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Meriden native is an inventive fellow Inventing, says Arthur Beloff, is the easy part. Getting ideas is tougher. So Beloff pays close attention. “A couple of years ago, I was on QVC, and I was demonstrating my Safety Bagel Slicer,” he said the other day from his home in Manalapan, Fla. “One of the girls had a bandage on her hand, and she said, ‘Why don’t you go out and invent a watermelon slicer?’ She had cut on her ahnd from slicing a watermelon. And that got me thinking.” From that inspiration came the Easy Carver Food Holder, one of about a half-dozen items the Meriden native has invented. “I’ve probably invented eight or nine (other) things and wasn’t happy with them,” said Beloff, who is 77. Back in Meriden, Beloff got started inventing in the 1960s, when he was part owner of Styletex Fashion on Colony Street. A rubber nub he fashioned helped keep clothes from falling off their hangers. “It wasn’t very successful,” Beloff said. He did make millions, by his own account, during the real estate boom of the 1980s. And in his hoby, he hit big in 1996 with another invention. Cigar Savor is a tube that allows smokers to stash a half-smoked stogie, cleanly and conveniently for later use. “It’s been tremendously successful,” said Beloff. “More than one million have been sold.” The Cigar Savor, along with a line of vertical, hexagonal, Lucite humidors was sold to Consolidated Cigar Corporation. Then in 1998, Beloff patented two versions of the Bagel Wizard Safety Slicer, designed to cut the bread and not the hand. The Easy Carver Food Holder might not reach those heights. But Beloff says he likes the new product’s chances. The easy carver is a tray designed to hold roasts, watermelons, or just about any food item in place so they can be safely cut and the juices don’t spill all over the place. “The trays should probably be one of the hottest kitchen items this year,” he said. “Basically, it’s an extra pair of hands – which everyone needs,” said Tonda Mullis, president of MarketRights International, the Newtown-based company that put Beloff and a direct marketed together to sell the Easy Carver on TV. The carving tray, Mullis said, should appeal to older people, who might have more trouble carving a turkey or similar meal. Beloff has licensed the trays to a company, ThinkTek Inc., which he said would have the Easy Carver Food Holder made in China. This time, the main advetising vehicle will be two-minute infomercial-style TV spots, which will pitch the plastic Easy Carver for $19.95. Test marketing will begin next week, said Mullis. If response is favorable, she said, in about three weeks the TV commercials will expand their territory. “If it’s successful,” she said, “we’ll roll it out to 80 countries in the world.” While the Easy Carver is headed for “As Seen on TV” status, Beloff is having another new product manufactured. The Naphold, also sold as the Klip-it, is a one-piece, clear plastic clip originally designed to do a simple chore. The idea for this one came at dinner when one night, when a friend’s napkin fell to the floor. But the Naphold, Beloff said, can do more than fasten your napkin to your collar. Restaurants and other businesses can order the clips in bulk – at 20 to 24 cents each – adorned with sticker advertisements. In its alter ego as the Klip-it, you stand it up vertically to display business cards, or clip shut your potato chip bag. “It’s a 21st century clip,” Beloff said. “This is a one piece clip where the plastic has memory – it’s totally useful.” -Ralph Hohman,
Record- Journal |
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