Even the best ideas can use some help getting off the ground. Sam Gipson and Matt Pearson discovered this in 2020 when they were working on their invention, the PillowWeight.
We at Walker Tape Converting and the team at Avery DennisonPerformance Tapes were thrilled to help them bring their brilliant idea to life.
The Problem
Back in 2020, Gipson owned an Airbnb near Joshua Tree National Park. Among many other lovely amenities, the house had a covered deck that Gipson kept some wooden deck chairs on. These chairs were cushioned with stylish pillows to make them extra comfortable.
However, the strong winds coming out of the desert kept blowing the pillows off the chairs, sending them all over the property. This left the pillows covered in dirt and increased the chances of losing the pillows.
The Solution
Gipson searched high and low for some kind of fix. The best way to go, it seemed, was a weight that he could place in the cases. But nowhere seemed to have anything even remotely like that.
Not finding the solution he needed stuck with Gipson. Even after he sold the Airbnb and didn’t need the weights himself anymore, the idea wouldn’t leave him. So, he reached out to his friend, Pearson, to see what he thought of it.
Pearson ran with the idea and started to work with Gipson to develop the idea further. Eventually, the two had made their prototype.
The final design ended up being a 10-inch, quilted square of water-resistant fabric filled with glass beads. The weight is designed to be placed inside the pillowcase, held in place using hook and loop fasteners. When placed in the pillowcase properly, the weight can withstand winds up to 50 miles per hour.
The Avery Dennison Performance Tape Product
While it initially seemed like Gipson and Pearson had solved the problem, they found themselves facing a new one. They couldn’t find a tape to hold the Velcro that worked for their product.
Every tape that they tried failed in some way, whether it was:
- The adhesive not being strong enough
- The adhesive bleeding through the fabric of the pillowcase
- The tape not surviving the washing machine
It seemed like they had hit an impossible wall. If Pearson and Gipson couldn’t find a tape that worked, there wouldn’t be an easy way to keep the weight in place. Luckily, Pearson thought of reaching out to Avery Dennison.
After learning about the PillowWeight and the problems they were facing, Megan Chapman, Inside Sales Representative at Avery Dennison, knew she had a solution. She recommended Avery Dennison’s FT 1126, a transfer tape from their Core Series.
This tape was able to hold onto the Velcro and pillowcases well enough to withstand the wind and the wash. Plus, the adhesive doesn’t bleed, so you can’t tell that it’s there from the outside!
So, they had the perfect tape, but they were still lacking one thing, a way to get the tape to be the shape and size they need.
The Walker Tape Converting Customization
That’s where we came in.
After they had settled on the FT 1126, Chapman sent Gipson and Pearson to us. Walker Tape Converting has been working with Avery Dennison for almost a decade. In fact, it was FT 1126 (and one other tape) that got us working with them in the first place. So, the team at Avery Dennison knew we could handle what they needed.
To start, we asked Pearson and Gipson to send us a sample of the Velcro that they were working with. Then using some of the FT 1126 we had on hand, our team found a way to cut the tape in a cost-effective way.
Using that tape that we had on hand, we quickly fulfilled their first order. Now PillowWeights are in their first round of production. We can’t wait for others to see the great idea of Gipson and Pearson!
We’re proud to say that we and Avery Dennison were able to help the pair see their idea come to fruition.
If you’ve run into adhesive or tape problems that are keeping your idea from getting off the ground, reach out to us. We’d be glad to hear from you!
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