Backchannelmedia

The Daily Oklahoman

Aug. 24--BODY BUDDY CO. BY USEFUL THINGS INC.

--Address: 5504 Inverany, Edmond.

--Web address: www.bodybuddy.com.

--Key executives: Shiolett Meier, president and chief executive officer; Michelle Graves, vice president of marketing; Callie Meier, production; Deborah Bell, shipping and transportation.

--Background: After years of wrestling to apply lotion to her back and multiple times of wishing someone would invent a product to make the task easier, Shiolett Meier designed Body Buddy.

The patent-pending, nonabsorbent strap can be used to apply lotions, oils, sunscreens or muscle creams to the back. Patients with limited motion can use Body Buddy to apply products to the feet, legs or other areas of the body.

Meier, her family and friends have been producing Body Buddy in their Edmond home since 1997. The product is sold in local stores, such as The Body Source in Nichols Hills Plaza, My Heart's Fancy at NW 122 and May Avenue, The Make-up Bar on N Western, and in Edmond at The Paper Lion at 33rd and Boulevard and Your Beauty Source in Bryant Square.

Meier's daughter, Michelle Graves, vice president of marketing for the company, recently debuted Body Buddy on QVC, selling 2,200 in six minutes.

Meier was the original seamstress for Body Buddy but has since had to hire sewing contractors. She prides herself, however, that all materials and labor come from within the United States.

Meier is in the process of designing additional goods under parent company Useful Products Inc. She expects to move production facilities from her home to another location.

-----

To see more of The Daily Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsok.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Daily Oklahoman

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

L,