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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD Six years ago two long-time friends had an idea for a new home decorating product. Today, with a lot of hard work and the assistance of the Student Business Incubator at Springfield technical Community College (STCC) John Reynolds of East Longmeadow and Peter Gamelli, Jr. of Ludlow are seeing their product become a reality. The two men have developed product called "Beyond Brackets." Unlike conventional shelf brackets that are intended only to hold up a shelf, these brackets add to the design of a room with a variety of decorative inserts that fill in the space created by the 45-degree angle of the bracket. Beginning in January, the first series of brackets and inserts will be on sale at www.beyond brackets.com and are expected to retail between $50 and $60, Reynolds said. Gamelli explained the product has "infinite possibilities." The first series will feature sunflower, grape, and apple inserts, but the team has a variety of prototypes on display in their small office at the Student Business incubator. Gamelli and Reynolds see licensing potential for the inserts of everything from Disney to NASCAR. They also believe that a number of national businesses would want to buy personalized brackets. Gamelli said the pair brought their idea to a patent attorney first to make sure the idea had not been previously registered. Once obtaining their patent, they sought out a manufacturer for the metal brackets and resin inserts. Gamelli said they "tried desperately" to find a manufacturer in the United States, but because the resin inserts are hand-painted, the costs compelled them to turn to a factory in China. Rather than trying to wholesale their product immediately, Gamelli and Reynolds decided to sell them directly to consumers in order to better understand the demands of the manufacturing process. "It's a dry run," Reynolds said. They also want to see how consumers and potential retailers respond to the item as Reynolds said it "looks gifty, but it is also hardware." They hope to add about 100 designs over the next year or two. Reynolds said one of the advantages of the product is that a consumer can change the inserts without removing the bracket from the wall. Gamelli added they have already modified the basic bracket design so that it can hold a jar candle and believes other modifications can provide new products to the line. The two men have had an office in the Student Business Incubator just over a year. They pay a nominal fee to have access to the business resources and training the Incubator supplies and said the Incubator provides "a common ground." Gamelli noted that all of the current tenants turn to each other to help work out the challenges provided by a small business. The Student Business Incubator is one of the programs of the STCC Entrepreneurial Institute, which celebrated its 10th birthday in October. Since its inception, 33 businesses have been started in the Student Business Incubator. |