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Idea Is No Accident

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By STEPHEN HAMMILL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2008

Updated: 01/24/2008 09:34 pm

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Michelle Charles, founder of Safety Animated, drives through town, her car filled with 3-foot-tall safety signs.

She's looking for good places to leave her product behind.

"I take them to grandparents in retirement communities, family-friendly boutiques, elementary schools - anywhere there may be kids running around and playing," she said.

Charles, 35, a mother of three, sells the signs with a staff of five out of a storefront and warehouse on Benjamin Road.

She started the company with her husband two years ago.

"We got really tired of people driving in our community too fast," she said.

The south Tampa couple began brainstorming for a creative and fun way to promote safety.

They settled on a concept: multicultural crossing signs designed for outdoor use.

The 3-foot-tall signs are portable, easily assembled and double-sided. Each features one of six cartoon characters coupled with the slogan "slow down!"

"People probably haven't seen anything like this before," she said.

After two years working through copyrights, patents and production, the start-up company is ready for the public.

Charles recently secured a booth at the Florida State Fair, taking place Feb. 7-18.

"We didn't have a booth space at the fairgrounds," she said. "There weren't any available. I took bagels over there and met with a little 80-year-old woman who ran things. I told her our story."

The woman told Charles she was in luck: One space had opened up, right near the entrance. It will be Charles' first chance to show the product to a large group of people.

"We've had people with no children use these because they have kids playing in their streets, and they're worried about the traffic," Charles said. "And the kids love the signs; they want to play with the characters."

Charles said children can visit the company's Web site and adopt one of the characters.

The signs cost between $70 and $80.

"We're testing the market right now," Charles said. "We want everybody to be able to buy our signs."

A portion of each sale will be donated to Safe Kids Tampa, a nonprofit organization that aims to prevent accidental childhood injury.

So far, they have produced about 10,000 pieces.

"We don't know what's going to happen," Charles said. "I just know I want to change lives and influence people."

SAFETY ANIMATED

PRODUCT: Signs are 42 inches tall and cost $70-$80. They include Baseball Boy, Bike Boy, Roller Girl, School Girl, Skateboard Boy and Soccer Girl.

LOCATION: 6112 Benjamin Road
PHONE: (813) 884-8750

E-MAIL: Info@Safety Animated.com

WEB SITE: www.safety animated.com

Reporter Stephen Hammill can be reached at (813) 865-1523 or at shammill@tampatrib.com.

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