Geekwire: JoeyBra is the first bra for your iPhone
Jun 2, 2012, 1:35 PM | Updated: Jun 3, 2012, 8:43 am
Two University of Washington juniors made a splash when they debuted their plan for a start-up business: a bra for your iPhone.
The JoeyBra is a regular bra designed for women on the go, with side pockets to accommodate a smart phone, driver’s license, credit cards and cash.
The JoeyBra was developed by Kyle Bartlow and Mariah Gentry. The product originally debuted at the University of Washington business plan competition, where Geekwire’s Rebecca Lovell discovered the idea.
Kyle was the one who came up with the idea for the product after seeing his friends struggle to carry around phones, cash, and ID cards when they were out at parties or concerts around campus as freshmen in the Greek system.
“When girls go out they’re wearing things like dresses where they don’t have pockets, they don’t want to have to keep track of a purse – it’s a big security risk. Have you ever tried to dance with a purse on? That doesn’t work very well,” Kyle said.
Kyle’s friends tried to compromise by putting their valuables in their bras. This always ended in lost phones and money, so Kyle decided to find a better solution.
“We would try to look for a way to attach a pocket somewhere it was discreet, comfortable, where they could keep everything on them all at once,” said Kyle.
The JoeyBra was the ideal solution to these problems. Kyle and Mariah made sure the pockets were comfortable, discreet, and easy to access.
“We put the pocket on the side of your body because it’s the flattest part of your body that you can access easily under dresses or blouses that are tank top styles,” said Mariah.
Kyle and Mariah are now perfecting the JoeyBra by fixing inconvenient aspects of the product. Their first new development will be making a waterproof pocket to better protect expensive phones.
The Joeybra team is also developing new colors and styles, like a sports bra edition.
“Right now when I go running I carry my phone in one hand and my water bottle in my other. This is a huge problem when you just want to go on a run and relax. So having a place to safely secure your key and your iPhone or your iPod is perfect. And then sourcing our waterproof fabric will make it the perfect next addition to our different collections,” said Mariah.
The first batch of JoeyBras is currently pre-selling online and will ship by mid-June, when they will debut in stores at the University of Washington bookstore.
