Seven years ago, Josh Rubin, the New York City based designer and founder and editor in chief of CoolHunting.com, realized there was an opportunity when he found himself answering his newly acquired iPhone with his nose to avoid taking off his gloves during the cold winter. He contacted his father who, conveniently, was a glove manufacturer. Sketches were quickly drawn, scissors came out and Freehands was born.
The original concept, was to have little caps on your index finger and thumb that would flip back to expose your tips so that you could use your touch screen phone which does not recognize touch but utilizes the electro static energy in your body to work. When the caps got in the way of seeing the screen tiny magnets were sewn in to hold the caps down and out of the way. The NY Times hailed them as ingenious and Freehands took off with exposure on NBC, MSNBC, CNN and in The New York Times, USA Today, NY Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and on 100’s of websites.
Freehands grew from 3 unisex styles into 10 men’s styles, 12 ladies and 2 unisex Polartec power stretch styles. Styles are available in leather, cashmere blends, softshell, stretch, wool blends, faux fur and Polartec fleece. Multiple colors and designs are featured to fit any cold weather need. There are unlined gloves for cool weather in fleece and knits, medium weight styles for colder climates and ski and thinsulate lined rag wool for the coldest weather. Prices range from $8.00 to $80.00.
When material was developed that could be put on glove tips to conducted the electro static energy from your body Freehands added gloves that work without having to flip back the finger caps. However, to be useful the fingers must fit tight so Freehands developed a single layer glove featuring Polartec Power Stretch material. When the iPad came out in 2010, Freehands was the first company to introduce touch screen gloves with all fingers conductive. The Power Stretch styles can be worn for cool weather or under another glove as a liner in very cold weather. Ladies magic gloves which are tight acrylic/spandex knits also have conductive tips.
The popularity of the flip back finger gloves continue now for other uses. They are the best selling glove for outdoor photographers. Last winter they were used at the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics by Canon photographers and at Disney World by company photographers.
They are useful any time you need your finger tips when it is too cold to take off your gloves–from reaching into your wallet to outdoor workers like Comcast linesmen.
Visit www.freehands.com to see and purchase the complete line.
