THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406040103
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CAROLE O'KEEFFE
DATELINE: 940605 LENGTH: Medium
But in Laverne S. Copeland's case, it was mother who necessitated invention.
{REST} ``Mother fell a couple of times and bumped her head severely,'' said Copeland, recalling the icy slide that was impetus for her invention, the Zipper Slipper.
``I wondered, how could people walk on ice and not fall?'' said the 40-year-old Suffolk native.
So she gave the problem some thought, finally coming up with a rubber slipper with small metal claws, like a vegetable grater, on its soles to provide traction on slippery surfaces.
The wearer simply slips them on and zips them up.
Copeland made a rough sketch of her idea and contacted a New Jersey-based product design company which helps inventors get their ideas patented, manufactured and promoted.
For its trouble, the company gets 40 percent of any sales.
Copeland got her patent, and the Zipper Slippers are already in production.
They could be on the market by year's end.
Because they are waterproof, the slippers will protect shoes and feet against wet weather, she said.
And they will come in a variety of colors, sizes and styles.
They are designed for flat shoes or for high heels. The high heel models have tabs in the back that snap behind the heel and hold the slipper in place.
Copeland works for National Health Laboratories in Norfolk. She has been a phlebotomist, or blood sample collector, for about 20 years.
The Zipper Slipper is her first invention, but she is at work on another. She doesn't want to discuss it just yet, however.
Copeland said she gets creative help from her two daughters, Aprell, a senior at Lakeland High School and Andrea, a sixth-grader at John F. Kennedy Middle School.
She also collaborates with her sister in Philadelphia, Catherine C. Byrd.
Byrd's first invention, a marital aid, also has been patented, Copeland said.
``We believe in looking at things differently'' from other people, Copeland said.
``We look at it and ask why. We talk about things.''
by CNB