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Carol Barge likes to figure things out. She sees challenges as opportunities. Some would say she has an entrepreneurial spirit, others would say she is a born optimist with a dynamic “can-do” attitude. She is proof positive that by having a great idea and a solid work ethic, success is achievable – something Carol’s learned through her accomplishments in both her career and family life.
Having raised two children, who are currently in college, she and husband Bruce made family a priority. Sprinkled throughout those years, she managed to keep a flexible work schedule that involved sales training, real estate management and investment. Her main focus, however, was a commitment to their and other children’s education. Holding various offices, including president, Carol was a PTA board member for 14 consecutive years.
During the long research and development stage of the business, Carol’s family was and continues to be her support system. Now that the company has launched, she has a built-in cheerleading section! They, along with many friends and extended family, are wishing her success.
Although she isn’t from the textiles or garment industry, Carol is bringing a dramatic advancement to the lingerie market with her newest venture – myLACYS.
The myLACYS product is offering a solution to a dilemma many women experience. Active women, perspiring women, professional women, PTA women, athletic women, sneezing women, coughing women; just ordinary, normal healthy women who, from time to time, may experience unwanted, unexpected panty moisture. This issue is more than just an inconvenience for these women; it is a confidence issue.
Carol—being an active, athletic, attractive, sneezing, coughing, normal healthywoman—couldn’t find an acceptable solution. Panty-liners were often inconvenient, sometimes ineffective and always bad for the environment—adding to landfills around the world. According to the latest estimate by the US Census, there are more than 147 million women in the United States alone. To Carol, that number represented entirely too many panty-liners being disposed of daily.
In her search to find a product to suit her needs she found that some panties on the market—perhaps designed by men—had industrial strength liners built in. Nothing on the market had a liner built into “normal,” stylish underwear that she felt a woman would feel good about wearing.
So Carol saw an opportunity and came up with an idea for a line of chic panties with a thin liner built into the gusset. The patent-pending, built-in liner absorbs moisture between the layers, drawing it away from the wearer, while using nanotechnology to create a moisture barrier that keeps the outer clothing dry. Using these state-of-the-art fabrics allowed Carol to design and produce a line of panties with a thin pad that eliminates the need for traditional panty-liners.
As an experienced businesswoman, Carol knew that her product needed to fill a niche and wanted to learn as much as she could about her market. So, she embarked on a series of market studies to learn what kind of protection women really wanted. Numerous fabrics and prototypes were tested to assess their durability, effectiveness and styling. Starting first by using her friends, family members, fellow PTA moms and neighbors as her first product testers, she learned their preferences for style, fit and size.
Next, Carol performed extensive research on fabrics, identifying state-of-the-art textiles that not only absorb moisture, but also provide a barrier to leaks and offer odor-reducing properties. She employed Precision Testing, an independent U. S. Government QLL-certified textile-testing laboratory with 42 years of experience, throughout the development process. With overwhelmingly positive test results, Carol was confident that she could offer women a solution to the worrisome problem of unexpected panty moisture. She filed for a patent on the technology in November 2006 and prepared to “open shop” on the Internet.
Today, myLACYS are available in three colors and five fashionable styles, including brief, bikini, boy short, French cut and thong—literally a product for every woman. The product can be found online at www.myLACYS.com.
Carol believes her product will provide worry-free protection for women across the country, allowing healthy, normal, sneezing, athletic, successful women to face each day with confidence.
Video: Owner Carol Barge demonstrates how myLACYS works
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