LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Face masks have become a bigger part of day-to-day life during the coronavirus pandemic. One side effect for many people: Pain caused by elastic loops tugging on ears for hours at a time.
Quinn Hale, local maker and owner of Lakewood-based manufacturing company Copper Kerf, invented a solution to the problem with a device he calls the Oubie Loop.
The Oubie Loop is an ear-saver created out of flexible silicone in bright colors, with different loops to adjust for different-sized heads and face masks.
It’s not the only ear-saver on the market. Some companies have created laser-cut devices made out of plastic sheets.
But Hale saw a problem with that type of design. The hard plastics, he said, dig into the skin on the backs of peoples’ necks or heads and create even more discomfort than the ear bands. When clients and customers asked him to create a hard-plastic ear-saver, he declined.
“In my opinion, they were not solving the problem and they were creating more problems on top of it,” Hale said. “I knew for my own sanity, I wanted to do something that at least felt like I was contributing in some way, and not causing any other problems while trying to solve something else.”
Hale got to work developing his own version of an ear-saver, with comfort as a priority. He created about six different versions of the Oubie Loop, testing them out with his friends, wife and children to make sure they were comfortable.
What he ended up with was an asymmetrical band made out of silicone, which was made by hand-pouring the soft plastic into pre-made molds. Hale created products in bright colors including orange, green and blue -- and named the product “Oubie Loop,” in honor of his family’s cat.
“Her name is Oubliette, which I believe my wife told me is the French word for a dungeon,” Hale said. “We wanted it to be whimsical because the content, the subject matter, is so serious, that we didn’t want to put a product out there that was called something that just makes people more stressed.”
(Photo courtesy Quinn Hale)
Hale launched Oubie Loop sales in early May, and it quickly grabbed local consumers’ attention. So far, Hale has focused on fulfilling online orders through his website, copperkerf.com, and through one retail outlet, Nature’s Oasis at 15613 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood.
However, Oubie Loop’s popularity quickly expanded beyond local customers. Hale said that a couple of potential partners have reached out to him to expand Oubie Loops’ sales to hospitals and companies, potentially with thousands or tens of thousands of Oubie Loops being produced and sold.
“The demand is very high. I’m still making these completely in-house, in molds that I cut and pouring them, in batches,” Hale said. “It’s worked fine, and it’s been great so far, but that’s not a strategy that can keep up with tens of thousands of Oubie Loops.”
Currently, Hale can make about 300 to 400 Oubie Loops in a single day, with the help of his wife, and he said he’s considering working with an American manufacturer to increase the output.
The Oubie Loop is Hale’s first invention through Copper Kerf, a company where he creates product designs and orders for brands and companies. Other original creations are currently in the works, Hale said -- including a specialized guitar pick and some motorcycle products.
Hale said that before starting Copper Kerf, he had experience working with the Cleveland Museum of Art, Disney and Industrial Light & Magic. Ultimately, he hopes his work can help everyday people, he said.
“That’s the kind of thing I’m interested in doing -- very niche concepts that serve very specific needs,” he said. “I’m always trying to solve a problem.”
You can find more information about the Oubie Loop and Copper Kerf at copperkerf.com.
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