The talent and creativity of Utah County residents is limitless. Here are five locally founded and created businesses that brighten Utah Valley.
Have shelves, will travel
Mike and Nevia Wright were still designing Luggashelf when they were flown to L.A. to be on “The Real,” the daytime talk show, to pitch their product to Shark Tank celebrities Barbara Corcoran and Robert Herjavec. The Wrights returned to their Springville home with $5,000 and finished designing their removable accordion compartment with shelves of different sizes, as well as pockets on the outside. “We wanted to design a suitcase organizer that has a space for everything, including the small items that can easily get lost on a trip,” Mike says.
From the ground up
The history of the Provo City Center Temple comes to life in an illustrated story written by Judy Fletcher Davis. “Out of the Ashes: From Tabernacle to Temple,” published through Covenant Communications in American Fork, depicts accounts from a family tied to the tabernacle through generations. It starts in the early 1800s with the main character’s great-great grandfather and ends in the present day with memories shared by the main character.
Drop thread gorgeous
Black, bulky wallets be gone! Provo’s Colby and McKenzie Bauer loved the new minimalist wallets they stumbled across, but they didn’t like the standard black or brown choices. So they’re giving those styles a run for their money with Thread Wallets, a minimalist wallet that features more than 15 dynamic and funky patterns. The tight-knit elastic holds two to eight cards plus cash. The Bauers even took a wallet up, down and all around on the New York, New York coaster in Las Vegas to prove its security.
Picture perfect
So you don’t ski, snowboard, surf, mountain bike or bungee jump — but you still want to record your daily life without dropping a few hundred on a GoPro? No problem, says Spencer Taylor, a Spanish Fork entrepreneur who created the ViDi People’s Action Camera. “Our camera is for vacationers and adventurers who don’t want to spend a fortune,” Spencer says. The People’s Action Camera is waterproof, takes pics and video, and has a 1.5-inch display screen for reviewing and deleting images.
A first stitch effort
Moony Roo sidesteps sticky glue, paper scraps and clouds of glitter with its pillow embroidery craft for kids. Amy Nelson of Lehi and Shea Shumway of Eagle Mountain created these kits to give kids and parents an easy way to have fun together. “Our kits include all the tools and instructions,” says Amy, who designs the graphics. “It’s an easy way for kids to work on their fine motor skills.” In six different prints, littles who want to learn to sew can sit down with fabric, stuffing, thread, a hoop and a rounded needle, and have a plush pillow or stitching card accent piece — in a stitch.