Carpet installers skate into new career

Irwin, Pa. -- Carpet installers in Pennsylvania turned a tool of their achy-breaky work into a fun-and-games product and an new career to boot, um skate.

Don J. Edwards and his son, Don V. Edwards, "slid into the toy industry" literally, with their invention, FunSlides Carpet Skates in 2004, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, altering the focus of their family business, Simtec Co. in Irwin, Pa.

The two invented EZ Moves Furniture Slides out of necessity -- the oval-shaped pieces of friction-resistant plastic make it easier to slide heavy furniture without scuffing wood floors and popping human discs. Then the younger Edwards added some colorful straps to that same plastic and invented FunSlides Carpet Skates, the newspaper said.

The one-size-fits-all skates are worn over sneakers and attach with a hook-and-loop closure strap. Grooves in the plastic make them safe for walking, said Candace Edwards, who wears hats for sales and marketing and is the daughter and sister to the inventors.

"They're just like sliding in socks on a wood floor," she told the Post-Gazette.

© 2007 United Press International.