NORTH AURORA - Wedge it!

The last time the Phrase was popular figure skating superstar Dorothy Hamill boasted a hairstyle with the same name - making it a household phenomenon. But for those who believe "the wedge" is still a hair style - look out. First-time entrepreneur Link Bowling is out to change that view. His new product, The Comfort Wedge, is not a hairstyle, but a vinyl, inflatable device which conveniently fits between a mattress and the box springs of one's bed.

Bowling said he invented the product because he was tired of not being comfortable in bed.

"I wanted to be able to watch TV, talk to my wife and be comfortable in bed and not have to use five pillows to keep us up," Bowling said. "I used to get a crick in my neck. This eliminates the crick." The Comfort Wedge allows people to elevate their positions in bed for reading, watching TV or for a restful nights sleep.

A Comfort Wedge is placed on Bowling's own bed and is used every night.

"I'm sure there are millions of people who share our feeling of being comfortable in bed," Bowling said, while is wife Karen, nodded in agreement.

The 51-year-old North Aurora engineer was always coming up with ideas, said Karen and "they would be on the market two years later." But they weren't put there by Link Bowling. 

"He always had ideas but never followed through," Karen said.

This time they decided to make the idea a reality.

The couple hails from Tennessee, where they were imbued with a strong work ethic."Through hard work, believing strongly and putting effort and time, a dream can come true," Bowling remarked.

When turned on, The Comfort Wedge will inflate to it's owner's specifications. A shutoff valve is used to position the wedge. Inflating can be stopped at any time during the process. Owners can use the switch attached to the system to slowly deflate the wedge without even getting out of bed.

"You can go to sleep and not worry about it," Bowling added. Working along with Vin-Tex Sealers, an Itasca-based manufacturing firm that specializes in custom-engineered vinyl products, it took Bowling nine prototypes of The Comfort Wedge before he knew it was the right one.
From the time he originally thought of the idea, it has taken Bowling and his wife nine months of hard work to develop, patent and market The Comfort Wedge.

When designing the wedge Bowling considered all aspects of the product - including the cost. It was important to him to keep the price down.

"It took me the longest time to find an electric motor that was not costly," he said. "I wanted to make a product everyone could afford."

Finding a firm to aid him in the process was difficult.

"I had to sell them on the idea of it," Bowling said. "I had to find a company to do it and then I had to talk them into it."

"I'm just now finding out it won't take off like a rocket," he said. "I still have to work hard but the people who do have it and use it are passing the word around and recommending it to their friends, It's just a matter of getting our name out there."

As of this writing, Vin-Tex Sealers still manufactures the product.

The Comfort Wedge can be ordered by calling 1-800-503-0039. Personal chacks and money orders are accepted. Once ordered, the product will usually be shipped within 24 hours.

There are other such devices on the market, yet Bowling said his product is different.

"The ones on the market don't inflate and adjust to any one position," he said. "Most mechanical ones are cumbersome and hard to handle. They're also hard to put under a bed and hard to take out. The ones on the market are pretty costly."

"It doesn't feel hard because it goes with you're body," Karen said. "Because it's air, it's more comfortable."

Currently The Comfort Wedge is being introduced through direct mail in selected Chicago suburbs and in senior citizen publications in Chicago, Phoenix, and Tuscon.

Though the firms target is the "senior" market, Bowling said he is not limiting it to just one market. Other types of markets and advertising are being strategically planned for the future.

"I've found that, in my business, perserverance overcomes all obstacles."