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by Jodi Uline
Special to Tropical Breeze
What started out as a home school project
is now a working business for the four Uline kids -- Hunter, 12;
Victoria, 9; Elizabeth, 6; and, Lily, 3. Jodi Uline, a resident of
Safety Harbor and mother of four, decided to give her children a
summer project to create a real working business. Her oldest
daughter, Victoria, loved her hula hoop but didn't like how it
always broke, got bent out of shape and eventually became unusable.
She told her mother that the children wanted to make hula hoops
that were unbreakable, stylish, and fun.
Not really knowing were to begin, Hunter
got on the internet and printed everything he could find on hula
hoops. Victoria and Elizabeth started working on logos and names
for their business. After several weeks of research the Uline kids
did it! They registered their fictitious name, got their sales tax
certificate, and opened their own business bank account. Their mom
even got them a Visa card to order their supplies, Hunter's
favorite part of the business!
They waited until 7/7/07 to officially
register their business because they thought it was a COOL date.
U-Hip was the company name, and the girl on the logo was designed
to resemble the three red-headed Uline girls. The styles of the
hoops are named after each of the Uline kids. Hunter's is the wave
hoop, Victoria's is the candy striper hoop, Elizabeth's is the
rainbow hoop, and Lily's is the swirl hoop. The kids even designed
one for their mom, Jodi, called the plaid hoop. The gospel hoop is
the kids' favorite, as it tells of Jesus.
The kids are hoping churches and friends
will use this hoop to tell the gospel. Ten percent of all the
profits from U-Hip Hula Hoops is given to local charities. The
U-Hip hoops have a one year warranty, and its designs are
completely unique. They recently test marketed their hoops at a
festival, and were amazed at the success of their hoops. They were
surprised to find that more than 50 percent of their hoops were
sold to adults to be used for exercising. Celebrities such as
Beyonce are strong advocates for the exercise hoop as it targets
the abs and glutes. One minute of hooping burns as many calories as
running an 8 minute mile.
The U-Hip hoops can be purchased by
e-mailing
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, and U-Hip can be found participating in
local craft festivals, including The Dunedin Arts & Crafts
Festival, Sat. and Sun., Nov. 17-18; the Tarpon Springs Craft
Festival, Sat. and Sun., Nov. 24-25, and the Safety Harbor Kiwanis
Art and Craft Show, Sun., Dec. 9.
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