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Blindingly brilliant to delightfully bonkers
Oct 19 2009 by Paul Harris, Daily Mail
Their inventions ranged from blindingly brilliant to delightfully bonkers. Each of them had poured countless hours into designing and creating those startlingly simple devices that make everyone else wonder why it has never been thought of before.
Now - with all eyes upon their inventions - they were ready to share their genius with the world. Well, that was the theory at least.
But yesterday at the British Invention Show, you had to wonder if some of the exhibitors had devised solutions to problems that didn't exist. Or whether so many creative minds and such boundless imagination might have come up with ideas that us ordinary dullards were unable to appreciate.
Bra Angel:
What? Instant and permanent repair for bras that split and expose the underwire.
Why? Ask any woman who's ever worn a bra with the wire sticking out, or heard her precious lingerie clanking around in the tumble-drier.
How? Nylon sheath slips over exposed section of wire and holds it in place with tiny barbs.
Blurb: 'Fits in seconds... Suitable for every brand and colour of underwire bra.' £1.99 a pair.
Inventor: Scott Dutton, 37, from Barry, South Wales.
Dragons Den
Bra repair invention strikes gold
An inventor's device to fix bras when the underwire pops out has won two gold medals for invention of the year.
Scott Dutton, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, came up with a simple DIY device to fix his wife Laura's bra when the underwire popped out of the seams. His prototype was turned into a marketable product with backing from the Welsh Assembly Government.
Bra Angel works by pushing the wire back into the bra seam and holding it in via barbed edges. Its small plastic cap with barbed edges fits neatly over the underwire which is then pushed back into the seam and anchored in place by the barbs.
The invention beat competition from around the world after judges at the British Invention Show gave him gold for invention of the year and was also first in the consumer category of invention of the year.
Mr Dutton said he came up with the innovation after his wife had numerous bras ruined because the seam holding the underwire split in places and caused the underwire to be exposed.
Seam solution
At first he searched the web for a solution but found the only solutions on offer were from seamstresses in the US offering to sew over the seam.
Mr Dutton turned his original idea into a marketable product with the help of the assembly government's Wales Innovators Network which helps inventors.
He said: "I had tremendous support from the Innovators Network and there's no way I could have done all this on my own - or afforded to get this far.
"That helped fund some of the tooling needed and helped with patenting the product."
28 November 2008.
Bra Angel launched to save underwear from bin
Dec 10 2008 by Aled Blake, Western Mail
A DEVICE which its designer hopes could save thousands of bras from the bin while saving money for their owners has been launched.
Women are often forced to throw away expensive underwear just because the underwire has broken through the bra, but Bra Angel has been designed to permanently repair bras.
The creation, which works by pushing a cap onto the underwire in a process that takes seconds, captured the imagination of judges at last month’s British Invention Show, where it won double gold, coming first in the consumer category before being named the invention of the year.
It was subsequently chosen from more than 200 inventions to feature on GMTV and the BBC’s The One Show.
Bra Angel is the idea of South Wales-based entrepreneur Scott Dutton. “I came up with it after my wife Laura complained – again – about the underwire poking through her bra,” he said.
“They are not cheap, often costing over £30, and people just don’t have that sort of money these days.
“I also wanted to come up with a way of allowing women to keep what might have been their favourite piece of underwear from going in the bin.
“We only went to the British Invention Show to soft launch the product, but we were blown away by the interest we received. It was seen by many as a unique invention and innovation in many ways.
“Bra Angel is already selling well through the company’s website, but now we are talking with retailers in order to have it stocked in high street shops.”
BBC News
About The Bra Angel
By Section
The Shape of wacky gadgets to come
LAST WEEKS BRITISH INVENTION SHOW WAS FULL OF NEW IDEAS, HERES OUR PICK;
WE BRITS are an innovative bunch- just think of James Dyson and Trevor Bayliss [fathers of the bagless vacum and the wind-up radio, respectively] to name but two living legends. But how about you? Have you ever had a great idea of your own? One you think might change the world? If so, don't panic. A monstering at the hands of the Dragon's Den is not the only way to get your invention off the drawing board. One alternative is to set up a stall at the British Invention and Technology Show. The exhibition took place at Alexandra Palace last weekend and London Lite went along to assess what this year's would-be Dysons have come up with...THE BRA ANGEL; An amazingly simple idea to fix broken underwire bras, only costing £1.99 for a packet of two, it saves that favourite piece of underwear from going in the bin!
