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SUGARCREEK TWP., Greene County — Sugarcreek Twp. resident Tanja Neubauer was having a hard time making a fringed fleece blanket for her great niece.
“I don’t sew, and I’m not a crafty person at all,” she said. “I had a terrible time cutting because I don’t cut straight.”
Not finding a suitable cutting tool, she invented one.
She has a patent pending and a trademark logo for the Fring’ez. It’s an easier way to fringe, an adjustable clear acrylic cutting template. It allows a person to place the fabric’s edge in it and run a pair of scissors down a row of slots to cut fringe all the same length and width in a straight line. It can accommodate four ply of fleece and can adjust to cut fringe that’s 2-, 3- or 4 inches long and an inch wide. It can be used on any kind of material to make fringe on items such as blankets, scarves, pillows and sleeping bags.
The Fring’ez, which sells for $29.95, plus $4.90 shipping, can be ordered on Amazon.com and at Neubauer’s website: Fring-ez.com. She plans to add a mini Fring’ez, with a half-inch-wide tab for small fringe, and is working on several other related devices to use with fabric.
She chose Queen City Polymers in Moraine for Fring’ez’s fabrication because “they saw potential in it,” she said.
“She had it pretty well drawn and designed ... and thought out,” said Greg Hendren, branch manager at Queen City Polymers’s sales office in Moraine. “We knew we could make parts for her fairly quickly.”
The plastics fabricator — with plants in West Chester Twp. and Mexico — is more of an industrial and commercial manufacturer.
“But once in a while we take on something we think might be promising in the crafts area,” Hendren said. “People want to measure and want to see through to the fabric or item.”
Neubauer and her husband, Scott, both IT consultants, with six children between them, created their own company, Fring’ez, LLC, to produce the Fring’ez and related products.
It all came together from September to October, said Neubauer, a 41-year-old North Carolina native. At her first marketing venture at the November Holiday Gift show at Hara Arena, she sold 20 templates, all pre-ordered.
She has 230 Fring’ezs in stock, which she plans to sell on Amazon and at area shows, including at the recent Bargain Mania at Veteran’s Memorial in Columbus. She plans to talk to Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts and other area stores to see if they will carry them.
“It’s not something you’ll just use once and throw away,” she said. “They’re durable, so you won’t have problems with it breaking.
“It’s been fun. It’s exciting.”
Scott Neubauer said his wife encountered a problem, solved it and realized its potential to help others.
“This just came out of nowhere,” he said. “A lot of people have great ideas, but she has the ability to facilitate it. We really feel it’s got great potential.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@Dayton DailyNews.com.
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