Image from U.S. Patent Application No. 12/566,756, filed by Susan Schieren of Leeds, NY on September 25, 2009.
For most of us, having to hold a hair dryer while using it is one of life's minor aggravations. For the disabled, it might not be possible at all.
Thanks to Leeds inventor Susan Schieren, you may never again stand before your bathroom mirror wishing you had eight arms like a Hindu goddess. Schieren, a lifelong tinkerer who struggles with tasks like hair drying due to a lower back injury, has invented a hands-free hair dryer holder.
Better yet, she's brought it to market. It's called the Halo SS1, it's manufactured here in New York State, and it's for sale online, at $17.99.
The Daily Mail's Doron Tyler Antrim has a feature in today's paper about Schieren and her deceptively simple device. It takes more than a good idea to get a product to market, Schieren says:
“I’m shocked” no one has made this yet, she said.
A reason for that may be the high cost; Schieren said she has spent about $200,000 of her own money bringing the idea from a dream to reality. The multiple revisions and patent and legal fees were major drivers, she said.
“I’ve always had little ideas and never taken them that far,” she said. But this time, she was “driven.”
With the Halo SS1, Schieren joins the proud ranks of Catskills inventors like Brian Dewan of Catskill, co-creator of the amazing Swarmatron, and Roxbury's Frank Bibbo, whose (genuinely effective) anti-fart blanket set the Internet afire last year.
Know of any other great home-grown Catskills inventions? Leave a comment and let us know! Or email us at [email protected].
