Alberta Inventors and Inventions

Laurie Tandrup with her invention, the Travelbud.

The road to invention started off as a bumpy one for Laurie Tandrup. Set to join the family for a weekend reunion, she and her two young boys were left stranded when her car and all of their camping supplies were stolen. Insurance covered the cost of a rental vehicle, but not the stolen items, which included the children’s car seats.

Concerned for her three-month-old son’s safety and comfort, Tandrup devised a system that would gently reposition him so that he would fit more securely in a larger car seat. The Travelbud prototype proved itself priceless during the camping trip, and with the approval of her family physician, Tandrup applied for the patent and went into business, founding Snuglbuds Inc. in 1996.

Having worked in the health care industry for 15 years, Tandrup was able to identify that the demand for her product lay with premature and small infants who did not fit properly into regular sized car seats and other equipment. While travelling to hospitals around North America to demonstrate the Travelbud, she identified another unique positioning need for infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Special Care Nurseries. With the co-operation and consultation of many nurses and therapists, Tandrup designed and patented her second invention, the Butterfly Support, in 1998.

Tandrup lives with her husband, two boys, two dogs and a budgie on a farm near Onoway. She is a full-time student, working towards a degree in education at Grant MacEwan College, and a full-time mom, volunteering regularly at her children’s school. She enjoys pottery, leatherwork, reading and crochet and is working towards her black belt in Kung Fu.