New Product Development Center's Inventors Assistance Service turning dreams into reality
Monday, May 5, 2025
Media Contact: Desa James | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-2669 | desa.james@okstate.edu
Being organized can be daunting, especially when it comes to laundry.
This was specifically the case for Tammie Lore, a resident of Jenks, Oklahoma. Having sons around the same age made separating laundry difficult to decipher whose socks and compression shorts belonged to whom. This factor led to a unique idea for Lore.
It all started with Lore having to sew one of her son’s Under Armour compression shorts with blue thread while the other got green, just to be able to distinguish them. Because sewing can be monotonous and time-consuming, Lore thought it would be nice to have an easier way of snapping something onto the garments so she didn’t have to sew thread on each item. That inspired the creation of her product, “TagIt,” which is a color-coded, easy-to-apply identifier for clothing.
Originally, Lore thought it would be cool to have a patent of her own, but she didn’t know where to start or who to reach out to. Being an Oklahoma State University grad, she researched until she was blue in the face, and after countless hours of looking online, she wasn’t sure who would take on the idea of her project, or who might take her money.
Right when she was about to hang up the idea, she came across the New Product Development Center, an extension unit in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.
The NPDC is a nonprofit that provides engineering technical assistance, research and development support in addition to inventor assistance programming. It connects businesses, manufacturers and inventors with university resources that foster the development of new technologies, strengthen economic resilience and create impacts in the state of Oklahoma.
After connecting with the NPDC, Lore was able to connect with engineers and manufacturers through the Inventor’s Assistance Service, which ultimately helped turn her dreams into reality. The IAS is a program sponsored by The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. It offers inventors preliminary patent research; market research; engineering design, modeling and drawing; and prototyping services. Research and development are conducted by professional IAS staff and undergraduate research assistants.
Once an application is submitted and the applicant is accepted into the IAS program, the NPDC offers 25 free hours of engineering services to the inventor. Each IAS story is one of its own, especially regarding Lore’s.
At first, Lore connected with an engineer in Edmond to go through the drawings with and she had a lot of manufacturers telling her the project wouldn’t work because the stem she had envisioned was too small. It was difficult to get a working prototype to be able to move forward. That changed when she went to a dollar store one day and saw a plastic motorcycle with a spoke that was the perfect diameter of what she wanted for her invention. From there, Lore was able to get an engineer and manufacturer on board to get her prototype made. The mold was made in China, but then it was shipped and manufactured right here in Oklahoma.
Being an entrepreneur and inventor can be challenging, but with the help of the NPDC, Lore was able to see an idea come to life. Not all IAS stories are success stories, but in Lore’s case, it was. Through the NPDC, Lore was able to get direction and connections with engineers and manufacturers, along with imperative help from Sr. US Patent MA Tim Hartman and patent attorney Cassandra Wilkinson.
Lore’s story is a good example of what the NPDC and their IAS program can offer. And how persistence, creativity and the right connections can lead to turning an idea into a successful product. She had the idea, and the IAS program set her up with the right people. Her product can now be found online at tagitstore.com and in major retail stores like Walmart.
Story By: Matt Brown | NPDC program specialist | matt.brown17@okstate.edu