STRICTLY BUSINESS: THE BUSINESS OF BARRETTES AND BELLY BUTTONS

You What???"

If that parental "What???" involved piercing a body part, not to worry. Gary Kellmann has devised a unique way for adolescents to express their individuality without running afoul of the folks.

Kellmann's latest, and hottest, invention/product is "Belly Buttons," which can be displayed without piercing.

Kellmann is a familiar name around Southeast Missouri State University and Cape Girardeau.

They called him the "crazy inventor" during his college days at the university here.

Now, Kellmann is a successful inventor/entrepreneur, he's having fun, and he likes to talk about his "Belly Buttons"

"There's no navel piercing involved," says Kellmann, who was in Cape Girardeau during Homecoming weekend to talk about "inventions and marketing" at a campus speech.

The "Belly Buttons" and how they were developed is a fun story, said Kellmann, who owns "Beyond Mars," a company for innovative product design, and Kellmann Marketing.

Since Kellmann introduced his "Belly Buttons" during a Las Vegas Show, sales have soared.

"We have sales around the world and several Hollywood stars may be wearing them in the near future," said Kellmann. "A number of actresses have requested samples."

Kellmann, who has a number of inventions/products on the market today, says he tried to solve several problems with his new "Belly Buttons," introduced by the Flipo Group Co.

"It's a safe alternate to navel piercing," he said. "They're comfortable to wear and fit most navels. They're fun to wear and can give the user a feeling of individuality."

Kellmann had to do some interesting research to come up with his latest designer belly buttons.

Kellmann's research found that only two percent of belly buttons are "outies," so his product has a ready made audience -- the "innies".

The "Belly Buttons" kit includes a dozen belly buttons, six hanging charms, spirit-gum navel adhesive, and replacement hydro-foam.

"They are simple to use," he said. "You take foam to the depth of the navel, apply the adhesive, then put on the character (belly button)."

Kellmann has come a long way from his college days, where he admits he was once "swindled" by an invention marketing company on one of his inventions.

His first re-a-a-lly-big invention came in 1996, when he devised a "Hair Holder Holder," to help a girlfriend organize her hair clips and barrettes.

The girl liked it, a St. Louis discount drug store liked it, and Fit-All Sports Wear of North Carolina liked it, and Kellmann was on his way.

"I was responsible for the design and manufacture of the holder holder," said Kellmann. "Fit-All Sportswear Co., headquartered in Pilot Mountain, N.C., took care of the distribution, marketing and financing end. In return, I receive a royalty check."

In September 1996, Fit-All introduced the Hair Holder Holder to Wal-Mart, which wanted the product for Christmas 1996.

The timing was tight, and it took some doing, "but we managed to provide 50,000 holders for Wal-Mart shelves nationwide," said Kellmann.

By January, several stores had ordered more, and the Hair Holder Holder was the No. 3 product in the health and beauty section of the San Diego Wal-Mart store.

After this success, Kellmann, decided to concentrate on the hair-care and body-wear markets, aimed at pre-teen and teen girls.

Among his inventions, which are selling on the retail market, is the "Hair Stick," which has caught on with the younger set. "The hair stick resembles a lollipop, or sucker," he said. "They're selling well in a number of large chain stores."

Kellmann is also involved as a consultant on a limited basis, working with three to four clients. "I still work with the Small Business Development Center at Southeast Missouri State University," said Kellmann, who worked with SBDC part-time while in college.

Once a product has been developed, the challenge is following through with the marketing and sales of it, said Kellmann. Once an inventor finishes a product, he often loses interest in it and wants to move on to the next one. As a result, the latter part of the cycle sometimes gets overlooked.

"While in college, I made prototypes of my products and gave them to my friends. That's how I tested them," he said. When friends come back with complaints that the product breaks easily or doesn't perform up to standards, Kellmann used the information to improve his products.

A native of Owensville, Kellmann said throughout high school and college, his parents, brother and sister thought he was "goofy" because he was constantly in his room, working on his next invention.

"I was always working on something, but they finally got tired of yelling at me," he said.

Currently, Kellmann has two patents and has four more pending. And, he's working on new products for the hair accessory market. "I have a number of new and exciting things coming up."

"Several people from the Cape Girardeau area remember me," Kellmann said. "They may not know my name, but they recall me as the inventor."

Parkmoor to close

The Parkmoor, a landmark restaurant in the Clayton area of St. Louis, is closing.

The Parkmoor, the first drive-up restaurant when it opened in 1930, will close its doors by the end of the month.

When the restaurant opened, crowds were so large that police were forced to direct traffic along its location at Clayton Road and Big Bend Boulevard.

The Parkmoor hasn't offered curbside service in 30 years. The original drive-in building was replaced in 1968 with a diner-style restaurant, complete with oversized green booths and orange fixtures.

We have become familiar with the booths, fixtures, some of the employees, and the food at the Parkmoor over the past three years.

Owner Lou Ellen McGinley, in announcing the closing, said the restaurant was just a break-even proposition, and that she's made the decision to close it.

But, the good news among the bad here is that McGinley says a replacement restaurant may open somewhere in the area, with a "Parkmoor Fountain and Grill" name.

McGinley, the daughter of the original owner, hasn't said what will replace the restaurant at its current location, but there has been some talk of Walgreen Drug Store, which is located adjoining the Parkmoor property, may expand there.