Power Shelf puts products on a pedestal
(Credit:
Power Shelf)
One night, a tired Lynn Fetzer-Westmeister realized that her phone charger had fallen behind her nightstand. In a dance that's probably familiar to most of us, she pulled the furniture out from the wall, reached for her charger cord, plugged it back in, and pushed her nightstand back into place.
"I was so mad and frustrated," recalls the 29-year-old Fetzer-Westmeister, who lives in the northeastern Ohio town of Shelby. "I said, 'This is stupid. We have all these great inventions out there, all these people are doing wonderful things, and we don't make outlets with shelves.'"
And thus, the Power Shelf was born.
As its name suggests, the product replaces the standard flat power outlet with a shelf-enhanced version. It comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and designs so you can park all manner of gadgets--from cell phones, laptops, game consoles, and routers to baby monitors and power tools--in a predictable, organized spot.
The patent-pending products--which range in price online from $15.95 for a small Power Shelf to $59.95 for a laptop Power Shelf--have a tapered design that allows for charging cords to be wrapped around the base for further reduced clutter. The larger Power Shelves are a bit obtrusive-looking compared with the smaller ones (and probably less necessary), but overall, we like.
We also like that they're made of remelted scrap steel, and the packaging comes from recycled paper products. And in a cool local twist, all Power Shelves are manufactured in Plymouth, Ohio, not far from where Fetzer-Westmeister lives.
(Credit:
Power Shelf)
Leslie Katz, senior editor of CNET's Crave, covers gadgets, games, and most other digital distractions. As a co-host of the CNET News Daily Podcast, she sometimes tries to channel Terry Gross. E-mail Leslie. 
Ha, that's a PowerPuff Girls reference! Excellent and cute, Leslie ! (They rerun on Nicktoons 10pmET weeknights now.)
- by garfieldkitty March 12, 2009 8:44 PM PDT
- That is a great idea. I can think of many uses in my home for these.
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