While watching her two daughters crawl on the dirty airport floor during a miserable six-hour layover, Christie Barany had that “big idea” – the kind that turns everyday parents into entrepreneurs.
Instead of giving in to the desire to constantly sanitize her children, the airport incident inspired Barany, President of keen I, to develop a clean, portable surface that parents can attach to any purse or diaper bag and always have on hand for life’s messier outings.
She brainstormed the idea with her business partner, Courtney Turich, and the Monkey Mat™ ($39.99, www.monkeymat.com) was born.
A large, clean multi-purpose mat that can be taken everywhere thanks to a small attached storage pouch with easy buckle strap, Monkey Mat™ can be used for picnics, fitness activities, beach, travel or outdoor events. It protects from any questionably clean floor, indoors or out, and is designed to meet the needs of active moms, families, fitness enthusiasts and travelers.
At 5 x 5 feet, the mat is large enough to seat multiple people and is made of custom soft, lightweight fabric that allows grass, food and other messes to shake off easily. It is water repellant and has corner weights that prevent the mat from blowing away in the wind, as well as corner loops for even more secure grounding. The entire Monkey Mat™ is machine washable for easy cleaning.
The storage pouch is compact and portable (6 x 6 inches) with an adjustable buckle strap that can secure to any purse, stroller, cooler handle, bike handle, diaper bag, luggage, belt loop, even wrist – like an accessory.
“We quickly realized that not only would a portable, clean surface be great for kids and travel, but that we also wanted such a solution for our active lifestyles,” says Christie. “Like most people always on the go, neither one of us always plans such moments in advance and we certainly don’t always have room to take along a bulky blanket.”
Available in four vibrant colors and with a chic giraffe print pouch, Monkey Mat™ is a simple and stylish solution to an everyday problem – proving that functional doesn’t have to be ugly!
keen I, LLC, founded in 2011, is a women-owned company focused on innovations inspired by life. Its partners in Austin, TX and Denver, CO have a collective 25 years of experience in innovation, sales and marketing across medical device, broadcasting and finance industries. keen I’s Monkey Mat™ is the debut launch in the planned portfolio of consumer goods products thoughtfully designed to provide simple solutions to everyday problems.
