How Lynn's unique idea for an earring organizer
went from concept, to invention, to prototype,
to product ...to profit

Part 1:
The Earring Angel

© by Lynn Williams; all rights reserved

Lynn Williams

January 1, 1990 my husband Robert - whom I adore - and I and were living in a mobile home with our first child Asia.

We were expecting our second child Sariea in March.

Robert was working hard for Ericsson Telecommunications and I was working for a real estate appraiser part time.

In June 1990 we sold our mobile home of 6 years and 3 locations, and moved to a tiny condo.

The Keyhole

January 1 1991 with 2 children and modest income levels, money was extremely tight and our outgoing was more than our incoming.

I set my heart for an answer. I prayed, "Lord, give me the answer."

Immediately I saw a keyhole shape in my mind - and I asked out loud, "What is it?" truly not knowing.

I heard in my heart, "It is an Earring Organizer."

I ran downstairs to my kitchen and got a lid to a margarine container. I cut out the keyhole with a razor knife, and ran back upstairs and hung one of my earrings on it and thought WOW. I actually gasped slightly.

Lynn Williams' "Earring Angel" jewelry organizer
- made with unique, keyhole-shaped slots
that hold earrings securely.

The Journey Begins

Then the WORK started, and lots of it.

From the beginning - and for many years - I was told by a quite a few people this was a pipe dream, a pie in the sky and that it would never sell or make a profit.

I was on my own and started inventing. What would I make it out of? How big should I make it? What will it cost to make, and can I sell it and make a profit? Who would buy it? How will they find out about it?

I went to a sheet metal shop to have them quote me a prototype made on a C & C machine. We did not have the money, so I cut back on grocery shopping and in a couple of weeks I had enough to have them made.

They were industrial looking, but they worked. I decided that acrylic or plastic would be the most cost efficient.

I researched injection molding. I made some drawings, one after another until I got it right. For weeks I was up until 2 a.m. or later working and fine tuning with pencil and pad.

I knew that the free USPS Flat Rate Envelopes would save me money on shipping supplies, so I stayed within those dimensions. Mind you, this was before there was an internet or eBay - I was thinking mail order.

Testing the Design

I ran my idea past a friend of mine who owned a sign shop. He mentioned laser cutting acrylic and referred me to someone who made me about a dozen from some free scrap acrylic that he had.

I sold them to friends for about $20.00 each in 1991, which was enough to pay him for his labor and really do a test on the design. It was perfect.

On May 21, 1991 I went to Precision Mold to get a quote. At that time mold prices were $12,000 to $14,200; now mold prices are double or triple that amount, and have to be paid for in advance.

For over a year I tried to get financial backing from banks, but they wanted collateral and friends and family turned me down.

In September 1991 I found Questek Laser Machining and spoke with Ed Case, showing him my drawings.

On September 4, 1991 I received the quote - I don't remember the exact amount but it was several hundred dollars for design, setup, tooling plus material.

I thanked him for his time, knowing there was no way I could afford it, but as I was leaving I found the courage within me to ask him, "Do you have any scrap that you could use?" he said probably not, but that he would check.

He did, and they did! He thought the idea was so great and he wanted to give one his wife, and since the shop was so slow that week he decided to make me 75 of them for FREE! What a great guy!

I got the 75, intending to sell them and use the money to make more, but it did not happen that way. This was very hard, but I knew in my heart that the right thing to do was to GIVE them away.

So days later, that is exactly what I did, but I did keep a few as prototype samples.

I received the best feedback from the ladies I gave them to, and it was very encouraging.

The Next "Velcro"

September 25, 1991 I took one of them to the Collin County Small Business Development Center with my drawings and market research. I had an appointment with the Manager, who was skeptical at first but then when he saw how it worked he took a deep breath and said "I will be right back".

He went and got the Director, Chris Jones. When she came into the room I showed her how it worked. She also took a deep breath and asked me "Do you know what you have here?"

I asked "What?"

She said "VELCRO."

I thought I knew what she meant, but had to ask "What do you mean?"

She went on to say, "This is the next Velcro - everyone will want one once they see how it works."

I was blown away! They notarized my drawings and notes and gave me some good advice and sent me on my way.

Researching Buyers and Manufacturers

In May & June 1991 I got the phone book out and did a survey. I also did a comparison sheet comparing the Earring Board to other earring organizers and researched mail order catalogs and ladies' magazines to see about advertising costs, etc.

I decided to contact several companies to see if they would be interested in buying my idea or manufacturing it and pay me royalties.

Never having done anything like this before, I got out my electric typewriter and made a presentation and attached a few photos.

July 7, 1992 I sent out 12 packets and got 8 responses, 3 with encouragement and one seriously considering it.

July 14, 1992 Louise & John Sylvester in Connecticut signed my non-disclosure agreement and wanted a sample, so I sent them one. I received their letter dated July 30th stating that they wished me success with my product and that they had enough earring organizers in their product line, and that the cost to jumpstart a new product was extremely high.

I talked to Louise and she said that she loved the design but that the success of a wall mounted organizer was questionable, and the cost to get to production was very expensive.

