The whole crazy process started one sultry April night in 2006, my husband was grilling some fantastic boneless chicken breasts for my friends and I. The flavor of the evening was Jerk, which we all love. Some people happen to like their chicken “jerkier” than others. IE, more rub equals more spice and heat. Some of us like ours on the milder side. Once all the chicken came off the grill, arranged on a serving plate, brought upstairs and served to our guests, my husband couldn’t tell which chicken was spicy. Wouldn’t you know it… me being a “mild” person; I bit right into the hottest one of all! He said “I wish there was a way to tell which chicken is which” and immediately I knew we had something. This was the light bulb moment.
September 4, 2009
Grill Charms™ offer an entirely new concept in outdoor entertaining. Grill Charms™ are dime-sized solid stainless steel charms that are placed in food BEFORE grilling. They have serrated stems which hold the charms in securely while flipping, moving and grilling food like you normally do.
You Grill Charm™ your food prior to cooking to distinguish spices and flavors, steak temperatures, or to avoid health or allergy issues. They stay in the entire time, so when dinner comes off the grill, you simply look for your Grill Charm, and everyone knows which one is theirs. There are various collections for different purposes.™
Inventor: Leslie Haywood
Hi! I am Leslie Haywood, inventor of Grill Charms™, the absolute “must have” grilling accessory that is revolutionizing the American cook-out. My vision is to see Grill Charms™ as prominent in the American household as the wine charm.
So, who am I and what makes me qualified to undertake and succeed at such a monumental task? Well, the short answer is: nobody told me that I couldn't! (And even if they did, I wouldn't listen anyway.) I worked for corporate America until I had our first daughter and left a fantastic company and wonderful career to be a stay-at-home mom. I didn't mean to throw myself head first back into business, but I just couldn't help myself.
I have tried very hard to balance family (passion #1) and business (passion #2). I hope to make our two daughters proud one day, and even though I am making some sacrifices now (trying not to make too terribly many as they are only babies once), I hope that in the future they can look at what I have done and know that their opportunities are limited only by their dreams.
Oh yeah… one last part of "who I am". I am a Survivor. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2006, had a bilateral mastectomy in August of 2006 during the middle of all the start-up stuff involved with launching a company, and now, two reconstructive procedures later, I'm better then ever! The scars never let me forget so I feel I must mention it, but it by no means defines who I am; it's just another facet to the ever complex and changing person that is first and foremost "Mommy".
Things Grill Charms are NOT
Grill Charms™ are NOT mini branding irons - Don’t even think about trying it unless you need the hair on your knuckles singed off!
Grill Charms™ are NOT meat thermometers - the grill guy still has to know how to cook
Grill Charms™ are NOT ball markers - although many a golfer has used them for that purpose and they love them, so I give you golfers my blessing
Grill Charms™ are NOT cuff links - but they are good looking enough to be
Grill Charms™ ARE an entirely new concept in outdoor entertaining and the hottest grilling gift of the year, ENJOY!
Looking fun on the go to keep kids happy and occupied? Kidzsack is that ideal combination kids ages 4 and up.
Kidzsack is eco friendly as the fabric is made from 100% recycled cotton and soda bottles, the front is screenprinted with original artwork and there are 8 washable markers included in the packaging. There is an inside pocket that can also hold the markers. Kids color, mom/dad washes, and kids recolor. It’s a great reusable activity that is perfect for preschool, beach, sports, and vacation.
Kidzsack is available in 4 designs: Sea Life, Sports, Jungle, Castle
In 2006, the big Christmas item that both of my daughters wanted was the Doodle Bear. This was a stuffed animal that came with markers that you color, wash, and color again…great idea I thought. In January of 2007, I started thinking that I would like to do something creative, that involved drawing, and that could earn a living. I started researching fabrics, trims, and marker companies. I wasn’t exactly sure of what I wanted to do…but knew it would involve coloring.
In June of 2007 when walking my kids to the bus stop, I noticed a neighbor wearing a Nike Sportsack and thought, AHA!! “I’ll design a backsack for kids that they can color on, mom can wash, and kids can recolor.” I was so excited…and couldn’t start sewing fast enough! While researching fabrics, I had found a great eco friendly fabric that was made from 100% recycled cotton and soda bottles and loved the idea of making a “green” kids product! And then I realized…Oh My God…the kids are out of school in 2 weeks!! How will I get anything done?!
It wasn’t easy, but with the help from two other moms, I was able to make 100+ samples. I started Kidzsack with $200. I bought fabric, trims, a hand held grommet machine and got to work. I had decided to sell the Kidzsacks at my kid’s elementary school fall craft fair. I thought it would be a good idea to test my bags and see if they were well received...my own market research. Also, if they did sell well, I would take the money I made and put it back into my business. I would buy more fabric, trims, etc. and sew up more product and start calling on stores. The end result was, they sold out!
Inventor: Tina Hill
My name is Tina Hill and I am the owner of Kidzsack. I am a 44 year old happily married mother of four children ages 13, 11, 9, & 7 and have put my heart and soul into making a great eco friendly activity that both kids and parents will embrace. I have a passion for good food, love to cook, and designing clothing is something that will always hold a place in my heart. As far back as I can remember, I have loved to draw and color. I graduated from FIT in NYC with an Associate’s Degree in Fashion Design and worked as a fashion designer in New York for 12+ years travelling all over Europe and the Far East. I stopped working when I became pregnant with my third daughter but never stopped dreaming of being creative again. Kidzsack was founded in the fall of 2007 with the goal of creating an environmentally conscious and creative product. Kidzsack products are designed to inspire creative play, with the highest level of quality and safety. Kidzsack is located in West Newbury, MA and the bags are both screenprinted and manufactured in Massachusetts.
There are two things that come to mind that are random:
> Kidzsack was originally designed and made about 4” bigger than it is now. At first, I thought my bag was perfect…but after a while realized that I was targeting a much younger customer (4 years old and up) and that they actually needed to be smaller. The bags as they were, were too big! All the money I had spent on developing my first films was a wash. They all had to be redone.
>Also, after much criticism from friends about my Sports design, I changed that design which originally had two gymnasts in the artwork to be more boy friendly and excluded them.
Carol says:
Sep 4, 2009 at 11:28 am
I would have bought this in a heartbeat for my son 5 years ago! Too bad he's too old now to enjoy this.
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deb says:
Sep 4, 2009 at 9:32 am
Fun Idea!
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Ms. M. says:
Jun 26, 2010 at 2:58 pm
I see your vision. Great 'token' for a "theme" restaurant.
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Tilly says:
Sep 4, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Love these - I bought on when I was last state side - please include my vote!! Also think it would be great to have all letters just for fun! Personalise or own your steak! I like mine with loads of pepper!
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Haus says:
Sep 4, 2009 at 8:20 am
I guess this is a good idea... I normally just put my wells / mwells on first and to the left... meds are in the middle and mrares are on the right... then again I have a huge grill... maybe these are better for small or round grills.
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Susan says:
Sep 4, 2009 at 5:17 am
Good idea. I could see myself dropping them down into the grill though and having to fish them out later.
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