About Us
Controlled Mindstorms, Inc. is dedicated to celebrating the inventive spirit!
We do this in part by showcasing independent inventors and their creative products.
A list of our featured inventors is below. Join us in celebrating independence by
helping to support independent inventors!
Inventor Bios
| L. Taylor Arnold, Founder & President, Controlled Mindstorms, Inc. |
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Mr. Arnold holds several U.S. patents for items ranging from toys to
archival products. Notable among his accomplishments is his contribution to lunar habitat design
(The Helios Project)
undertaken in a joint program between NC State University and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Before founding Controlled Mindstorms, Inc., Mr. Arnold worked as a designer for a major international cellular phone maker and as manager
for an industrial product manufacturing start-up.
Interviews:
Mindstorms
Tinkering with toys
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| Ifeanyi Esimai |
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Trained as a physician in Nigeria, Ifeanyi Esimai invented the itoPad when he moved to the
United States to take his Board exams. Since most of his studying was done via his laptop
computer, he had lots of incentive to find a way to make the experience more comfortable!
The result of his efforts is the itoPad, the lightweight wonder which keeps you and your
computer happy and productive! Dr. Esimai lives in New York State.
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| Robert Fishbone |
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Robert Fishbone is a live storyteller, musician, and “looper.” What is a looper? It is a musician and storyteller who uses a digital audio device to record and immediately play back live stage performances. By recording portions of the performance and playing them back at once, the performer adds layer upon layer of sound to enhance the audience’s experience. When not on the road, Robert lives and invents in Missouri.
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| Laura Hamrick |
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Laura Hamrick is an entrepreneurial mom who lives in Ohio. About the OnTrayTM, she says, “A couple of years ago I was at the grocery store with all three boys. Jack and Luke were "driving" the shopping cart that looks like a truck. Ty, not even a year yet, was up front in the child seat part of the cart. I was handing him one CheerioTM at a time from a container that I carried with me everywhere I went. I was trying to shop, contain my "little truck drivers", browse through my coupons, keep Ty happy and get all of the items on my list. Needless to say, I came home with a bunch of junk that Jack and Luke threw in the cart and was completely frazzled. I swore never to go shopping with the kids again! That day, while the children were napping, I did some searching on the web and found there wasn't a product available that would free up adult hands to shop and keep little hands busy. OnTray was born. It was born out of necessity.
The great thing about this product, other than it makes shopping with your young children a little more enjoyable, is that it is multifunctional. It can be used as a container for your coupons, a shopping list and a small calculator. OnTray stores easily in a diaper bag or purse. There's no reason to carry more than one container of food for your children. It's the perfect tray for a shopping cart!”
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| Joan Lefkowitz |
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Joan Lefkowitz is a veteran licensing agent and marketing specialist in the
fashion and beauty accessory field, and a long-time foe of itchy tags. After
none of her inventor clients found a suitable cure for tag-itch, she set out
to pioneer the field herself. Thus was born the Tag Tamer! For more info on
Ms. Lefkowitz, see her website,
accessorybrainstorms.com.
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| David Lipson |
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David Lipson wishes he became an Investment Banker. Instead he is an animation producer and director who has worked on TV shows such as Word World (PBS), The Venture Bros. (Cartoon Network), Lizzie McGuire (Disney Channel), TV Funhouse on Saturday Night Live (NBC), and The Howard Stern Radio Show (CBS).
One day while lying on the couch watching Judge Judy or something dumb like that, he decided to get up and modify his routine, so he took a shower, and then bought a sewing machine and created Big Eye Dummies.
Big Eye Dummies are designer plush dolls with interchangeable eyes and mouths. They offer several major innovations to the plush doll market, such as using high quality thread to hold them together instead of staples or nails. Another breakthrough innovation was filling them with fluffy soft stuffing instead of rocks or bricks. Focus testing has shown that these improvements seem to really enhance the “cuddle and snuggle” factor for children.
It turns out that owning a Big Eye Dummy doll makes you cooler than pretty much everyone else on the planet, including dinosaurs and cookies. Big Eye Dummies have that awesome power. How do I know this? Some lady on the bus told me so. |
| Patricia Littwin |
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Patti has been creating things since childhood, but it was only ten years ago that she
got her first patent for Yackle Ball. Being a single parent of three for twelve years,
her focus was to help children and others enjoy playing a sport that you don't have to be
super athletic to be good at. Everyone enjoys playing the games she came up with
and WOW, what a fun way to exercise! She has since then created four more products and
plans to keep coming up with new inventions. Patti has been self-employed since 16 years
old and knows what it takes to run her own business. Determined to keep her products
made in the USA, she sold her Graphic Design firm and opened her own manufacturing plant
in North Carolina.
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| Robert Mazur |
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"The idea of the patent-pending PurrFect and DogGone Opener originated after observing my
grandparents' constant struggle when opening their medicine containers. While thinking about their situation, I realized I used a kitchen knife to open and remove the cotton from a medicine bottle. The seed of the opener was planted and product development was put in motion.
