There have been other attempts to help us keep our shoe laces tied, but none have ever really worked reliably. Developing a solution that would work on all sizes of shoes with all types of laces was quite a challenge. By using a specific combination of different materials, we have been able to create a product that works and appears to be made in one piece.

In developing the safelace we determined early on that keeping pressure on the lace knot was an effective way to stop the laces in the knot from slipping against themselves and eventually allow the knot to come undone.

The safelace includes a flexible membrane that deforms to apply pressure over as much of the knot as possible. The membrane spans a loop that is hooked under a nose on the clip to hold the knot in place and the nose is stiff enough to stop the loop from being unintentionally released.

The design uses 2 different materials to achieve the precise blend of flexibility and rigidity required of the different parts of the safelace clip.

The rubber used in the product also had to have a high tear resistance and good weathering characteristics so that the consumer could get years of use from their purchase.

Baron Rubber have produced the tooling and the manufactured products to a high level of quality using their facilities in Broadmeadows and China to provide a manufacture cost that fit the business needs.

Loretta is now busy selling and distributing the safelace products to schools, sports clubs and consumers at large. They are available online at the safelace shop.