In the Biz: Linda Shigio
Linda Shigio, the company’s founder, came up with a better idea for keeping handbags clean and safe. Having used a variety of handbag hangers as a teenager, a University student, and finally as a working mom, she found that she was most often disappointed with the ones available. She was frustrated when she could not remember which handbag she had left them in or when she had to hunt for them inside her bag. The hangers would only hang bags in a frontward position that took up too much space at crowded tables and made it impossible to hang them from other surfaces. They often lost their grip and slipped off onto the floor. Besides not being easily accessible or user-friendly, she also thought that they were not very elegant in their design.
Sketching at the kitchen table in her San Francisco home while her daughter Lauren was doing her homework, Linda designed a fashion-forward and practical new solution to her handbag hanger woes. She gathered up her courage and set to work. With the support of her husband Randy, she made her creative new concept a reality. She partnered with Tom Grimm, an experienced product design engineer, and together they made a very good idea bloom into a beautiful new product.
How did Linda’s vision make Table-It™ better than all the other handbag hangers on the market?
The hanger attaches to the strap, handle or hardware of most types of bags (such as purses, briefcases, and backpacks) so that it is immediately accessible. It looks like a beautiful handbag charm, but unfolds into a useful hanger in seconds.
It has a built-in patented mechanism that allows it to swivel and turn carryalls in any direction making it easy to hang them in tight or awkward spaces. Its sturdy grip will accommodate surfaces such as tables, railings, seatbacks and grab bars as can be found in restaurants, cafes, bars, coliseums, theaters, libraries and offices.
Table-It™ is available in fashionable finishes etched with elegant patterns. They can mesh with the finish of handbag hardware or can be matched or contrasted to a bag’s color.
Would you use it?