Four years and eight prototypes later, we received a 'Dare to Dream' student business grant sponsored by the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan.
With the help of family and friends, combined with the resources provided by the University, our lifelong dream of launching a company became a reality. After graduating in 2003, my brothers and I wrote an award winning business plan to establish distribution channels for The PurrFect and DogGone Opener, developing future innovative products, and growing our company, B.A. Maze, Inc. (i.e. Be Amazing!)."
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| Gauri Nanda |
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Gauri Nanda is a Boston-based designer who overslept once too often.
She decided to create a device which would force her out of bed in the mornings, and
Clocky was born! Originally made of Lego wheels and a shaggy
cover to hold its workings in, Clocky has been redesigned for mass-production ease, appearance,
and functionality.
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| Christine Nelson |
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Patriot Challenge was created by former sales and marketing executive, Christine Nelson.
"The idea for the game was originally developed for my annual Super Bowl Party," she explains.
"Each year I create a game for those who may not be interested in watching football but enjoy coming to the party.
Previous games have included Famous People from the 20th Century and The Election Game.
After the events of September 11, my 2002 party game was based on questions and answers contained in the book,
How To Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship Test. It contained the basic knowledge that all immigrants need
to know to become an American citizen and, needless to say, all of us should know as well."
Nelson's friends loved the game so much that they suggested she think about developing it for mass appeal.
"Being a game enthusiast," says Nelson, "I took on the challenge and two weeks later had developed my party game
into a board game."
Since that time, Nelson has worked with classroom educators from elementary school to college-level to develop
the final Patriot Challenge game. "My focus with Patriot Challenge has always been on having fun and learning
something along the way," says Nelson. "While I was not a history buff before I conceived the game, developing
it has given me a greater appreciation for our country, our system of government, and the freedoms we enjoy.
If that happens for those who play the game, it will be my contribution to making a difference."
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| Mecinna Price |
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Mecinna Price has 5 children and a husband who just finished his medical
residency. As a way to make ends meet during her husband's med school and residency,
she tried various business concepts and kept a notebook of
product ideas. Deciding the Dripstik was too good of an idea to let pass
by, she decided to forge ahead with the product in the Spring of 2005.
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| Mark Rappaport |
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At the age of nine, Mark Rappaport invented his first toy. Even though it wasn't accepted by Mattel when his father presented it to them, this didn't deter Rappaport from trying again and again. After being trained as an industrial designer at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, he invented products for both Mattel and Parker Brothers. He eventually returned to California where he launched a company to design and manufacture his own toys. Now in his 40's, he has invented dozens of toys for companies including Oddz On, Just Toys, Sport Fun and Hasbro, with sales reaching more than $100 million.
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| Janick Simeray |
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Janick Simeray is a physicist who holds over 120 patents and who founded the company SimerLab to commercialize his creations. He has a long track record of innovation: Janick's Ph.D. dissertation at Valenciennes University detailed the application of the Larsen Effect within the Laser Range Finder. In recognition of his efforts, the Societe Francaise de Physique awarded him the prestigious Prix Yves Rocard in 1994. Currently based in Argenteuil, France, Janick is an avid tennis player who enjoys reading and listening to world music. |
| Steve Spangler |
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Steve Spangler has been described as the guy who shoots potatoes, makes toilet paper fly, and mixes up a perfect batch of slime. But he may be best known for teaching millions of people how to turn an ordinary bottle of soda into an erupting geyser of fun. His now famous Mentos Geyser Experiment became an Internet sensation in September of 2005 and spawned more than a thousand related exploding soda experiments on videos sites like YouTube.com.
On the education side, Steve Spangler is nationally known as a teacher's teacher who shares his passion for learning in the classroom, on the platform, and through the airwaves. Over the last 15 years, Steve has made over 500 television appearances as an authority on hands-on science and inquiry-based learning. His cool science demonstrations and creative insights earned him an Emmy as the host of NBC television’s News for Kids.
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| Patrick Turner |
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Pat Turner has invented numerous toy and novelty items, including Nose Aerobics. His creative
juices keep on flowing! He is a family man and lives just outside of Seattle, Washington. |
| Angus Whitty |
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Angus Whitty, the inventor of the Thumb Thing, recalls,
"I was reading a book in a park one day in about 1997, I think--how
time flies--and I thought that it was very uncomfortable: The sun
shone in my face and I had to use two hands. I went
home and began thinking what solution there could be. At first, I
thought something that clipped onto the book would be good and I dreamt
up a few devices. However, it seemed a bit cumbersome to me to have some
object that had to be unclipped every time you turned the page,
especially as reading is such a simple process anyway. I figured that if
a device could fit onto the thumb and simply lifted off the page when
the page needed to be turned it would be better."
Thus, the Thumb Thing was born!
Whitty's company headquarters is located on Bethnal Green Road, in London.
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