Meet Deborah McCullough of D-N-A Creations in Douglasville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deborah McCullough.

Deborah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am from Rock Hill, SC, the 4th girl of five. I have two daughters and five grandchildren (only one grand-daughter). I have been very creative all my life. My mother has often said, “I get my creativity from my grandmother. I am not afraid of stepping out on faith starting a business, I have started three businesses (Temporary Staffing Company, New Construction Cleaning Company & Men’s Consignment Shop), but through all of that, I still felt I was put on earth to do something very special. Well, it all started one spring evening in 2006 as I was leaving work from downtown Charlotte walking in a heavy rainstorm to my car. Yes, I had an umbrella, but the rain was so hard and the wind was blowing so bad.

So by now, I know you get the picture (lol) I got wet I mean from head to toe and I had to drive home about 30 min. from Charlotte to Rock Hill with wet clothes sticking to me, not a good feeling. Once I reach home, I was still mad because you already know a woman doesn’t like to get her hair or clothes wet. I went to bed thinking about how bad it had rained and how bad I had gotten wet, thinking I know other people have had this problem and something should be on the market to take care of this problem. The next morning I woke up with the idea of the jacket with the hood in the collar, making that for an umbrella. I started sketching my idea out, but since I’m not an artist, they looked BAD. I contacted my friend, that is a great artist and she drew the perfect pictures of my new Umbrella invention. In the fall of 2006, I contacted a patent attorney to see if my idea was patentable, and to my surprise, it was patentable because there was nothing on the market like my invention.

At that moment, I felt A STAR is born. I had accomplished something that many people think about and dream about doing. I was able to file a prevision patent from 2006-2007, which was good for one year, which protected my Invention and it allowed me to save to pay for the full US Patent. After my prevision patent ran out, I had paid the attorney the full amount to file my US Patent on my UmbrellaSlicker invention. 2008 I received my full US Patent on my invention, which t was granted on the first try. This was great because my application did not have to go back and forth between my attorney and the patent office. Next, I had to think about how I could get this made and who would make it. I came up with what I call my KITCHEN SAMPLE” because it was developed in my friend’s mother sewing shop. Once I had my “KITCHEN SAMPLE,” I still had more work to do. Who could make a real sample? This meant more research… research and more research, I found manufacture in China and sent my KITCHEN SAMPLE to China and they made the perfect store ready sample for me to display around.

After I received the store ready samples, I just knew it was going to be an easy road making lots of money and having my invention all over the world. Well, this was a news flash for me because this has not happened. I have been contacted by Shark Tank 3 times, but I haven’t made it on the show yet. Recently I was contacted by Everyday Edison for their show and I was told Walt Disney was interested in my product, but since COVID hit and parks closed, my product was put on hold and I haven’t heard anything else. I have shown my invention to several people and companies. They LOVE IT and they always tell me they would like to purchase one or several. I don’t have a problem selling them. I am trying to find a way to get them in stores. Keep in mind this Umbrella invention is great for parents watching their kids play sports outside, great for advertising, fraternity, sorority, sports team or just a regular household product.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been rocky, but I have not given up, I understand the hustle it takes to get to where you are trying to go, “No pain is nothing gained”. I have tried to contact several umbrella companies as well as buyers for different stores. I know it will happen when it is supposed to happen. I am a very faithful person so each time things don’t happen as I expect, I just tell myself, “IT”S NOT TIME YET”.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with D-N-A Creations – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
D-N-A Creation is a name I came up with which stands for Deborah -N- Aarial, Alexis, Ashton, Ayden, Aniston, Avery, which is my initials and the initials of my two daughters and four grandkids my invention is my creation. This invention will be a legacy for my family when I’m gone. Finally, the UMBRELLA is complete… Every home or car has a regular Umbrella! Why not have the Two-N-One UmbrellaSlicker?

* Does your clothes get wet from the rain with your umbrella?
* Have you ever left an outdoors sporting event because of the rain?
* Have you missed seeing your child make a touchdown, catch or any Kodak moment because you were watching from your car because of RAIN?
* Have you ever walked with your UMBRELLA and water dripped down your back?

Finally, your rainy-day problems have been solved! Introducing the original UMBRELLA/SLICKER! The two-n-one umbrella and roll-down slicker keep you completely dry! You can roll-down the slicker tuck it under while sitting at an outside/sporting event; you can personalize the roll-down slicker with your child’s name, number, company’s logo or ANY logo. You can stay dry while walking from your car to office, home, in the parking lot, around school or at a sporting event while sporting ANY logo down the back.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I plan to be a mentor to others, helping them turn their dream or thought become a reality. Since I have been living in Georgia, I have met some great people with so many different talents. I feel this is a great city and the place to be to have ALL YOUR DREAMS come true. Georgia has so many opportunities for people. No matter what their dreams and goals are you can always find a hidden gem here.

Pricing:

• Small folding umbrella personalized $15-20
• Long Stick umbrella personalized $25-30
• Golf Size Umbrella personalized $40-45

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: D-N-A Creations
• Facebook: UmbrellaSlicker
• Twitter: UmbrellaSlicker

Image Credit:
Tiffany Barber

Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.