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September 2007 |
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A new Phase I SBIR grant was awarded by the Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to develop Accessible Watercraft Transfer Technology. This research effort will further develop products which make it safer and easier for individuals to get on board boats—its portability will give them the flexibility to go boating where they want to.
Learn more...
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August/September 2007 |
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The Freedom tent was among other DaVinci awards mentioned in an article entitled “Honoring New Products for Better Living” in the National MS Society publication, insideMS. The article explained the significance of the DaVinci Awards, which are sponsored by the MS Society. The photo on the page shows Craig Kennedy from Access Anything in the doorway of the tent.
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June 2007 |
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Utility patent number 7,228,867 was issued to BlueSky Designs for “Tent Pole Brackets and Methods of Use” on June 12, 2007. The pole holster design is available for licensing. (link to pole holster page ) http://blueskydesigns.us/tentavailable.htm
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April 2007 |
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In anticipation of bringing the mounting technology to market, a trademark filed and issued for:
Mount’n Mover
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Winter 2007 |
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Wheelin’ Sportsmen magazine featured a story
by Sue Hansen called “Designing Beyond Limits” on pp. 38-41. Sue’s
story told of BlueSky Designs’ origins, the development of the
Freedom tent and our universal design approach. (Jx: I’ll have to
scan it another time—our scanner’s not hooked up) |
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January 2007 |
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The Michigan Chapter of the MS Society January newsletter gave a full page coverage of the DaVinci Award winners on page 15. Goodwin is in the front row and center of the photograph, next to Murderball star and invited keynote speaker for the evening, Bob Lujan.
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October 2006 |
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Rolling Rains Report makes note of the Freedom tent
Scott Rains’ blog on Universal Design and accessible travel found information on seakayaking.com
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October 2006 |
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RESNA Member Dianne Goodwin, ATP, Named da Vinci Award Winner
RESNA is proud to congratulate BlueSky Designs (led by Dianne Goodwin) for being recently named a recipient of the da Vinci Award. BlueSky Designs was selected for the design of the Freedom Tent, an accessible camping tent.
The da Vinci Awards, presented by The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), Michigan Chapter, acknowledge individuals and organizations for their outstanding design innovations that help the disabled overcome barriers and further empower all people.
Additional Information on the da Vinci Awards
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October 2006 |
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From RESNA E-News, RESNA’s online newsletters to members (www.resna.org )
RESNA is the premier professional association for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology in North America
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October 2006 |
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BlueSky Designs was awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to continue research and development of the Powered Mount.
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October 2006 |
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Trailspace.com takes note of the Freedom
tent |
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September 2006 |
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News of the Freedom tent appeared in the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) online newsletter. The tent was developed with funding from the USDA/CSREES SBIR program. CSREES advances knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities by supporting research, education, and extension programs in the Land-Grant University System and other partner organizations.
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September 2006 through May 2007 |
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NIH Commercialization Assistance Program
BlueSky Designs participated in a program open to NIH Phase II SBIR awardees which provides guidance and support in preparing for the commercialization of NIH-sponsored research. The program ran from September 2006-June2007.
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September 2006 |
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BlueSky Designs has great new digs! Jx: link to: http://www.ivybuilding.com/node/15
We moved to a new location, with more space, more light, and great neighbors. The Ivy Arts Building is home to many different artists and creative businesses. www.ivybuilding.com
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August 2006 |
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Goodwin appointed to RESNA Board of Directors by Glenn Hedman, incoming RESNA president. The term will last one year, with a possible one year extension.
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July 2006 |
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Goodwin named to the board of AccessAbility, a Minneapolis-based non-profit, diversified training, employment and production facility. AccessAbility provides training, work and recreational opportunities for individuals with disabilities and economic disadvantages who have barriers to employment and community inclusion.
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July 2006 |
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Freedom Tent wins a DaVinci Award!
The da Vinci Awards®, is given by the Michigan chapter of the National MS Society to honor outstanding engineering achievements relative to design process, product design and applied research related to accessibility and universal design issues.
Learn More >>
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June 2006 |
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Goodwin accepts position as Chair of the Technology Transfer Special Interest Group of RESNA.
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May 2006 |
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Goodwin gives keynote entitled Universal Design in the Development of Accessible Recreation Products: All for Fun and Fun for All at the State of the Science Conference on Exercise & Recreational Technologies for People with Disabilities
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May 2006 |
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Freedom tent review in Access Anything, May 2006 issue, p.3
Read the articles >> Access Anything.Blogspot &
Access Anything
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February 2006 |
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BlueSky team members, Nick Lee, Sherry Rovig, and Di Goodwin created Brrrribbit!, a snow sculpture of a pond scene complete with three frogs, cattails, lily pads and water lily at the Ely Voyageurs Winter Festival.
