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Where it all began...  14 year old Ken (at right) and his friend Howard, with Harvey and Max, their walking, talking robots. I have been designing products all my life. At age 7, I designed a flying toy made from a short length of hollowed out bamboo and an attached balloon. The toys were at hit at school and I was soon making and selling them for 20 cents each. At age 14 I built a walking talking robot and was featured in “Newsday,” the local Long Island newspaper. In January of 1970, I graduated from the University of Bridgeport with a B.S. degree from the School of Engineering in Industrial Design (product design). At the time, the University of Bridgeport had one of the best ID schools in the country. There were 100 students in my freshmen class. There were only seven in my graduating class. After graduation, I designed day care centers in a low income section of Bridgeport, Connecticut as an alternate service to fighting in Vietnam. In 1971, I went to Europe to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, earning a degree in the Science of Creative Intelligence. I worked with Maharishi to implement Transcendental Meditation Programs all over the world. At the time, the TM movement was the largest user of videotape and video players in the world (every TM center had players and many tapes). At the request of Maharishi, I set about designing and building a video player that would not break down. I assembled a team of five engineers and set to work. Eighteen months later we had developed a laser operated device that could store thirty minutes of video on a four inch by eleven-inch sheet of holographic film. At the same time, all major electronic companies were pouring over a billion dollars of research into similar ventures. I continued my design career in 1977 by working for the Stansbury Company, a Beverly Hills Industrial Design firm. I started as a staff designer and three years later finished as senior project coordinator for clients such as Ronco, Mattel, and Sankin (Airform Dental Chair). In 1980 I became head of design and engineering for Casablanca Fan Company. Casablanca generated 60 million dollars a year in revenue. Through engineering improvements and better sourcing I was able to take three dollars out of the cost of each fan while improving the overall performance resulting in a savings of 3 million dollars a year. I also was responsible for designing the world’s first computerized ceiling fan, “Intellitouch”. The fan was also the first consumer product in the world that could demonstrate itself in a showroom by setting the fan in “Demo” mode. I started my own design company - Tarlow Design - in 1984. During the past 20 years I have designed over 400 products worth over one billion dollars in retail sales. Including:
I also founded T-2 Design Corp., a Santa Monica, CA based design company and America Invents LLC, a licensing company based in San Francisco. Both companies are still in operation. My work tends to be innovative and therefore have 75 patents issued in my name either as a sole inventor or as a co-inventor. I am listed in “Who’s Who of American Inventors”, a full member of the Industrial Designers Society of America and author of “Mind To Money” a 220-page book about the product development process. Additional projects include:
Needless to say, the large array of products that I have designed has also given me a hands-on education in almost every type of manufacturing technology as well as materials science. I also have extensive OEM manufacturing contacts. Over the years I have learned how to develop a product quickly and at a fraction of the budget of standard engineering and design firms. Additionally, I have built up an extensive list of support engineers that have expertise in related fields such as electronics design, chemical engineering and materials science. After a life of being on the front line of invention and entrepreneurship, I enjoy passing on the knowledge that I have accumulated from my 30 years of professional experience. I am a frequent speaker at business events and have appeared on TV, radio and in print media. I also host an annual Invention Convention at a local elementary school where each fourth grader comes up with an invention complete with prototype, market research and patent search! Whether you are a beginning inventor or a seasoned entrepreneur, I look forward to working with you on your next innovative product idea. Sincerely, Ken Tarlow President Tarlow Design |