Author photo

By Dena Wood
The Times 

Pockets with Purpose

Pocket Innerwear aims to make living with diabetes easier

 

Nick Page

Young model, Addi Harris is pleased with her colorful PumpPocket.

WAITSBURG – "But where do we put it?"

That is the first questions parents ask insulin pump representatives, doctors, and diabetes educators when setting up a small child with a pump or continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to help to manage their diabetes.

Pocket Innerwear owners believe they have the answer, and the company recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help make that solution available on a larger scale.

"It can be overwhelming for a parent to figure out how to help a kid maintain, manage and wear a $10,000 device," said Pocket Innerwear co-founder and CFO Laurel Bloomfield of Waitsburg.

She, along with partners Chy Jorgenson of Dayton, and Katie Larsen and Nicholle Peterson of Idaho Falls, Ida., are up to meeting that challenge.

Looking for a creative outlet, the four ladies started a successful online women's boutique called My Rolling Rack several years ago. After proving that they could sell clothes, they decide apply their creativity to solving problems.

Their first solution-based fashion item, a boot cuff with a pocket to hold a cell phone, flew off the shelves. From that cuff, Pocket Innerwear was born.

The ladies quickly developed the patent-pending pocket that they incorporated into stretchy TechWear, which can be worn under everyday clothing. Each piece has a pocket that can be used to hold a phone, credit card, cash or keys.

Bloomfield said the partners were brainstorming during a conference call when they hit upon the idea that they're most excited about – adapting their pockets to hold insulin pumps. Each of the ladies has friends or family members with type 1 diabetes and they were eager to design a product that would make life with diabetes easier.

"We were also inspired by Sierra Anne Sandison, Miss Idaho 2014, who is best known for wearing her pump onstage during the Miss America bikini competition," Bloomfield said. "We realized our pockets could have a higher purpose."

Bloomfield said Pocket Innerwear began creating PumpPocket prototypes about six months ago and the response has been incredible. Sandison was so impressed with the sample product that she even partnered with the company on their Kickstarter campaign.

An outing with the former Miss Idaho, as well as an autographed copy of her new book, "Sugar Linings," is one of the pledge prizes.

Pocket Innerwear consulted with doctors, diabetic camps and charities, endocrinologists and T-Slim and DexCom pump representatives when creating their T1D (type 1 diabetes) line of PumpPockets. They have also sent out hundreds of samples, soliciting feedback from both parents and users, Bloomfield said.

PumpPockets free users from wearing their pump clipped to their pants, stuck in a bra, or from having to wear a fanny pack. Instead, the pockets are sewn into comfortable tank tops, undershirts, boy shorts, boxer briefs, bandeaus and more.

Men and boys can carry their pumps in a new PumpBrief and designs for men's tanks and compression tops are in the works.

The discreet pocket holds the insulin pump or CGM while the tubing feeds through the back of the pocket to the infusion site. The pump stays in place and the tubing is tucked away rather than hanging loose where it can get caught and torn loose, possibly even pulling out the infusion site.

Bloomfield says their pockets are simple, but that it's the right combination of stretchy fabric, pocket dimensions, and flap depth that make them work. "Kids can even do flips on the trampoline and the pump stays in place," she said.

Funds from the Kickstarter campaign will be used to make the move to larger scale manufacturing. Bloomfield says the company has several ladies that sew for them now, but they have sent samples to manufacturing plants in Texas, Utah and China.

Bloomfield says the partners are most excited about their One for One mission. "For every adult PumpPocket we sell, we give one away," she said. TID TechWear pieces are donated to Pocket Innerwear's official partners: Beyond Type 1, Diabetes Daily, Carb DM and Sierra Sandison.

Pocket Innerwear's Kickstarter page says, "We want to flood every charity event, camp and foundation with the gift of freedom and security. We want to flood the market with a solution that changes lives. Back us and contribute to this massive effort – a reward in itself."

Nick Page

Waitsburg's Ronnie Hulce shows off some Pocket Innerwear Techwear while on-the-go.

To meet their goal, Pocket Innerwear must raise $20,000 in 30 days, with a deadline of July 18. When The Times went to press on Tuesday afternoon, the company was well on its way with 65 backers having pledged $5325.

Prizes range from a thank you card ($5 pledge) to a ski weekend and fancy dinner with company CEO Katie Larsen in Jackson Hole, Wyo. ($3,500 pledge). A $25 pledge will get you one TechWear piece of your choice (or a donation of one piece to a TID child) and for $250, 25 TID TechWear pieces will be donated, in your name to the partnered beneficiary of your choice.

To see all the pledge options and to learn more about PumpPockets and Pocket Innerwear's One for One mission search for Pocket Innerwear on http://www.kickstarter.com or access their campaign from the link on the company's website at http://www.pocketinnerwear.com.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/26/2024 17:47