Click here to see a photo of our design!!
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January 2006 |
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Goodwin has been invited to deliver one of the keynotes at the State of the Science Conference on Exercise and Recreational Technologies for People with Disabilities, sponsored by RecTech, a NIDRR-funded Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center. Her topic will be Universal Design of Recreation Equipment.
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December 2005 |
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Wilderness Inquiry, a BSD partner, was given a Golden Eagle Award by the Disability Rights Advocate, for “its collaboration with outdoors equipment designers has led to such innovative equipment such as the Eureka! Freedom tent which is accessible to wheelchair users. They also honor their collaboration with federal agencies to make public land and waterways more usable by people with disabilities.”
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November 2005 |
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BlueSky
Designs has increased its technical capabilities, upgrading its 3D modeling
technology to include CosmosMotion and a 3D printer. The
Dimension 3D printer “prints” plastic parts from computer
models to facilitate quicker prototype development, simulation and testing.
CosmosMotion software allows motion simulations of SolidWorks 3D assemblies to
better analyze designs.
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| November 2005 |
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Summit
on Inclusive Outdoor Recreation
Goodwin participated in the Summit on
Inclusive Outdoor Recreation sponsored by Easter Seals, Wilderness
Inquiry, the US Forest Service and the National Centers for Independent Living.
Attendees worked on identifying strategies to increase inclusive outdoor
recreation opportunities. The Freedom tent was set up and group members “camped
out” at the reception. Participants included accessibility specialists from
federal agencies and consumer-based organizations such as the USFS and the
Bureau of Land Management, NCIL, American Association of People with
Disabilities, inclusive outdoor recreation program providers such as Northeast
Passage, Easter Seals and Wilderness Inquiry, National Recreation and Parks
Association, and technology developers Beneficial Designs and BlueSky Designs.
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| October 2005 |
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The Garden Rocker was
mentioned in the Olympian in the story, Tackle Yard Work Wisely, by Sarah Jackson. Rock Out- "If you'd like something in between a chair and a kneeler,
the Garden Rocker --available in stores such as Fred Meyer--might be your best bet. It's about 12 inches tall, holds up to 350 pounds and
allows you to lean in a variety of directions. You can add an accessory bag on the side to hold all your gardening tools, too.
Connie Roth of Olympia enjoys using the rocker, but it took a bit of practice. "I like it now that I have mastered sitting on
it without tipping over," says Roth, who also has a cart she can use for sitting in the garden. "The advantage of the rocker is that it is smaller and lighter too haul around and fits in smaller areas," Roth said.
"Both the rocker and the cart can make it much easier to get up than either kneeling or sitting on the ground."
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| October 2005 |
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BSD
participated in PACER Center’s Recreation Expo. The Freedom
tent, Garden Rocker and Watercraft transfer mechanisms were featured. Kinney’s
company, Vulpine Adaptive exhibited as well.
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| October 2005 |
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BlueSky
Designs featured on Life IS
Full, an online lifestyle magazine for people with disabilities,
their families, friends, and supporters.
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| September 2005 |
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Article
on Freedom Tent in Access
Anything, a publication for Travelers with Disabilities. The
Freedom found its way to the front cover and is also listed in an article on
Accessible Outdoor recreation.
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| September 2005 |
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Freedom
tent article on page 3
of the Iowa Compass, a publication of the Center for
Disabilities and Development.
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| August 2005 |
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Mark
Hughes interviewed Goodwin on his award-winning community TV show,
Disability Viewpoint. Accessible recreation products such as
the Freedom tent, Garden Rocker and the Watercraft Transfer mechanism were
featured. |
| June 2005 |
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BlueSky
Designs Featured on Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic
Development website. |
| June 2005 |
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Eureka
and BlueSky Designs displayed the Freedom tent at RESNA.
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| Summer 2005 |
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Home
Depot is now offering the Garden Rocker online.
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| Summer 2005 |
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About.com
gave the Freedom Tent 5 stars! David Sweet, in his Guide to
Camping, said “Besides being a great tent designed to accommodate disabled
campers, it also makes a spacious tent for a couples.” |
| Summer 2005 |
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The
USDA SBIR program highlighted BlueSky Designs Freedom tent
as one of their Success
Stories.
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| June 2005 |
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In an
interview
with the Family Center on Technology and Disabilities, Dr.
