Get over ‘giggle factor’ — this is a hot tip

A simple idea that Carmel Stover got after burning her finger on hot glue has landed her a spot on the cable shopping network QVC to sell her Finger Gloves to crafters, quilters, gardeners and anyone else who needs protection for their tender digits.

The Colorado Springs crafter will have eight minutes to pitch her product during QVC’s live broadcast noon to 2 p.m. Friday at the Garden of the Gods Visitors Center.

For crafters, hot-glue burns go with the territory. But, Stover thought, “We shouldn’t have to just accept it.”

She tried rubber fingertips, the kind office workers often use to sort paper, but the vent holes let the glue in and the tips were too thick for fine work. So Stover figured it was up to her to create the right product for the job.

After a search for a rubber manufacturer to work with her, she came up with the Finger Glove. Stover’s latex glove is thinner than the rubber tips and slips over a finger to cover it below the knuckle. The tip is covered with tiny bumps to improve grip.

Go ahead and laugh. Stover knows there’s something inherently silly about the idea of little rubber gloves just for a finger or thumb.

“There’s a giggle factor at first,” she says. “But once you get past that . . .”

The business started small. Stover did Internet searches on “hot-glue burns” and e-mailed the people who complained about injuries, explaining what her product was and how it helped.

“Every person would e-mail me back and say, ‘Oh, where has this been?’” Stover says.

Stover and her husband, Andrew, took the Finger Gloves to their first trade show in 2001. There was immediate interest. One company wanted to buy the idea. Another of- fered an exclusive distribution contract. The Stovers declined the purchase offer, but signed the distribution deal.

After two years, they decided they wanted more control and took the business back inhouse — literally. They answer phones and fill orders out of their Broadmoor-area home, and the packages are put together in a barn in Pueblo.

In 2004, they heard about a new product search on QVC. The Stovers showed the network their product, but didn’t make the cut.

This year, they heard QVC was doing another search, and they flew to West Chester, Pa., to demonstrate the Finger Gloves again. Out of 3,000 hopefuls, QVC picked their product as one of 100 that will be featured in the network’s “Decade of Discoveries Tour.”

If the Finger Gloves sell well Friday, the Stovers will likely be invited back to sell the gloves on-air.

Whatever happens with QVC, Stover’s simple idea is already available in craft stores across the country, and the gloves are being used to serve an eclectic array of needs around the world.

The Venezuelan Mint orders them to help workers make money, Stover says. Mayan Indians in Belize wear them while making baskets. A professional bowler finds that they’re perfect for knocking down pins. People with diabetes and burns put them on to help their grip. And one aquarium store owner puts them on to pull bristle worms out of lava rock.

“When we went to the first trade show, I was just thinking you could use them for hot glue,” Stover says.

At $5.99 for a package of 12 (QVC plans to offer packages of 60), the Stovers sell enough gloves to support themselves and are thinking of hiring help.

“I think so many entrepreneurs get that first bad experience and they just give up,” Stover says. “If you don’t have that belief in it, you’ll be done in two months.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0275 or

awineke@gazette.com

DETAILS

What: Cable shopping network QVC’s live broadcast

When: Noon to 2 p.m. Friday

Where: Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center, 1805 N. 30th St., 634-6666

- Local entrepreneurs Carmel and Andrew Stover will be selling their Finger Gloves during the program. You can find more information at www.fingergloves.com, or by calling 329-1963.

Finger Gloves are also available at Ruth’s Stitchery, 4440 Austin Bluffs Parkway, 591-1717, and Meininger Art Supply, 201 S. Weber St., 578-8070.