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No More Looking Down
Success came at a price for nail tech Carrie Bomar. After spending countless hours each day looking down at clients’ hands, her neck began to hurt, a result of the posture most nail technicians assume.
December 5, 2012
2 min to read
Success came at a price for nail tech Carrie Bomar. After spending countless hours each day looking down at clients’ hands, her neck began to hurt, a result of the posture most nail technicians assume. When the pain could no longer be eased with aspirin and massages, Bomar realized something was seriously wrong. Her doctor ordered an MRI and two weeks later, she underwent emergency spinal fusion surgery of the C5 and C6 vertebrae.
Then her surgeon delivered the bad news: If she continued to work with her head hanging down, she might require additional fusions both above and below the initial fusion. It was this possibility that propelled Bomar to begin the journey from nail tech to inventor. Ultimately she designed and built a unique ergonomic manicuring table with her own two hands. “The moment I sat at the table, I knew it was perfect,” she recalls.
She moved her prototype to her mother’s beauty salon and began working full time — pain-free. “Clients were very curious and somewhat hesitant when they first saw this strange table, but I’d just explain my story and the purpose of the table. Time after time, they would tell me how much more comfortable it was compared to traditional tables,” she says.
Knowing how much her table could benefit the industry, she began the process of patenting her prototype and searching for the right manufacturer. Ultimately she settled on Cookeville, Tenn.’s Collins Manufacturing, which named the table the Westmond Ergonomic by Collins. Bomar is thrilled with the results. “It was so exciting to see my design built with such beauty and quality, even down to the smallest details like the contoured armrest for clients.”
For more information on the Westmond Ergonomic by Collins, go to http://www.westmondsalondesigns.com/.
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