23rd October 2008.
BBC Radio Wales
Bra Angel, the underwire bra repair
By Sarah Odams
THE irritation of a bra’s underwire poking into your skin, forcing you to surrender those pretty frills to the dustbin, can be a real cause for distress – but for one happy go lucky Welshman, the fairer sex’s misfortune is his gain.
Bra Angel, the underwire bra repair, was one of a number of new ideas showcased at the weird and wonderful British Invention Show at Alexandra Palace last week. Scott Dutton, 36, from South Wales, was excited to tell me about his up-and-coming push-in cap product. It might sound a bit tricky, but it is in fact very user-friendly. If your underwire pops out, then you simply push the plastic cap over it and back into the bra – it’s like magic really. Safe and effective with no complications – and not many things in life are like that nowadays – I took advantage and bought a pack of two for just £1.99. “This sort of thing used to happen to my wife all the time,” said an effusive Scott. “She came downstairs one day and said ‘look at my bra’. So I suddenly thought of the idea. “We’re hoping to sell them in places such as Boots, Superdrug and Topshop.” Mr Dutton said GMTV’s Matt Arnold attended the show last Wednesday and selected Bra Angel as one of the six best new inventions.
I eagerly wandered around the rest of the stalls, desperately searching for any more riveting new inventions. 03rd November 2008.
BBC World Service
Dragons Den BBC2
2009
"I was just Giving it a good old tug"
Theo Pathitis - Dragons Den
Everyone has their own opinion on The Dragons Den; people will write their reviews and post on blogs, but unless you have been through the 7 weeks worth of paper filling the barrage of questioning and the waiting, yes the waiting! You may never really know what it's like.
I would say that the vast majority of entrepreneur's that apply for The Dragons Den programme have one main goal in mind, and that’s getting their product or company on the TV; you just can't buy that kind of publicity [Well you could, but it would cost you a pretty penny, not something all new businesses or inventors have] So for us we just wanted a shot at getting our five minutes in front of the Dragons, especially Theo Paphitis, who of course for us was our favourite Dragon.
We also knew that if the public could see our product we would come out winning, money or no money. And that's just what we did, we have to thank the BBC and The Dragons Den team, as for us they couldn't have shown a better clip, in just 2 minutes the public knew that the product worked, what it was called and it cost just £1.99! And whilst the day was an amalgamation of nerves nail biting and the occasional panic attic The Dragons Den team worked very hard to keep you comfortable, but always in the dark! [Not literally of course]
So should you go on the Dragons Den if you are an inventor or company looking to promote your product, as long as you have stock then the answer is of course a resounding yes!
However the Den is not for everybody, too often we see people going in front of the Dragons with a great idea for a product or business, only to find that it is still just an idea, this is a total waste of a great opportunity. When given the chance often only once of getting in front of possibly 4.8 million viewers you need to be product ready otherwise what’s the point? If I had another chance I would do it all again.
Scott Dutton - Inventor
Scott Dutton must have studied a lot of bras
Scott Dutton must have studied a lot of bras to invent this. His device fixes bras that have split, causing the underwire to poke out. A plastic cap with barbed edges fits over the underwire, so when it's pushed back into the bra it stays there. 'My wife has three bras waiting to be repaired,' he says. But until the product is launched, Dutton says he can't spare the samples. £1.99 pack of two, braangel.co.uk
25th October 2008.
Other products on display include the Bra Angel
Other products on display included the Bra Angel, which puts the under-wires back into broken bras; Topster, a plastic top for milk cartoons to stop drips; and a armchair for football fans which is fitted with an ice draw to keep beer cool.
22nd October 2008.
Scott Dutton demonstrates his Bra Angel device
Customer Services
C 2008 THE BRA ANGEL
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