Local woman's invention grabs Oprah's — and QVC's — attention

When the rest of us are struck by a Big Idea, it usually involves ditching dinner plans and driving through KFC. Lori Hall's big idea landed her on "Oprah." And maybe even QVC.

Hall, a 46-year-old stay-at-home mom from Fall City, invented the EZ Bouquet, a sweet little sphere that makes flower arranging, well, EZ. And she showed it to the free world earlier this month on Oprah's Search for the Next Big Idea, a virtual parade of clever new products. "This started as a little project ... but had lasting power, unlike many of my other ideas," Hall wrote in an e-mail recently. "It would go on the back burner, and something would come up that would spur me on. I feel it was meant to be."

While Hall's invention wasn't chosen by Oprah's audience for automatic QVC attention, the home-shopping network is considering selling the EZ Bouquet anyway, Hall said. (Take that, audience!)

In a nutshell (or nut-sphere, perhaps), the EZ Bouquet is a round plastic ball with a built-in grid that fits floral stems. You can pop the sphere into a vase, use just half the sphere or make pomander balls with no vase at all.

The simplicity comes in its design — three large holes for your three largest stems, which are inserted first, and then a bunch more for the rest of the bunch.

Hall said she came up with the idea for a universal flower-arranging product about three years ago while sticking silk flowers in frustrating old foam. After a few calls, she connected with Jessica Dramer, an industrial designer from Redmond, and the two really connected.

"I was having a hard time getting anyone excited about this project, and Jessica stuck with me," Hall said. "One night I was watching TV, thinking about the design, trying to figure out a shape that would work in any container and — like a lightning bolt — it hit me. A sphere!"

Despite the fact that there's another EZ Bouquet on the Internet (a technique, not a product, Hall said), she couldn't find anything like her idea anywhere. And, as is often the case, "they" said it couldn't be done.

"This made me mad," Hall said, "I found pictures like wire mesh balls, cat toys with the bell inside, grapevine balls, strawberry baskets (for the grid pattern) and sent them all to Jessica for her to see my examples." Dramer, 24, took the ball and ran with it. So to speak.

On about the third prototype, Hall saw an ad for Oprah's show.

"I ran to the computer and signed us up right away," Hall said. "We flew to Los Angeles and demonstrated our product and it got immediate attention, and they filmed me doing an arrangement. Within three days, QVC was calling, asking for more information. About two agonizing weeks later, I got the call to pack my bags."

And with Dramer in the front row, Hall EZ Bouquet-ed her way to the big time. (And no, sorry; no juicy dirt on Oprah.)

The EZ Bouquet isn't quite available yet (keep checking the Web site, www.ezbouquet.com), but Hall says they're hoping to sell a set of 4- and 6-inch spheres for $20-$30, hopefully by early July.

At least, that's the Idea.