New products

Plant care goes digital with new Thirsty Light

Tired of killing your houseplants? If you’ve ever played amateur botanist at home, chances are you’ve lost a few plants along the way. But now there’s a way to increase your plants’ odds for survival.

Resembling a green lollipop, Trident Design’s Thirsty Light Digital featuring Drypoint technology is a sensor that continuously monitors the moisture levels of a potted plant. The digital green thumb features a blinking LED, which alerts the user when the soil is dry and the plant is thirsty. The speed of the blink intuitively increases as the soil gets dryer, with five levels of sensitivity.

The light, which retails for $9.95, works with most houseplants, has replaceable batteries and an LED light that is designed to last for the life of the product.

The patent-pending Thirsty Light employs Drypoint, which consists of two primary components: a sensor at the tip of a probe and a digital circuit housed in a pod. Placed in soil, the sensor measures the electrical resistance of the environment once every second, with lower resistance indicating higher moisture levels. The digital circuit then interprets the results and takes the appropriate action, either emitting a blinking pattern or remaining dormant.

“The Thirsty Light was developed out of my own frustration with repeatedly killing my plants; I could never tell when to water them and the existing solutions all came up short. I wanted a device that didn’t annoy me with noises, that wasn’t tacky or cheesy, but was well-designed, accurate and reliable,” said Chris Hawker, Trident Design’s founder and chief inventor. “The Thirsty Light actually makes me feel more connected to my plants. I pay more attention to them now since they can communicate with me, and they certainly are doing better. I call it my ‘green thumb on a stick.'”

For details, visit www.thirstylight.com.

SoySafe tackles tough cleaning problems

It’s green, it’s soy and it works on your toughest of cleaning chores from grills to graffiti to granite.

SoySafe Products offers cleaning products that are 100 percent natural, biodegradable, free of caustic fumes, nonflammable and made from soybeans grown by a co-op of Midwestern farmers. The line includes oven and grill cleaners, graffiti remover, paint stripper, wood sealer, granite polisher and protector, and laundry detergent softener.

There also are products to clean, degrease and deodorize in one step, and remove adhesives.

The grassroots company, based in St. Charles, Ill., had an auspicious start. Mary Johnson was outside a cathedral on Michigan Avenue in Chicago on a hot day trying to remove graffiti from concrete planters she had fabricated as part of Mayor Richard Daley’s city beautification program.

She was having little luck and stepped inside the church to cool down. A gentleman behind her spoke of a product he developed to remove graffiti. George Ferguson had the product in his car. He got it, she tried it and it worked!

Call it fate or faith, she ended up buying his company and extended the line of products. And, still grass roots, she now bottles and ships the product from her kitchen table.

For more information, call 866-359-9401 or visit www.soysafe.com.

Kit helps college kids keep dorm in shape

When the kids go off to school or move into their first abode, you want to make sure they have what it takes to get, and keep, the place in shape.

The 21-piece Dormitory Tool Kit is the perfect starter since Dad’s hammer and Mom’s tape measure won’t be within reach anymore.

This kit, from GreatNeck Tools, includes a 4-in-1 screwdriver, two types of pliers, an adjustable wrench, a hammer, level, tape measure, scissors, electrical tape, flashlight, assorted fasteners to hang curtains, pictures, etc., and a utility knife. And it all fits in a compact carrying case.

The whole set weighs just 5 pounds and retails for $30.

For more information, call 800-457-0600 or visit www.greatnecksaw.com.

New linen line flirts with sin, has an edge

Great ideas arise from great friends … and a shot or two of whiskey along the way certainly doesn’t hurt.

“The idea came from whiskey with friends, of course,” said Sandy Glaze, inventor of Sin in Linen.

“I was in between jobs and I needed to do something for myself,” said Glaze. She was looking for linens, towels and kitchen stuff.

“All I found were pastels and those geese with the ribbons tied around their neck. There were tons of those,” Glaze said. “I got really sick of those.”

They weren’t her style and they weren’t her friends’ style.

She wanted something to stand out … to sparkle … to have a presence.

Born in Hawaii and raised in Hermosa Beach, Calif., the 38-year-old wanted something new.

Given the fact that she has toured with her boyfriend’s rock band, the Meat Puppets, and has herself been involved in punk rock, skateboarding, surfing and now is a member of the Rat City Roller Girls roller derby team, it’s not all that surprising to see how her designs incorporate her persona.

Whether you’re naughty or nice, Glaze has something for you: from pillows to sheets and duvets to shower curtains and even place mats and potholders.

“I finally feel satisfied, fulfilled and am expressing my own will,” she said from her Seattle home. “I am working tireless hours now. I schooled myself. I made a business plan and I got serious.” She even went so far as to travel to India to learn about cotton weaving.

Items are designed to be a bit edgy, and flirty, but not dirty, and include pin-up girls, skulls and hearts and daggers.

Prices range from $8 for potholders to $119 for queen-sized bedding.

For more information, call 206-935-2079 or visit www.sininlinen.com.