in residence, Claire was looking for a clamp to go across her ironing board that would act as a third hand in holding clothes to the board while she vacuumed away the pet hair. The resulting product, Groomstik, received a US Patent in May of 2010 and will hopefully be in local retail stores very soon.

Groomstik holds clothes to an ironing board allowing the user to remove pet hair and lint with a vacuum, lint roller or lint brush. By using Groomstik, all of these cleaning products will, for the first time, work beautifully on an ironing board. Without Groomstik, the vacuum and lint removers lift and bunch the clothes.

"This is really an amazing product," said Tatiana Whitlock, one of the first people to use the Groomstik. "It attaches easily with one hand, it really grips the fabric and it makes cleaning and ironing clothes so much easier."

"My original intent was to be able to hold clothes down on an ironing board while I vacuumed pet hair off my clothes," said Claire. "There are over 70 million households in America with either a cat or a dog. However, the Groomstik works so well people keep finding more applications for it".

Groomstik also holds sweaters down so users can remove all those "pills." The clothes clamp is a natural to help iron a perfect crease in your pants and will also help military personnel iron their uniforms to perfection. Additionally, and very importantly, Groomstik classifies as a Low-Tech Assistive Technology Aid for people with physical impairments or developmental disabilities. The clamp is also a great ironing and cleaning aid for senior citizens.

"To date, I have been amazed at the positive reaction to Groomstik from our test groups," said Charlie. "We have also been fortunate that our manufacturer, Sagoma Technologies from Biddeford, and their President Tony Gelardi, was able to guide us through the many manufacturing, packaging and shipping alternatives. We are so pleased that Groomstiks will be made, manufactured and packaged entirely in the USA."

Norway Novelties, Inc. is a startup company located in Waterford. Founded in 2009 by Claire and Charlie Ball, Norway Novelties presently has five employees. Groomstik is a unique ironing board clothes clamp that fits boards from 12" to 15" wide and requires no assembly. It was introduced at the International Housewares Show in Chicago this past March and received much media attention and praise from large chain stores and catalogs companies. Please visit their website, www.groomstik.com, to see where Groomstik is available for purchase.

Photo:

IRONVENTORS — Charlie and Claire Ball with their pets.