North Jersey moms inspired by parenting create products and businesses
MAY 11, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY KARA YORIO
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Every mother has been in a situation where she thinks, “There has got to be a better way.”
From easing separation anxiety to keeping your allergic child safe to easily finding a safe over-the-counter product when pregnant to solving the problems of the impractical beach bag — the issues are always there, and there are often ideas that follow. But who has the time to do anything with that creative thought?
Four North Jersey women are among the mothers who had those moments and acted on their inspiration. They created a product or product lines to help not only their families but other parents or future parents.
Audrey Storch, Iris Shamus, Rachel Katz-Galatt and Kimberlee Vaccarella share a strong belief in their ideas, a get-it-done attitude and a good support system required to be a parent, create a product and launch a business.
“The only difference between a dream and doing it is setting a goal — set a date for your dream and that’s how it becomes a reality,” said Storch, who created Huggs To Go in 1999. “Just go for it.”
Storch started her business — which made dolls that acted like a huggable picture frame — in a time before Google, never mind crowdfunding and social media. Tamara Monosoff was in a similar “Yellow Pages” situation more than a decade ago when the Bay Area mom wanted to create a product to keep kids from being able to unroll the toilet paper. She remembers making call after call to machinists with her daughter making noise in the background. She finally found an understanding soul.
“He said, ‘I’m a grandpa. Just bring her with you. Come on down,’ ” Monosoff remembered. “That changed everything for me.”
After she created the gadget and got some publicity, mothers with ideas continually sought her advice on how to go from idea to retail product. Those encounters led her to write “The Mom Inventors Handbook,” which recently released an updated edition, to help women find the resources they need.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/north-jersey-moms-inspired-by-parenting-create-products-and-businesses-1.1013832#sthash.57oipo3j.dpuf
