Local Inventor Helps Pregnant Women From Here to Australia

While pregnant with her first child, now three year old Elliott, Western Springs resident Annie Tandy was having a bit of a problem keeping her pants from slipping down while wearing a maternity band. With a flair for technical and creative problem solving, Annie, an engineer by trade, set off to find a solution to her dilemma. Six months and several prototypes later, Pocket Dots were born.

The idea behind Pocket Dots is a simple one. In order to keep your pants up and keep yourself covered from the top of your pants to the bottom of your shirt or maternity band while you go about your daily business, you need to connect your pants to your shirt. That is where Pocket Dots come in. Pocket Dots easily clasp on to the top of your pants pocket to the bottom of your shirt or maternity band keeping you covered at all times.

“I had been speaking to other moms and moms-to-be who have also experienced this problem and I decided I should do something about it,” Tandy said.

Getting an idea from the drawing board and into people’s homes however proved to be quite an endeavor for this first-time inventor.

Tandy said she had encouragement from her family and friends but found her way from idea to product by “trial and error.”

“I definitely had the support and received a ton of input from my family,” Tandy said. “My mom, dad, sisters and husband and even other pregnant moms all wanted me to start the business. With an engineering background, the design of the product was kind of my niche. I had no experience however in marketing. One phone call led to another which led to another and yet another. I asked a lot of questions and learned as I went along.”

Tandy and her Pocket Dots have appeared on ABC7 Chicago’s Morning Show and have been featured in several parenting magazines such as Mothering, Chicago Baby and FitPregnancy. Recently, Pocket Dots was awarded the iParenting Media Award for outstanding product.

Since launching Pocket Dots, Tandy has received accolades from moms-to-be as well as others, some famous and some not so famous.

“My husband and I are huge CSI Miami fans,” Tandy said. “When I found out that Emily Procter of CSI Miami was pregnant, I sent her a pair. She sent me back a very nice thank you note saying how much she liked her Pocket Dots.”

“The biggest fan of Pocket Dots however, has to be my son Elliott,” Tandy continued. “He just loves them. He talks about them all the time. He saves them and then attaches his shirt to the back pocket of his jeans. It’s just adorable.”

Tandy estimates that she has sold approximately 1,000 units to date. At $6.95 a pair, Pocket Dots are currently available in stores in the Chicagoland area as well as in stores in Alaska and even Australia. They can also be purchased on line at pocketdots.com or amazon.com.

Sales have been steady, according to Lisa Arreguin, owner of Kustum Kribs in Park Ridge, which carries Pocket Dots. Arreguin estimates that for every two maternity bands she sells, she also sells one pair of Pocket Dots.

 “This is really a great little product that allows you to wear your fun, trendy clothes longer,” Arreguin said. “From a retailer’s point of view, it’s a great invention that is a great add-on to a sale. Also, I have found we have a lot of repeat customers for Pocket Dots. Women that bought them for themselves often times come back and buy them as a little gift for expectant mothers.

"On a personal note, I think they’re great," she added. "I used them myself when I was pregnant.”

As for the future of Pocket Dots, Tandy said she wants to make them available in more colors and patterns. Currently, Pocket Dots are only available in nude (beige) and black.