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,, 't.,,, :' ho atlotrg us hasn't, at one time or allother.'::,, t,: ,' said, "someone should lnvent that," clunng, a

::tt,,,;, "'':,,,: ,,,,i ,,,' brief tllometlt of inspiratiorr or even flrtsrla-::;, :i: ::r .::' tion? But how manv of ns become that! ::,.ir:. ,,:'.:' .::.t " "sonteotre" and actually take a step tou,arrl':'i. :r r,i. :::,

,.:,,,' .... making that dream a reality? After all.inventing somrthing ue\\r can be a tedious process, lull of trial anderror, patent attorneys, and copyright lssues.

Inventors are a novel breed, and more than 145 ofthem are nterr-bers of the Inventors Association of Georgia. This small but pior.reerii.rg

group includes those trying to cleate evefihing from a picture-hang-ing aid to a personal pond and stream-flshing boat. Though their ideas

may vary greatly, the one thing all members share in common is theirdetermination to build something original.

Jim Debetta, a national speaker on inventing and marketing and thi:for-urcler of DeCavi, a sales and marketing consultancy, helps aspiringinventors market their products. He says the most important ingrediei-rts

for success are not or-rl-v time and money, but also objectivity. "Most

inventors are vern-passionate abor-rt their products, but they must real-ize that it is a business. ancl our advice is to be objective," he says.

Karen Nadler-Sachs, a 40-year-old mother of two and palt-timetelecommunications artorney in Atlanta, is one such inventor. The idea

to produce a nerv kind of slipcover that flts chairs of vir1ually any size

came in 2005 when her oldest daughter, who was 2 at the time, was eat-ing a waffle with je11y-. Nadler-Sachs tried to prevent stains lrom spillsby putting a towel on top of the fabric as a makeshift slipcover. "She's

66 atlanta ifemag.com January 2008

FHATURE

mrggly," Nadler-Sachs says of her daughter, "and the one spot ofi ,,.'atched it kind of drop in slow motion. It dropped in the spot

-jre towel had shifted." She knew she needed somethin$ better'

that was not only impermeable, but also fit securely on the

mething she could share with others. "I couldn't possibly have

this for myself," she says' "That never was an option for me.''

, her patent-pending product, Save the Chairs!, has received

:eviews from moms, pet owners and other caretakers' The

le slipcover protects chairs with its 10O-percent cotton, heavy-

fabric that has a water-resistant underside. The unique concept

the problem ofwhat she calls "one-size-fits-nothing" slipcovers:

rhey're too big or too small for most chairs. Her fabrics, on the

hand, "give the impression that it's a tailored item because it fits

i'to the chair," Nadler-Sachs says. She won the 2006 Gold Medal

hold awarded by INPEX, America's largest inventor show, and

i flnalist in 2006 for the Whirlpool Mother of Invention Grant'

janta resident, MD and mom Monica Williams also was inspired

daughter to create an innovative product. She came up with a

way to avoid having to constantly pick up the pacifier that

out of a baby's mouth-often onto a dirty $round' She patented

als, pacifiers that attach to a stuffed animal, allowing your baby's

L toy to do double duty. The design also helps increase your little

! motor skills by encoura$ing arn use. "[My daughter] loved her

1er, but was too little to hold it up, so it constantly fell on the- Williams says. "I experimented with some toys at home, and the

was born."S:,rne Mountain resident Sandra Jones, a health education specialist

rurse, has also patented her health-minded creation, Health-Ettes'

magnetized, glow-in-the-dark puzzle pieces are health education

k that boast inspirational messages as well as health tips for parents

,-hildren who are either fighting a chronic illness or are in preven-

mode. "One thing that became evident to me is that parents, and

a parent, too, were given information for kids and a lot of those

are verbiage overloacl," Jones says. "It can be rather overwhelm-

t you don't understand the language. So I thought, 'Wouldn't it be

if I created something that could complement the brochures and

hlets?"' She combined the idea with her admiration for the

art of origami (which she learned about when living in Japan

ls ago) to come up with the unique shape. The result is puzzle pieces

iiseases like asthma, diabetes and obesity; others are in the works for

ler and sickle cell anemia. Creating them to ensure they'd be both fun

engaging, as well as informative, Jones is hopin$ that iarge pharma-

ical companies, hospital clinics and big box stores like Wal-Mart or

will purchase the items in bulk, put their logo on them, and pass

out as supplementary material to other medical information'

Thinking you've got an idea that the world must see? Jones gives

advice: "Persevere. Do not give up. Let your passion and your heart'e you. And believe in what you have," she says. A healthy dose of

rimism is always helpful, too. Though the odds of making it are small,

lnterested in learning more?Visit the Inventors Association of Georgia's Web site,

wwu.georgiai nventors.com.

Save the Chairswww.saveth echai rs.com

Pacimalsww &.pacimals.com

Health-Etteswww.health-ettes.com

+A happy baby using

Monica Williams' Pacimal

Sandra Jones shows off her Health-Ettes

is realized by inventors every day. '!'

January 2008 I atlantalifemag.com I 69