February 11 is National Inventor’s Day! Some of our readers know how we got started with our risers, but many of you don’t. Our story explains why we’re so passionate about saving the backs of other people… because we had to save ours to make it happen!

Catering and Aching Backs

Our first company was a catering business. Not familiar with how that kind of firm works? 

We drive out to wherever the customer is located. We often use whatever furniture and staging equipment that they provide. Generally, in our line of work, this means working on folding tables.

Most folding tables are designed for seating requirements, not necessarily for working. As you know, table height is much lower than kitchen counter or bar height! When you’re catering, there’s not a whole lot of sitting going on because food prep is best done while standing.

So there we were, crouching over the folding tables to serve our clients. After a long afternoon of catering, our backs were killing us.

Any of you who’ve worked with surfaces that are too low know how painful it can be!

Needed to raise the work surface

Clearly, we had to find a way to lift the tables up, so all our hard-earned money didn’t go to the chiropractor!

The problem was, we couldn’t find anything. Bed risers didn’t work – the table can topple and they don’t achieve the proper height. White PVC wouldn’t work because it had to look professional. Imagine someone dressed in a nice suit with dingy white socks showing? NO. There wasn’t anything on the market that was designed to quickly and easily raise folding tables.

Because there are so many different job sites with catering work, we knew that our solution had to be portable. It had to come with us wherever we went, which meant it had to be lightweight too.

Plus, it had to be easy to use. We couldn’t spend all our time lifting the tables and no time preparing the food we’d been paid to cater! And our solution had to be sturdy. We couldn’t afford to have all our wonderful meals go crashing down on the ground.

With all these requirements, we made our own and Lift Your Table™ folding table risers came to life!

Here a folding table, there a folding table, everywhere a folding table

You know how once you buy, or consider buying, a specific car, all of a sudden you start seeing them all over the roads? And you didn’t remember seeing so many of them before?

It was the same with our risers. Once we had the solution, we started seeing folding tables everywhere!

It wasn’t just caterers. Though certainly plenty of caterers and similar industries like party and wedding planners and event coordinators used folding tables and needed to lift their tables. All kinds of different people started coming through in our orders and surveys. 

Crafters, especially quilters and sewers. DJs. Dog groomers. Gift wrappers. People at places of worship. Teachers. Exhibitors and trade show organizers. Offices. Retail stores and warehouse managers, Etc. As you can see, a pretty eclectic mix!

We work closely with our bulk orders, and discovered that many warehouses use folding tables for packing, picking, assembling, and so on. Safety managers, such as EH&S directors and other safety leadership, ordered our risers to help ease the back pain for their workers. 

And we were helping them save money too. Rather than buying a brand-new table, our clients could simply retrofit the ones they already had. Warehouse management also saved money with fewer OSHA recordables and worker’s comp claims.

Early models

Our first risers were our standard kitchen-counter set, designed to fit bent-leg or “wishbone”-style folding tables up to 36″. These models were designed originally with a repositionable foot.

They were also white, which was a problem because they tended to stand out against the tables and make the risers visible. Eventually we switched to a black furniture-grade PVC product. 

This totally upgraded the look and also made our product scratch-resistant.  In the black color, our risers recede against the background, and don’t draw attention to themselves or the underside of your table.

Over time, due to the requests from our clients, we expanded our product line. Some clients needed a higher surface. For example, when they needed the table to be at bar height (which is about 42” off the ground.) 

Because the risers can be customized, clients who needed their surface lifted between the 36” and 42” heights cut them down to fit exactly what they need.

Many clients had different folding tables, where the legs are straight instead of being bent. We created our straight-leg kit just for them. Although our risers can accommodate most styles of folding table, there are some styles our risers don’t work with. 

We pride ourselves on our responsiveness, so any client who isn’t sure what they’ve got (and what they need from us) can email or call us first. And our 100% satisfaction guarantee!

Due to customer demand for a product that will not allow the table to travel anywhere, we also provided kitchen counter and bar height sets with non-slip, non-marking feet. 

The newest and most exciting addition to our product line is the Standing Desk Kit! The “Stand to Work” movement and associated health benefits are real and we are proud to give customers an option to stand and work from a FULL-SIZE standing desk for less than $50 using a folding table most people ALREADY OWN! 

Small business

As a small business owner, we like to support others too. Who else do you know who should be celebrated on National Inventor’s Day? 

We got a lot of help from our local small business administration offices, especially the Coachella Valley Women’s Business Center. 

Check your local SBA office out – you might be surprised what they’re doing and who they’re helping!

How do you use your Lift Your Table™ folding table risers? Let us know in the comments!