Steven Bauer cited BlueSky Designs as a “wonderful model for
consumer participation in product design”, stating “this company follows a very
systematic customer centered design process. Persons with disabilities are
involved in all phases of design, evaluation, and testing.” |
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June 6, 2005 |
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Small Business: Engineer looks to a freer future
Larry Werner looks at BlueSky Designs challenge of sustaining a company that makes products for people with disabilities.
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May, 2005 |
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Home & Garden Television
Gardening by the Yard :Gadgets and Gizmos
Master gardener Paul James reveals gardening gadgets and gizmos sure to make improving your landscape a little easier:
Garden seat. Take a load off with this cool new garden seat that not only makes gardening easier but fun. What makes this seat so effective is its curved base, which rocks as you bend, stoop and stretch, thereby reducing strain on the lower back while playing around in the garden. For a perfect fit, the seat comes equipped for height adjustment. And because the chair weighs next to nothing, it's easy to tote around from one spot to another.
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May, 2005 |
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BlueSky Designs and Eureka! reach an exclusive licensing agreement on the Fan Door. Eureka! plans to incorporate the fan door into other shelters, beginning in its 2006 product line. See story
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May, 2005 |
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New faces at BlueSky Designs
BlueSky has hired a new Research Associate, Fran Jackson. Fran brings a wealth of entrepreneurial, writing, and market research experience to the staff, and will aid in consumer research, grant writing, and grant administration among other things.
Rick Peterson is leaving BlueSky Designs after several years to pursue full time work more closely aligned with Augmentative Communication and training.
Nick Lee will join BlueSky Designs as a Mechanical Engineer following a trip home to visit his family in Malaysia and Australia. Nick was part of the University of Minnesota Mechanical Engineering student design team that worked with Goodwin this Spring. He graduated in May.
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Spring, 2005 |
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Constellations, a newsletter of the STAR Program, Minnesota's Assistive Technology Act Project
Constellations reported on the Freedom tent in their Spring Issue, citing its advantages for both people with and without disabilities.
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May, 2005 |
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BlueSky Designs was awarded a new USDA SBIR grant to develop a watercraft transfer mechanism to aid in transferring people from a dock or pier onto small watercraft such as canoes, fishing boats, power boats and sailboats. BlueSky will conduct Phase I research from May-December 2005.
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May, 2005 |
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Access Press, Minnesota's Disability Community Newspaper highlighted the Freedom in their May issue in the article: Eureka! Freedom-- A New Camping Tent!
The article describes the development of the tent, with partners Wilderness Inquiry, UMD's Outdoor Program, Courage Duluth, Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center, and the National Sports Center for the Disabled.
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May, 2005 |
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BlueSky Designs announces its decision to distribute the Freedom directly to make it more readily available.
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May, 2005 |
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Freedom tent wins "Editor's Choice Award" from Camping Life Magazine!
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April, 2005 |
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The Freedom Tent is available! Production models have reached Eureka's headquarters in Binghamton, New York. The tent can be purchased online from many distributors, including Campmor, C&C Outdoors, Barre Army Navy Store, Wholesale Hunter, and Sportsman Guide. Prices range from $329.99-$399.99.
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April, 2005 |
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Wilderness Inquiry, one of the collaborators in the development of the tent, shared information on the Freedom tent on their website.
Read the article.
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April, 2005 |
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Blue Sky Designs exhibited its Freedom tent at the Minnesota Inventor's Network's Spring Inventor's Showcase. Post-It inventor, Art Fry, was the guest speaker.
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April, 2005 |
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The USDA SBIR program has begun a "Success Stories" series, and BlueSky Designs' Accessible Tent and Vestibule project was among the first selected.
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April, 2005 |
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Camping made easier with Eureka's Freedom tent
One in Five, Maine's newspaper on topics of interest to people with disabilities, reported on the Freedom tent.
Read the article.
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March, 2005 |
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No Limits: The appearance of the Freedom tent at the 2004 Outdoor Retailer show spurred writer, Marcus Woolf on to explore the intersection of people with disabilities and outdoor recreation. On Page 10, Goodwin talks about the development of the Freedom and Eureka's first steps into adopting a product designed with people with disabilities in mind.
Gear Trends, Winter 2005
Read the article.
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February, 2005 |
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Goodwin and Rovig were among the invited snow sculptors at the Voyageur's Festival in Ely, Minnesota.
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January, 2005 |
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Paraplegia News [page 60]
PN reported on the Freedom tent in their Sports and Recreation section, calling it the "first shelter offered for campers with disabilities."
>> Archived Articles: 1997-2004
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