A product featured in a video that went viral last year will be hitting the market in a couple of weeks.
The creator of the Hug Glove, Carolyn Ellis said last year's Mother's Day she was itching to hug her mom, but because of the COVID restrictions, it was hard to do so.
“I used a big plastic sheet in our backyard with the help of my husband and we put garbage bags as the sleeves through the holes and hung them on our clothesline so that we can hug my mom.”
The video instantly went viral, and there were many requests from around the world to order the Hug Glove. Now a year later, after receiving tons of messages from around the world and locally on making the Hug Glove, Ellis was able to put a team together with Kitchener-based Barbarian Medical Inc. to manufacture the product and bring her vision to life.
“For them to agree to make it, it just was one of the best days of my year last year, other than hugging my mom," she said, "to have them confirm that they do want to move forward with helping us make these."
They are working on production now, the website is live, and the goal is to have them ready to be shipped by May 25.”
Ellis adds the Hug Glove is something she hopes can be used post-pandemic, especially in the health care system.
“Nursing home is my goal and then further down the line to have it part of hospitals and treatments. Even in children's hospitals. We have designed this to be at sitting height so it's lowered down for people in wheelchairs or who need to sit for longer periods of time."
She said it is also used for children so they too are at the right height to get a hug, “It can also hopefully be used in isolation wards so families can be together and stay connected and be apart of the treatment.”
