Local women invent way to protect your purse

A pair of best friends created a decorative devise designed to prevent the theft of a woman's purse.

Martha Curnow of Schaumburg and Vicki Ricker of Plainfield have been friends since the sixth grade when they went school together in Arlington Heights.

Their goal was to create a product that would deter the theft of a purse.

The decorative piece, complete with Swarovski crystal stones, is multi-faceted. A woman can attach the chain to the purse zipper to prevent it from being opened.

There is also a retractable mechanism that can be wrapped around a shopping cart or the arm of a chair at a restaurant. The third feature is the key holder for women who don't like to carry their whole key ring.

"It's a functional, decorative piece that's easily attached to your purse," Ricker said.

She said the idea for the theft deterrent piece developed while she was shopping several years ago during the holidays with her husband. When they went to lunch, they were seated at a small table at a crowded restaurant.

"There was nowhere to put my purse. I was afraid it would be stolen, so I hung it on my knee," Ricker said.

Curnow has had her purse stolen from a shopping cart. The women, friends for 30 years, talked about the idea for a purse lock. They worked on prototypes, flew to the East Coast where they found a manufacturer. After about two years and many designs, the women now have a patent-pending product on the market.

It was important to them that the it looked upscale. It helps that the trend of purse accessories as a whole is growing.

"Women are wearing our lock on their high-end Coach bags," Curnow said.

The purse lock sells for $55. The business partners, who started Voom Enterprises, said they call the item a PersLock because it can be used for other bags and items other than purses, including handbags that men often carry in Europe.

"There's nothing out there like this," Ricker said.

The entrepreneurs, best friends for 30 years, are now marketing the product. It's for sale at G. Whiz in Barrington and on their Web site at perslock.com.

The women are participating in trunk shows at Von Maur stores. They'll be at the Yorktown Center store in Lombard from noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 8 and 9 and from noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 15 and 16 at Glen Town Center in Glenview.

The product will also be featured at the Holiday Extravaganza at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Nov. 29 through Dec. 2.

The women have worked together at previous jobs and agree that they're work styles and personalities mesh.

Curnow works at Hamilton Partners as a commercial property manager. She and husband Jim have two children, Sarah, 15, and Kevin, 12.

Ricker, a property manager at Jones Lang LaSalle, and her husband, Dave, are raising three children: Brittany, 19; Christopher, 16; and Sammie, 10.

For more information, call (847) 891-8413.