Dear Democratic Candidates,

My name is Katie Zivalich and I am worried about the future of my family’s small business, The Magic Weighted Blanket.  My dad, Keith Zivalich, invented the weighted blanket in 1997.  My mom sewed the first prototype at our home in Valencia, CA and we sold it to a family friend who happened to be a special education teacher for young children.  When she told us how much it helped calm her students down, we realized that we had stumbled upon an important product for the mental health community.  We contracted with a factory in nearby Los Angeles...

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You cannot walk into a big box store or jump on Amazon without coming across a weighted blanket. The concept was first brought up to us at one of my daughter’s Occupational Therapy appointments when we started exploring weight and compression items for home therapy use. They provide a much needed feedback for those who are sensory seekers and weighted items have become a staple in our household. Whether it’s weighted lap pads, toys, or vests, weighted items can have a valuable place in helping your child or you to regulate sensory wise.

That said,...

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In 1997, when I first came up with the idea for the weighted blanket, we were fortunate enough to be living in Los Angeles, California.  That’s because LA is a manufacturing hub with many resources available for an entrepreneur and inventor, like me.  Those resources made it possible for me to introduce the concept of a weighted blanket to the world.  Now, those resources are threatened by opportunism and money grabs.

Today, weighted blankets are a mainstream phenomenon.  However, it wasn’t always that way.  When I first showed my weighted blankets...

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