Pocket Armrest seeks to become the next neck pillow

Matt Mostad's "light-bulb moment" might sound familiar to anyone who's been on a packed airplane lately.

Mostad, 37, was sitting between two large men on a flight from Seattle to San Francisco when they dozed off, unconsciously dropping their hands over their armrests onto his lap.

It occurred to him: What if he created something to comfortably hold their hands together? They could still sleep, he reasoned, and he'd have his seat all to himself.

"I thought, 'Someone is telling me I need to solve this problem,' " Mostad recalled. "I asked both of them, 'If I could give you a small, soft product that would allow you to gently secure your hands while sleeping, would you use it?' They both said, 'Yes, in a heartbeat.' "

Mostad borrowed his mother-in-law's sewing machine and stitched together a piece of stretchy fabric to wrap around wrists or elbows. He hired an attorney to help with the U.S. patent process, then found a manufacturer in San Diego to handle the production.

Last summer, the Pocket Armrest went on sale at the Savvy Traveler in Edmonds, carrying a price tag of $14.99.

"Airplane seats are getting smaller and smaller, so you tend to touch your neighbor," said Savvy Traveler owner Petra Rousu, who recommends the Pocket Armrest to customers preparing for an international flight or trip back East. "It was originally geared for bigger people, but it's actually selling to anybody."

Mostad lives in Kenmore with his massage-therapist wife and their two sons, ages 4 and 2. A serial entrepreneur, Mostad founded an organizational consulting firm, Teams and Leaders, while pursuing his bachelor's at Seattle University in the early 1990s. Several years later, he helped create Enthusiasm Technologies, with an aim toward building a nationwide online events directory.

Metro One of Beaverton, Ore., bought Enthusiasm Technologies in 2001 for more than $5 million. After three years, Mostad left Metro One for a technology startup in Seattle until it went out of business last year. Rather than look for another job, Mostad went back to working for himself.

His goal is to see the Pocket Armrest become as ubiquitous on airplanes as another travel accessory, the neck pillow. A planned shift in production to China later this year, he said, will allow him to make 10,000 Pocket Armrests at a time, up from a couple thousand now. He's confident the Pocket Armrest will soon be sold in airport stores nationwide.

He also has started a consulting business to help others take new products to market.

"Everyone is an inventor. People say, 'Gosh, I wish my garlic press had a thicker handle,' or 'I wish my stockings didn't run,' " he said. "The challenge really is how do you take your invention and bring it to market in a way that you can defend it and make money from it."

— Amy Martinez

Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane sold its first two bottles of liquor to retail customers on Tuesday, the day it received a craft distillery license from Washington state. It is the first liquor to be sold at a nonstate retail store since at least Prohibition, according to Kent Fleischmann, co-owner of Dry Fly, which began making vodka, gin and whiskey last year.

Dry Fly gets about 25 visitors a day who will now be able to sample and buy its liquor. The license is possible through a new state law that became effective Tuesday allowing distilleries to apply for licenses to do limited retail sales and tasting. The law limits sales to two liters per person per day.

— Melissa Allison

Safeway started a rewards program this week for gasoline customers in several states, including Washington. The program allows Safeway Club Card holders to accumulate points toward fuel discounts with every Safeway purchase.

— Melissa Allison

Former Starbucks executive Rich Soderberg has joined the Seattle office of the New York-based professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal. Soderberg had been senior vice president of manufacturing and operations at Starbucks, where he helped develop a global information-technology strategy, established a presence in Europe and created joint-venture partnerships.

— Melissa Allison

Pyramid Breweries' vice president of marketing and brand development is leaving Pyramid Breweries because of the company's upcoming acquisition by a Vermont brewery. Paul Curhan left last week and will receive $50,000.

Pyramid hired Curhan earlier this year. He had been vice president of marketing at Taco Del Mar since 2006.

Before that, he worked in marketing during a previous stint at Pyramid and at X10 Wireless Technology, Tully's Coffee, Starbucks, Amazon.com, Procter & Gamble and Haagen-Dazs.

— Melissa Allison

Retail Report appears Fridays. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com