”I think about how to do things differently.” In describing his work as an inventor, Kai Gyr, Nelson resident, looks at something in a new way.  The catalyst for his inventions are phrases like ”oh, you’ll get used to that.”  When he hears those statements, he doesn’t take them as a given; if it isn’t working, he will find a way to make it work.   Much of what Kaj invents has to do with sports, developing tools that meld form and function, creating something that is ”better than what’s out there.” He has been busy.   Right now, he has 6 patents and 20 patents pending.

When Gyr was telemark skiing, he was aggravated by the myriad of problems with the skins that are put on the skis for climbing uphill.  His response was to build ski skins that attach to the skis in a fraction of the time, and solved all those other problems as well.  Practicality combined an appealing style, his Clip Skins are in the beta testing phase.   The clips are manufactured in Kelowna; the material is shipped from Wyoming, and the skins are made in Nelson.   Being able to do this from his home is exciting for Gyr.  ”There are so many talented people in the Kootenays I can collaborate with.”

Gyr calls himself a designer.  His most famous creation is a Bag Dryer, a simple yet elegant collapsible gadget that offers a solution to ”Bag-osis,” a problem he describes that is a North American nuisance – what to do with those soggy plastic bags.  Since it has been on the market, Gyr has sold 150,000 units.  He relates a story about a Chilliwack resident whose home was broken into – only two items were stolen, one of which was the Bag Dryer.

The journey to inventor began when Gyr was a young man; from 16 to 22 years, he learned many skills, and then he had an epiphany when he was windsurfing.  A nurse.  And so he completed his degree and worked in the field for 10 to 12 years, gradually weaning his time to be able to spend more of it inventing.  His nursing career behind him for now, he is focused on his designs, a career that affords him the time and flexibility to spend with his young family.  He has been working at creating an environment that cultivates an inventor-type thinking for his sons, providing the workshop space for them to figure things out.

What he suggests for young people starting out is to:

• Work on your communication skills.  You will need them.
• Be sensitive to the environment and others.  Bring awareness to your life.
• Keep learning.  Skills have the effect of building confidence.
• Cultivate any enterprise you are learning; everything leads to other things.  Right now, you can’t see what can happen in the future.
• Keep moving in a direction you want to go, and check in with yourself along the way.

For Gyr, following this advice has been exhilarating; he thinks of himself as a generalist, with a wholistic approach.  If he were to go to university and study, ”I would take ergonomics.”  He sees his work as ”how humans interact with their environment.”  The personal characteristics it takes to work in this field, he says, are being discriminating, multi-faceted, resilient and persistent.  All of these attributes are demonstrated through his creating process.  Though he often starts his ideas with a ”20 minute quick and dirty prototype” to see if it is feasible, his original vision is what guides him all along the way.

For the future, Gyr, he doesn’t have a master plan.  He will keep following where his ”love of design” leads.  For others who are looking at this as a career, he says, designing is ”fertile ground for those inclined.”