For a fashion-conscious Clearwater mom, the pacifier is part necessity, part accessory. Dissatisfied with the choices, she invented her own.
By TERRI D. REEVES
Published April 5, 2004
[Times photo: Kathleen Flynn]
Cara Thorton has perfected her mood pacifier, which was a finalist in the invent Now America contest.
CLEARWATER - Years ago, when little Catherine Thorton was a proud member of the diaper set, she had a different color pacifier to match each outfit.
Her mother, Cara Thorton, had amassed about 30 of the little suckers when an idea struck: Why not make pacifiers that would change colors just like mood rings?
"Pacifiers were boring. It was time for a makeover. I mean, how many Big Bird pacifiers can one baby have?" said Thorton, now 37, of Clearwater.
Five years later, she is introducing the mood pacifier. As the baby sucks on it, a stone in the center changes color. The color changes are supposed to indicate whether the baby is happy, anxious or stressed.
"Green is good. Royal blue may mean your baby may have a fever, but this isn't a medical pacifier, just a novelty gift," Thorton said. "I sincerely think this will be the pacifier of choice."
No one knows if the colors really say anything about the baby. But the idea was so novel, Thorton was chosen as one of 100 finalists in the inaugural Invent Now America contest sponsored by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
More than 2,000 everyday inventors entered the contest.
As a winner, Thorton got to show off her prototype at Universal Studios in Orlando on March 26 and 27 during the Invent Now America Exposition. Scouts from Popular Mechanics magazine and QVC TV were at the show.
Other novel ideas that made the final cut included the Jiffy John travel toilet, a pet voice mail message recorder, a guinea pig lawn mower, and gym shoe that conceals a wallet within.
Thorton, a travel agent at Bowen-Keppie Travel, began years ago by trying to market the product herself. She said she contacted about 250 companies with no luck.
"They told me to get an agent," she said.
She also spent $5,000 with a consulting service, which she said was a scam.
"After they gave you pie charts and marketing demographics, they wanted another $20,000 to give you names of company contacts. I had already tried that," she said.
Then she met Andrea Brady of IdeaSmart, whom she hired as a commissioned agent. It was Brady who suggested Thorton enter the contest.
Thorton plans to offer her mood pacifiers in all the colors of the rainbow. They will come in shapes like the teddy bear with a belly stone and a clown with a nose stone. She has two patents pending, one for design and one for utility. She expects them to be available in stores in about a year.
She said prices will vary according to region. In Florida, plan to spend about $5 to find out how your baby is feeling.
Catherine, now 6, is too old for pacifiers. But they may still help her, Thorton said.
"I'm hoping they will pay her college education," she said.
