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A 8 - The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e sd a y July 31, 2002 M O R T G A G ER A T E S Rates subject to change. 3 y ears 5 y ears 7 y ears 5 .0 9 % 5 .5 9 % 6 .0 5 % m r A bbey Plaza 3rd L in e at U pper M iddle FINANCIAL SERVICES 9 0 5 -8 2 7 -8 0 0 9 Phone: 9 0 5 -3 3 7 -5 5 5 9 Fax: 9 0 5 -3 3 7 -5 5 6 7 e-mail: rjerred@haltonsearch.com W'Kl )N H St)A V , J l I V :jl. 2 <KY2 · i> \( , k .v s BlMSS Inventor hopes to make a splash with The Pool Bar By Lindsey Craig OAKVILLE BEAVER T hanks to a clever Oakville businessman, your favourite holiday vacation doesn't have to end. At least, not the feeling of it. Clive Champion's The Artist Craft Group Inc. has recently invented The Pool Bar, a unique table and stool set, complete with overhead umbrella, specially designed for your backyard swimming pool. "From family time to romantic evenings, this is an accessory that will add to your swimming enjoyment," said Champion. The Oakville resident believes that with his recently patented product, pool owners will now be able to enjoy numerous activities while still submerged -- eating lunch, enjoying a cold bever age, playing cards, reading the paper, and more. "You might think of a pool bar as something only at resorts, well, now you can take that vaca tion experience home with you," he said. The business owner said he has had the idea percolating for several years but that it was only in the past year that he devoted time and energy to developing the concept. In addition to speaking with resort and hotel owners, last year he flew to the International Pool and Spa Show in Phoenix, Arizona to survey sim ilar products. "It's the biggest show in the world and we found no competition," he said. Realizing The Pool Bar's potential, Champion quickly went to the drawing board and came up with dozens of designs, with initial building and rebuilding beginning last summer. "We had to figure out, how far down in the water do people want to sit? What shape do they want? How will they remove it when they clean the pool?' he said. "The amount of engineering that goes into something as simple as this is unbelievable." Months of brainstorming led to the product that exists today -- a device that includes a small plastic table and two plastic stools, made of the same plastic and stainless steel used to build a pool ladder. "We used the same materials that are already in people's pools, so it's UV resistant and chemical resistant," he said. The final model is also one that's simple to use -- the table leg is anchored into the pool deck by two bolts, and its light weight makes it easy to flip in and out of the water. Champion also said all mechanical parts are concealed by plastic pieces and there are no sharp Peter C.McCusker · Oakville Beaver Ryan Cox and Billie M cFadden try out a pool bar with its inventor Clive Cham pion. Left, C ham pion sits at his special bar while being film ed for advertising and com m ercials. edges. Keeping in mind that children or adults would be swimming around or near the device. Champion said it's built to minimize entrapment. "It's a safe product that way," he said. The Pool Bar only comes in white and one size. For those seeking more colour, however, Champion suggested the umbrella could be substi tuted. The umbrella, too, he pointed out, means that those seeking refuge from the sun won't have to get out of the water -- giving them more time in the pool without worrying as much about sunburn. As for sales, with The Pool Bar not even offi cially launched yet, there's plenty of evidence to suggest it will make a giant splash in the industry. "Five hundred Pool Bars were made just to get a feel for the steps in production, and they're already sold," said Champion, adding that 500 more Pool Bars have been ordered. So far, those sales have all been through word of mouth and the Internet, he said. One customer came into his office after seeing the product on the Internet and said he "just had to have one" for his wife's upcoming pool party. "We didn't have any at the time except for the one I had upstairs (as a model). We ended up unscrewing the bolts and giving them the only one we had," he said. But while some of his customers have been individual pool owners, sales are mainly attributed to resorts in Florida and the Caribbean, where Champion expects to gain more business, as the demand seems evident. For example, Champion said he approached a resort owner in the Cayman Islands before the product had even been made, and the owner imme diately put his name down for 10. Resorts and hotels are enticed to buy The Pool Bar because it means their guests will spend more time in their swimming pools. "One guy (hotel owner) said that a lot of people go in the pool, but that they're in and out, it's hot so that they leave to go find shade. He said, `This way, they'll enjoy my pool and I'll sell more drinks.'" As for the Artist Craft Group Inc.'s direct mar ket for The Pool Bar, Champion said it will most ly target pool and spa retailers, along with holiday hot spots. "Our major market is year-round pools in Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, places like that," he said, adding he believes the product will be a local hit as well. "Everyone seems to think it's a great idea. You can have lunch on it, or finish your evening on it with a drink," he said. "It's a fun product." Cost of The Pool Bar is $995 or $695 US, which Champion said is comparable to pool slides, diving boards and steps. It also configures to any style of pool, whether curved or straight walled. To prepare for the launching of the product, a video was recently filmed in Champion's backyard (by CITY TV cinematographer Matt Phillips) to demonstrate The Pool Bar's various uses. Clips of the video will soon be posted on the Web site, www.ThePoolBar.com. The product will officially hit the market this October at the 2002 International Pool and Spa Show in Dallas, Texas. As for his predictions about how the product will fare, the local businessman is confident. "It's an untapped market with six million swimming pools and an average of 150,000 built every year," he said, noting, "And not one have a pool bar." To find out more about this invention check out www.ThePoolBar.com. BACK TO LO OKING KOOL n K M F I E L D"|0 1ST PRIZE Oakville Little League Baseball F D R E A M S Thank You The Canadian Diabetes Association would like to thank the following sponsors of our Annual Flame of Hope Golf Tournament. Major Sponsors: Capital One, Glaxo SmithKlein Corporate Sponsors: Bayer, Link Line Contractors Limited, Newport Partners, Pfizer, Union Gas - Thank you to all those who helped us raise $36,000 for diabetes research, education, service, and advocacy. For more info about events and services please call 905528-3111, 1-866-429-3681 or visit www.diabetes.ca m tm e rs Naznin Grattan, Andrew Sawicki, Oakville B. Clayton, Oakville 1/2 Price Cut & Style $22.50 W ith M a y a (reg. $45) 25" Colour TV Etobicoke 2ND PRIZE JVC DVD Player 3RD PRIZE JVC Compact Stereo 4TH PRIZE His & Her W ittnauer Watches J. 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