Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello SUN community,
Here`s one for you a me and couple other people were working on: Bra Dryer. It is going to be an actual electric appliance unlike the Brababy or Smartboard. The target market for this appliance is women who buy luxury bras over $100 each (luxury bra brans like this).
The 2 functions of the Bra Dryer are:
1) Drying bras as fast as a tumble dryer would (unlike air drying or drying with a hair dryer)
2) Preserving the bra shape and materials while drying (unlike drying on a line or in a tumble dryer)
I have a patent pending for this device.
I`d like to hear your thoughts about marketability of such an appliance. If you`re interested in knowing more about how it works, I can email you some 3D renderings.

what kind of patent application was filed?

-------------------------

James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

I believe you have a great idea. I think it has it`s nich market and can do well even in this market downturn if you brand it well and focus your market.

I would believe that before you spend too much on marketing you need to reconsider your branding... both the name and website. I`m a guy. Seek advice from other female entrepreneurs, the highly creative ones. Do an "in house" market survey not on the product so much as your brand and your market approach. This is where you must not become defensive but rather accept all that respond and then decide what to do with your new knowledge.
 

-------------------------

Rob Adams
CEO Space Northeast Regional Director
www.ceospace.net
www.ceospace.biz
www.ceospacenortheast.com
302-698-1709

James, sorry, I don`t want to discuss legal aspects here.

Rob, I appreciate the advice. To be honest there`s no branding or marketing as of yet. The site is just something temporary I whipped up in a couple hours just to present initial information. And I don`t have a team. But I did talk with a number of women, half of them were supportive and said they would use this appliance if it had the right price, the other half doubted they would use it but then there`s an explanation to that beside the one that they don`t wear expensive bras.

Right now I have a well defined concept and a few 3D renderings of the appliance but they`re not finished, they show the shape but not the characteristics of the surface which is somewhat essential to the functionality. That`s pretty much it, because I am not spending enough time on this as I am busy with my web design studio.

Why I posted this here is to see what other people think of the concept and hopefully help me with advice. I`d actually like to hear more what women think about it.     

Sorry, I don`t like it. The first thought that came to mind was toasters. I realize people have toasters, some even have a separate toaster for bagels, but how many people have toasters for oversized breads (round german breads or sourdoughs, slices of which can be 8" long). Iow, very limited appeal and yet another appliance on countertops.

Re: "takes too long" to airdry...how many women only have one bra and need immediate turn around on cleanliness? I`d bet money that a woman who had the bucks to buy a $100-$500 bra, has more than one.

As a textile person, the very idea of putting a bra in an appliance that applies heat, makes me shiver all over, and not in a good way. There is no other effective way to reduce the recovery and plasticity of the fibers -shortening the life of the bra- than by subjecting it to a heat source. And we haven`t even talked about molding. The average price I pay for bras is $60; altho relatively inexpensive as compared to the disposable income of your target buyer, there`s no way I`d put these in a dryer. I`m shocked actually to learn there are some women who still do. 

-------------------------

~Nurture people, not products~
http://www.fashion-incubator.com

Hi kathleenfasanella,
Thanks for your input.
First thing, the device will not apply heat to the bra. Not the heat you`re thinking about as in the tumble dryer. Warmth that`s pretty much the temperature of the human body.
As far as "just another appliance on countertops", I see your point but still a lot of people will do that. Did you see what kind of appliances are sold in the Sky Mall? Mine makes more sense then many of those.