Not knowing her or what she believed, I asked a rather forward question: "Louise, would you pray about it and ask God if you should do this for me?" There was dead silence, and then she said "Yes, I will."

She called me several days later and said "Yes, I will do this for you."

The Mold

October 21, 1992 we signed the agreement and they had the mold made. I received first samples on March 8, 1993.

June 15, 1993 we moved out of our tiny condo and into our first house, which we rented and later purchased.

Louise and John came to Dallas for a trade show in August 1993 and we met for the first time face to face. It was wonderful to meet these kind and successful people.

At this time my husband and I were expecting our third child.

In early winter 1993 Louise fell and broke her hip and she and her husband decided to sell the business and retire in Florida. She called me and told me, saying that they were selling the business.

In March our son Luke was born.

The company sold months later, and the buyers had no intention of manufacturing any of their jewelry organizers.

Louise asked if I wanted the 5,000 organizers they had just manufactured - all I would have to do was pay the shipping. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyplace to store 5,000 Earring Boards, plus I couldn't afford the shipping for that many.

So I paid to ship 2 cases (100 Earring Boards), and they recycled the rest.

She also gave me the mold and encouraged me to make and sell them myself. On July 18, 1994 I was given the mold which was in California at CB Molding.

On the Back Burner

From August 1994 until November 2004 little was accomplished in outward show. I searched for investors and came up empty time after time. My invention literally sat on a shelf for years in my garage.

In June 1996 my husband and I made a decision to start our own electrical contracting business and opened Accurate Electric fulltime. My husband left his job at Ericsson Telecommunications.

Now, with 3 small children and a new business, needless to say the Earring Board got pushed way back, again since we had to take care of the matters at hand.

Eight Years Later...

As my daughters got older, they began to believe in the possibilities when they understood what the Earring Board was and how it worked - maybe because they used them too. I always thought SOMEDAY, SOMEHOW, let God's will be done.

It's now November 2004. Our Accurate Electric business is going well we're living in a nice home in Frisco, Texas.

I keep thinking about the Earring Board and praying about it. What could I do without any capital to invest?

A friend caught me at church one day and kindly scolded me, saying "When are you going to do something with your Earring Board?"

I gave a few lame excuses and she shook her head and said "If it is God's will, you should just do it." Then she asked to buy another one. Thank you Jackie, my encouraging angel!

A Divine Wakeup Call

December 2004 I called California, and asked Chris at C & B Mold if he remembered me. We had never met and had only 3 phone conversations 10 years prior. He said he remembered me, "THE EARRING BOARD LADY".

I asked if they still had the mold. He said "Oh, probably not, we moved to Monrovia a few years ago, and scraped a lot of old molds".

I did not believe that my mold was scrapped, and I asked him to check for me. It took him 3 days of checking and then he called and apologized and said it was not there.

Disappointed, I thanked him for checking and wished him well.

As I was going to sleep that night in prayer I asked the Lord, "Did they scrap my so mold?" I heard "No" in my heart, so I asked, "Well, Lord, you know where the mold is. Have your angels wake him up and tell him where it is, Amen." And then I went to sleep.

I am not kidding - the very next morning Chris called me and said "You're not going to believe this. I couldn't sleep last night, and then I remembered this old padlocked storage building we had out back of the old shop. So I went there this morning, and guess what I found? Your mold!"

I was so excited, I think I cried. I told him I would get back with him in a few days.

Now what do I do?

The Earring Angel is Born

A day or so later I was driving home when suddenly I noticed a sign that said "Sunbelt Plastics" right here in Frisco - within walking distance to my home.

I went inside and told them about the Earring Board.

They said that they could make them for me if they had the mold.

So I called Chris and he sent me the mold. I had originally named this item "The Earring Board" back in 1991, but when I went to purchase the domain name "earringboard.com" it was already taken. So I had to find a new name.

I kept thinking "safe haven" for your earrings, which lead me to Earring Angel because it works as a guardian over your collection of earrings keeping them from harm

So I bought the domain name EarringAngel.com, which is now up and running.

Earring Angel, "A Safe Haven for your Pierced Earrings & Other Body Jewelry".

I had the mold shipped here in January 2005, and my new molder was willing to give me 30 days billing - so I didn't need any upfront money.

A Journey of Faith

I shipped my first Earring Angel eBay sale on February 8, 2005.

Needless to say I sold enough that first month to pay for them with no problem, and I've been making and selling them ever since.

My business continues to grow every day, little by little.

When I was trying to find a company name I just came up with Angelyn Enterprises, from Earring Angel and my name Lynn.

Now my business name has grown into Angelynn's Unique Organizational Products, a better self-explanatory name.

What I have accomplished so far I have done with my faith, being led by the Lord every step of the way. He, The Lord Jesus, caused many people I didn't even know to freely give unto me time, materials and experience years ago - and still does to this day.

I will always remember them and their generosity with gratefulness and thanksgiving. Many people now refer to me now as a "Christian Inventor" because I do my best to hear and obey the voice of the Lord and use the talents I was given to use.

Don't miss the next part of Lynn's success story:
Part 2 - The Earring Angel - Business Expansion.