Ponchairo to the rescue

Republic’s DuVall invents, markets all-weather seating for events
 
Necessity is the mother of invention, and to that, Republic’s Melissa DuVall is now the mother of—Ponchairo.

A poncho in a chair
Duvall is the inventor of the Ponchairo, a new product which she describes as a “poncho in a chair.”
“It's a poncho/stadium blanket that’s in a pouch that just stays on the back of your chair,” she said. “The thinking is, wherever your chair goes, you’ve got a blanket or a poncho that goes with it. So, if you don't need it, it's out of the way, and if you do need it, then it's right there on the back of your chair, and you can just unzip it and flip it over the top of you. And then if you stand, it has breakaway straps, so it will just break away from the pouch and you can get up and move around, and then you can reattach it when you're ready to fold it, and … get it back in its pouch.”
The name, DuVall said, was coined by David Brazeal, owner of Republic Tiger Sports.
“He says ‘pon’ for poncho, ‘chair’ for chair and ‘o’ for ‘Oh, so cool,’” she laughed.

Cold weather sparked idea
DuVall got the idea for the Ponchairo about seven years ago while watching her son’s baseball game at the American Legion Field.
“I was sitting in those stands with a friend,” she said. “(We were) in our chairs, and the game had actually gone into extra innings, (but) not only had the sun set, but it had also started to mist.”
DuVall had to make a choice: Keep shivering while she watched the game or go back to her car for some warmer clothing and possibly miss seeing her son make a great play. At that point, inspiration struck.
“I was just freezing, but it was a great game,” she said. “It was extra innings (so I) didn't want to leave, and I didn't want to walk all the way back to the parking lot, so that's where I said, ‘Man, I need a blanket that just stays with my chair all the time.’ And so that's how I came up with the idea.”

DuVall overcame several hurdles to make Ponchairo a reality
The final product didn’t come without a lot of work. DuVall said they spent a lot of time deciding on what would go into the Ponchairo, including picking the right kind of fabric, zippers and elastic. They also went through several versions trying to decide what size to make their new accessory.
“We went through multiple prototypes trying to get everything right,” she said.
Special attention was given to the design of the hood.
“(We wanted it) so that you could wear the hood with a ball cap and a ponytail,” DuVall said. “I wanted them roomy enough for guys you know that are wearing a ball cap, or even for a lady who was wearing a ball cap and a ponytail.”
The struggles didn’t end with the design. DuVall said patenting the Ponchairo was a battle in itself.
“Our original patent was initially declined,” she said, “and then we had to make the very … challenging decision of whether or not to pursue an appeal. Many patents are declined the first time, that's something I've learned since going through the process. And so, we took that chance, and gosh, we're so glad that we did, because we were successful.

DuVall among small percentage of women patent holders
DuVall said her invention is also significant for another reason. As a woman holding a patent in the United States, she is part of a very select group.
“The other thing that I found out in all of this is, the number of patents that are solely held by females, either by a single female or a group of females, versus … maybe being part of a group that includes men, that percentage is quite low. Depending on … where you look, the percentages (of women holding patents) can be anywhere from the single digits to the low teens, and so that was really cool for me.”

Where to buy
Ponchairos first became available for purchase in November, and while she declined to give specific numbers, DuVall described sales as “really good” during the November and December. Sales dipped a little in January, but Duvall said they have started to pick up again, and DuVall said she believes they will see a “good year” of business.
“We hope … we'll start to see even more (sales) with … spring sports and folks starting to think about getting outside,” she said.
Ponchairos come in eight colors: Team Red, Royal Blue, Navy Blue, Pitch Black, Flint Gray, Charcoal Gray, Desert Khaki and Camouflage. All of the colors cost $139, except for the Camouflage, which is $159, which DuVall said is due to the extra cost in the sublimination process used in manufacturing them.
The accessory is available for sale online at www.ponchairo.com, at Harrison House in Springfield and Main Street Boutique in Republic.