Portable Tree Stand
Industry: Garden Centers, Horticultural, Holiday Shopping
End Users: Consumers, Interior Designers, Corporate Holiday Designers
Solution: A sturdy, mobile, adjustable and lockable tree stand, which simplified the process of moving & decorating the Christmas tree.
PROBLEM:
If you haven't experienced it yourself, you know someone who has: the dreaded Christmas tree "fall." It is often related to a live tree, but sometimes an artificial tree can take a spill, too. But, finding the right tree stand has been a challenge since the beginning of time. You have to find one that works with the tree that was selected this year, which might be twice or half as big as the one you had last year and different from the one you'll find next year.
Besides the fear of the Christmas tree support system, another problem we all deal with year after year is getting the decorations evenly placed throughout the tree, especially those on the "back" side of the tree, which may be in a corner, up against a wall or facing a window. We painstakingly wiggle the tree, spinning it around to reach just the right spot, often times shaking the needles off the tree or even knocking other ornaments off in the process.
Paul Rahmer experienced both of these issues, and more, when it came to decorating the Christmas tree each year. After finally getting fed up with the whole process, Paul had an idea. And, once he saw it work for him, he knew others could benefit from the same solution. He began working with Vallmar Engineering to develop, produce and bring to market the ultimate Christmas tree stand.
CONSIDERATIONS:
The Vallmar Engineering team started with a thorough evaluation of the industry, the competition and the opportunities for this new product. Vallmar helped Mr. Rahmer obtain a patent for the product and begin crafting 2-D and 3-D CAD drawings, which went through several variations before landing on the final product design.
This discovery process unveiled several major challenges:
1. Balance: Given the wide variation of sizes and shapes of Christmas trees, the Vallmar team had to take into consideration these variables, including height, weight and trunk size.
2. Mobility: The goal is to make moving the tree Ð either across a room or building, or spinning it during the decorating process Ð both simple and easy. "Simple" in that it couldn't require several steps of a process; and "easy" in that the physical act of moving the tree couldn't be difficult to do.
3. Flexibility: As with the balance issue mentioned above, the stand had to be flexible, so that it would be able to adjust year after year, no matter what size or shape the tree was.
4. Cost: Given all of the above considerations, the Vallmar Engineering team was charged with producing a product that would be affordable to the end user and seen as a value by the garden centers and interior designers who would be selling/using the product.
The concept went through several stages before the final product design was determined. Each of these considerations was evaluated under different scenarios with the goal of creating a product that met the high standards of both Paul Rahmer and Vallmar Engineering.
SOLUTION(S):
The solution was the Roll Ôn' Lock Tree StandÉa sturdy, mobile, adjustable and lockable tree stand, which ultimately simplified the process of moving and decorating the Christmas tree. Perfect for the home, at the office or even in retail settings, the Roll Ôn' Loc Tree Stand helps eliminate the fear of the falling Christmas tree and makes it easier to decorate the tree in those hard-to-reach spots.
RESULTS:
- The company obtained a patent...
- Orders are now being taken at www.RollnLockStand.com...
- Manufacturing options are under consideration...
