I (Bob Ellis) was watching my son play on the trampoline with a skateboard deck. He had taken the wheels and trucks off the deck, taped his shoes on it and was jumping and spinning around. I thought, there has to be a devise that kids can buy who don’t want to skateboard all the time, but want the same action as boarding. I set out to make a different type of product from what we have out now. I decided to make an entry level board rather than what will be my company's next generation product due out next year.
August 31, 2009
If you are looking for a fun and unique toy for your kids or as a gift then you've found it with the Yo Baby Kick Flipper. This versatile toy is good for indoor and outdoor fun and actually doesn't involve a remote control. Go figure a toy that kids can have fun with and be active!
The Yo Baby Kick Flipper is 90% post consumer plastic skateboard deck with no wheels or trucks. Designed for the 21st century kid with boardsports in mind. This device allows kids an entry level action sport toy, much like the plastic bat and whiffle ball is to baseball. Indoors and out kids love to make up tricks as well as learn balance and skill while having fun and getting fit .Watching the how to DVD “Boarding Basics” will get kids off the couch and learning the fastest growing sport in the US, Skateboarding! Snowboarders and surfers too get a kick out of this top sport toy. The Yo Baby is great for kids of all ages.
The Yo Baby is available in 8 colors and you can also purchase the instructional DVD as an add on.
Inventor: Bob Ellis
Bob Ellis is an award winning Surf Documentary maker and father of four. Winning two awards for his film about a tow in Surfer. Bob also enjoyed a career in the motion picture and TV industry. Growing up a surfer Bob got involved in Pro surfing and later Pro Skateboarding as a result of the invention. Sponsoring pro surfers has taken Bob around the world surfing and meeting up with competitions at all kinds of great surf spots. Seeing a need for an inexpensive board for play, he invented the Yo Baby Kick Flipper.
When we did the X games we were just supposed to give them (Yo Baby) away. The crowd was so crazy for them the next two days the X Games folks had to make our booth bigger and they made the kids wear wristbands to be able to go in our new area to jump around. We ended up giving away over 500 boards and ran out half way through the 3rd day.
Styled Simple introduces Fit & Fold, a simple, elegant solution to one of life's great little household frustrations: placing your fitted sheet on the mattress correctly, and folding it flat!
Anyone who makes a bed knows it can take two or three aggravating tries before a fitted sheet is correctly aligned with the bed, and folding can seem impossible. The amazing Fit & Fold system features four labeled button snaps that easily attach to the corners of your existing fitted sheet, and guide you through placing it on the mattress perfectly the first time, every time. The button snaps also lock the left and right corners together, making it effortless to fold your fitted sheet flat -- so easy that a single person can do it in just seconds!
Cooper Hipp, inventor of Fit & Fold, notes “Sometimes the smartest solutions are the simplest. We designed Fit & Fold to assist anyone who makes a bed, no matter what their age or whether they have to make one bed or 20. Fit & Fold’s four marked button snaps offer two solutions in one: they help you fit your sheet right the first time, and do what was once impossible – fold it flat!”
Fit & Fold's four button snaps are available in a variety of popular colors to compliment your linens. They are easy to apply, stay on in the washer and dryer and are designed to not rip or tear your fabric.
Fit & Fold is available in 8 different colors.
The idea of Fit & Fold came to me (Cooper Hipp) late one night after I had come home rather intoxicated. I had put my sheets in the washer and dryer and so, when I came home from the party, I had to make my bed (I couldn’t stand the idea of sleeping on my mattress…..gross). So, in my drunken stupor, I attempted to put my fitted sheet on my mattress. I couldn’t figure out which corner went where and started a long line of expletives. “Why aren’t the corners labeled”, I slurred at the top of my lungs! And, right there and then, the idea of Fit & Fold came to be. Fortunately, I was able to remember my idea the next morning.
Inventor: Cooper Hipp
Cooper Hipp is the mastermind behind the company’s patented flagship product, Fit & Fold, and is spearheading the launch of the novel household item in 2009. Hipp founded Styled Simple in 2008 after realizing he was not alone in his frustration over certain everyday tasks. His goal is to offer solutions that anyone can use and appreciate. Following the launch of Fit & Fold, Hipp will be unveiling additional problem-solving lifestyle products.
Hipp is a marketing veteran with more than a decade of success working with leaders such as Fortune 100 retailing powerhouse, Best Buy, and The Navvo Group, a pioneer in new entertainment and information technologies. Hipp’s vast experience, which covers new product and market development, consumer marketing, licensing, buying and driving sales, has given him keen insight into what consumers want and how to effectively bring new products to market. Once he got the idea for Fit & Fold, it wasn’t long before he had a patented product and a national rollout plan in place.
Hipp continues to be an advisor to The Navvo Group as Vice President of Consumer Marketing in Minneapolis, MN. Prior to Navvo, Hipp was Vice President of New Product Development at Microgistix in Los Angeles, CA, where he lead the coordination efforts between sales, marketing, operations and licensing for effective promotional opportunities. As the Director of Licensing at Microgistix in Minneapolis, MN, he was in charge of creating and implementing global licensing programs in North American, European and Asian territories.
Before that, Hipp was a Senior Buyer for Entertainment Software at electronics powerhouse Best Buy in Minneapolis, MN. He designed and implemented all strategic facets including design and management of promotional, licensing, merchandising and pricing activities. He was also Manager of New Market Development for Best Buy, where he strategized the expansion of the company into secondary and tertiary markets in the U.S.
Hipp has an MBA in International Marketing and Product Management from Vanderbilt University and a BA in Business Administration and Economics from Rhodes College.
Originally, Fit & Fold was only going to be about labeling the sheet corners so that you know which goes where on the mattress. But, after working on the design, I figured out a way to also incorporate a solution that makes it easy to fold your fitted sheet. That’s why it’s called Fit AND Fold.
Ms. M. says:
Jun 26, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Please, please, let Martha Stewart know! Folding sheets her way is NOT always the best way!
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TAG says:
Aug 31, 2009 at 5:44 pm
this rocks! help reduce any bedroom frustrations : ) we have multiple in various colors now. Thanks fit and fold.
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Jane says:
Aug 31, 2009 at 12:09 pm
This is a cool idea, but I already trained myself how to fold fitted sheets!
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marco aguilar says:
Aug 31, 2009 at 10:00 am
I love fit and fold...
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Laura Hamrick says:
Aug 31, 2009 at 9:01 am
Love this idea. Clever!
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Ms. M says:
Jun 26, 2010 at 2:47 pm
I have to say. My brother did the same thing with our yellow plastic banana skateboard. It was in the late 70's and we lived in the twin towers in Chicago, Ill. We had no park and no place to use the skateboard (safely walk to)...only our hall way. It was … more downtown Chicago. When the front set of wheels fell off...my br. took off the back set and he "flipped the top" all day. Great product. Brings back fun memories!
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Jacob says:
Sep 2, 2009 at 12:44 pm
How in the world did fit&fold beat this? This is cool and fit&fold is ... um ... boring?
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Tilly says:
Sep 1, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I love it and I love that it is available in the UK too!
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RMH says:
Aug 31, 2009 at 7:15 pm
This strikes me as a much safer way for kids to start their skateboarding "careers" than getting on the real thing right off the bat. Simple and makes good sense. Bravisimo!
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AF says:
Aug 31, 2009 at 6:46 pm
This is very cool and fun. Wish it was around when my boys were small! Will keep in mind for the little ones in my life. Would love to see a video ofit in action!
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