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MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
Date: July 2008
Truckie turned inventor, hailed by the Quilting Community!
Hot on the heels of having won the People’s Choice Award on ABC’s New Inventors earlier this month, Mt Evelyn mother of three, Leonie West, will unveil her invention at the Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair, July 24th to 27th, at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
Her invention, an Adjustable Ruler with Locking Fabric Guide will be an invaluable tool to quilters both in Australia and around the world. Leonie, a former truckie and part-time racing driver turned quilter, had for some time been looking for the tool that could provide consistently accurate cutting. Leonie was not alone, tuned into quilting forums, she constantly heard others lamenting that they needed a ruler that would cut accurately.
Leonie explains, “Quilters are constantly faced with the challenge of difficult maths and precise measurements and cutting 1,200 identical bias strips can test anyone’s patience. There had been no change to this process since the rotary cutter was invented in 1979, so I felt it was time to address the issue.”
Realising that she was determined to find a solution to this age old quilters’ problem, Leonie’s husband, Bill soon joined her in the garage, teaching her to cut Perspex and began helping her make her ideas a reality.
Two years, and many prototypes later, Leonie came up with the perfect design – a ruler that replaced the old adage measure twice and cut once – with a whole new, time saving approach, measure once and cut 1000 times!
With Leonie’s Straight Ruler with Locking Fabric Guide, quilters can simply set the desired strip width and lock the guide and cut. The last size will be the same as the first, every time! Her range of corner, half and quarter square rulers, negate the need for spending time and calculations getting triangles accurate. The measurements have been calculated to give the size of the desired finished block with seam allowances built in.
The now inventor, faced a new learning curve, the ins and outs of intellectual property and patenting her design, before facing the challenge of manufacturing the product. Leonie has now set up a factory close to her Mt Evelyn home where she is producing a range of 14 products for distribution around Australia, while setting up off shore manufacturing to produce rulers for the international market. Leonie plans to launch her products in the USA at the Houston Craft Fair later this year.
When Leonie won the ABC New Inventors People’s Choice Award, with a massive, 65.54% of votes last week, her husband rejoiced that he might be able to look forward to a home cooked meal from Leonie in the near future; while, Leonie herself says, she is looking forward to some time to sleep.
The Adjustable Ruler with Locking Fabric Guide, can be seen for the first time at the Aussie Patches stand at the Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair, where Leonie will be on hand to demonstrate.
For a sneak peak before the Fair, visit www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2287744.htm to see Leonie explaining her invention and www.westalee.com.au to view her range of adjustable rulers.
- Tickets available at the door (cash only) or online from www.craftfair.com.au
- Groups: Pre-booked tickets are available for groups of 10 people or more at a discounted rate of $14 each. For information on group bookings call 02 9452 7575
- Information: Visit www.craftfair.com.au or call 02 9452 7575
- -ends –
Media Enquiries contact:
Michelle Myers (02) 9999 0853 or email: michelle@alittleextra.com.au
ABOUT EXPERTISE EVENTS Expertise Events creates memorable events that connect people and markets in a very personal way. Our exhibitions are created with passion and a personal touch, delivering unique experiences to our customers that are beyond their expectations. Expertise Events organises more than 30 superior events each year that exemplify the company’s reputation as the leading Australian independently owned and managed exhibition and event group.
For events brought to you with a personal touch go to www.expertiseevents.com.au or call 02 9452 7575.
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