Lifestyle

From Disgruntled Consumer to Disruptive Inventor

Published

3 years ago

February 23, 2023

They say “necessity is the mother of invention.” In Matthew Burwick’s case, the adage holds true.

Buwick’s creative process for developing Bob the Pillow was not enjoyable. Chronic pain coursing through his entire body and exhausting nights spent in poor sleep were the needs that prompted his transformation from consumer to inventor.

Spurring invention from a half-solved problem

When Burwick was six years old, a close neighbor was first to notice his limp. After extensive x-rays and several misdiagnoses, his family learned he had a condition called Legg Perthes disease.

Burwick spent six months in a full-body cast and emerged with a functional hip. Unfortunately, his legs were mismatched by about an inch in height. That minor discrepancy led to years of pounding on the joint.

“First, I felt knee pain,” recalls Burwick. “Heel and foot pain came next. Eventually, the pain spread to my shoulders, neck, and back. I was a 20-something trapped in a 90-year-old’s body.”

Burwick embarked on an orthopedic health journey, including heel lifts, chiropractor visits, low-intensity exercises, and various surgeons. At one point, his chiropractor mentioned the benefits of sleeping with a pillow between his legs.

After research, Burwick bought his first leg pillow. “I was thrilled to see my pain decrease,” he remembers, “but I wasn’t completely satisfied with that pillow. I tried another, then another, but each one fell short in some way from being the solution I needed.”

Turning the quest for a solution into a concrete product

Roughly 20 leg pillows later, Burwick remained convinced a solution was out there, but was unable to find it. A particularly rough week of sleep combined with the global lockdown was the perfect storm that transformed a frustrated consumer into a full-fledged entrepreneur.

“My latest pillow would not stay in place during the night,” Burwick remembers. “I woke up on my stomach at all hours. Every morning, I got out of bed in worse pain than the day before.”

Burwick phoned his friend and future business partner and within hours, the pair was in a garage with furniture foam from a local fabric store and a hot glue gun. The first iterations of Bob the Pillow were laughable, but the goal was clear: make a pillow that would stay in place and keep people on their sides.

“We took pictures, sketched ideas, and found a CAD designer to bring our concept to life,” says Burwick. “Believe it or not, in under four months, we had a 3D-printed prototype for the inside of the pillow and sourced a seamstress in China capable of creating the complicated pillowcase. It wasn’t long before we had working samples.”

Understanding the process of invention

Aside from invention and product creation, innovation entails plowing through a mountain of mundane tasks. Burwick contacted a patent attorney, wrote a formal patent application, created a website, designed a logo, filed for trademarks, reviewed logistics companies, and established working relationships with importers who could ship Bob the Pillow from China to the warehouse. He coordinated all of these tiny tasks during a global pandemic and supply chain crisis.

“All of the jobs like design, legal, taxes, insurance, production, and shipping take an insane amount of time,” Burwick warns. “It’s easy to overlook details you find less exciting, but that is bound to bring trouble down the road.”

The final phase of invention involved spreading the word. Burwick chose to launch slowly and collect feedback as he went. “Strategic conversations with consumers early on gave us time to address customer input and make improvements as we grew,” he says. “Once you know there is a real need for the solution you are bringing to the market, all you have to do is educate yourself and push forward.”

Burwick’s motivation throughout the process of innovation and entrepreneurship sprang from a desire to get his pillow to people with chronic pain and sleepless nights. Today, he is thrilled every time he hears that a customer wakes up feeling better.

“Remember that just because a solution is available doesn’t mean the problem is solved,” Burwick advises. “Your idea may be just the solution for a problem that is only halfway solved. Our greatest joy is speaking to people who benefit from Bob the Pillow. My mission is to put our product into the hands of anyone dealing with long-lasting pain and give them the healing gift of sleep.”

Lifestyle

When Seasons Shift: Dr. Leeshe Grimes on Grief, Loneliness, and Finding Light Again

Published

5 days ago

February 22, 2026

Michelle Langton

Some emotional storms arrive without warning. A sudden change in weather, a holiday approaching, or even a bright sunny day can stir feelings that don’t match the world outside. For many people, the hardest seasons are not defined by temperature; they are defined by what’s happening inside, where grief and loneliness often move quietly.

This is the emotional terrain where Dr. Leeshe Grimes has spent her career doing some of her most meaningful work. As a psychotherapist, registered play therapist, retired U.S. Army combat veteran, and founder of Elevated Minds in the DMV area, she understands how deeply seasonal shifts and unresolved grief can affect people. Her upcoming books explore this very space, guiding readers through the emotional weight that can appear during different times of the year.

What sets Dr. Grimes apart is her ability to see clearly what many people overlook. Seasonal depression, for example, is usually tied to winter months. But she often sees it appear during warm, bright seasons, the times when the world seems happiest. For someone already grieving or feeling disconnected, watching others travel, celebrate, or gather can create its own kind of heaviness. Sunshine doesn’t always lift the mood; sometimes it highlights what feels missing.

The same misunderstanding surrounds grief. Society often treats it as a short-term experience with predictable phases and a clean ending. But in her practice, Dr. Grimes sees how grief keeps evolving. It doesn’t disappear on a timeline. It weaves itself into routines, memories, and milestones. People learn to carry it differently, but they rarely leave it behind completely. And that’s not failure, it’s human.

Her approach to mental health centers on truth rather than pressure. She encourages clients to acknowledge the emotions they try to hide: sadness that lingers longer than expected, moments of joy that feel out of place, and the waves of loneliness that return even when life seems stable. Instead of pushing for quick recovery, she focuses on helping people understand how emotions shift and how to care for themselves through those changes.

Much of her insight comes from her military years, where she witnessed the emotional toll of loss, transition, and constant survival. She saw how people continued functioning while carrying pain that had nowhere to go. That experience shaped her belief that healing requires space, space to feel, to speak, and to move through emotions without judgment.

In her clinical work today at Elevated Minds, she encourages people to build small, steady habits that anchor them during difficult seasons. Journaling helps them recognize patterns and name what feels heavy. Community support breaks the cycle of isolation. Therapy creates a place where emotions don’t have to be minimized or explained away. And intentional routines, daily sunlight, mindful breaks, and calm evenings help rebuild emotional balance.

Her upcoming books expand on these ideas, offering practical guidance for navigating both grief and seasonal depression. She focuses on helping readers understand that healing is not about escaping pain. It’s about learning how to live with it in a healthier way, honoring memories, acknowledging loneliness, and still allowing room for moments of light.

What makes Dr. Leeshe Grimes a compelling voice in mental health is her ability to bring language to experiences that many struggle to explain. She reminds people that emotional seasons don’t always match the weather and that there is no single path through grief. But within those shifts, she believes there is always a way forward.

The seasons will continue to change. And with the right tools, compassion, and support, people can change with them, finding steadiness, softness, and light again, one step at a time.