Eat, Drink, but Please Wipe Your Feet

Gordon Sharp Bolster has created a unique company that allows home and business owners to create their own customer door mat. Making the first impression personal is a key to their success.

March 25, 2003
Eat, Drink, But Please Wipe Your Feet
For Gordon Sharp Bolster St. Patricks Day is never over.

Richmond, Virginia-
When Gordon Sharp Bolster stepped off the plane at New Yorks LaGuardia Airport after a visit with his parents at their family estate in County Cork, Ireland, he had no idea his life was about to change. This was not eureka or a sudden awakening. This was just a feeling that there was an opportunity to take advantage of the internet, and allow people to customize personal products on-line. That was three and half years ago. Today Gordon Sharp Bolster is managing his small company Sharp Bolster Holdings out of his historic Church Hill District home in Richmond Virginia.

Sharp Bolster has developed a unique website, which features custom doormats for your home or business. www.yourdoormat.com He also has created a specialty mat for Irish-Americans that features shamrocks and your family name or other phrase. This mat can be found exclusively on www.Blarney.com , an Ireland-based online gift catalog. There are over 45 million Irish-Americans living in the U.S., and only about 4.5 million Irish living in Ireland. Sharp Bolster would like to meet all of them. His original mat went to his parents home called Glenlohane in County Cork, Ireland. The home which dates back through eight generations of Sharp Bolsters is also a prominent Irish bed and breakfast. With hundreds of guests visiting each month the mat takes a lot of wear and tear, but holds up beautifully, according to Melanie Sharp Bolster, proprietor of Glenlohane, and Gordon Sharp Bolsters mother.

The mats make a dramatic first impression states Sharp Bolster. The Blarney opportunity is a new direction for this growing company. Previously yourdoormat.com sold directly to the public. Now Sharp Bolster is creating private sites for companies like Blarney, and is working with Catalogs, Universities, Non-profit organizations, and Private Schools to sell custom logo mats featuring their organizations logo or university seal. For example the World Wildlife Fund can have their Panda bear, and patrons can purchase the mat to signify their support for the charity.

These mats are also used by businesses. Realtors use them as gifts for their clients, retail shops use them to welcome guests, and yes even Irish Pubs can use the mats. This company has been featured in House Beautiful magazine, Modern bride (they make a terrific wedding present), and Realtor Magazine. Sharp Bolsters customers like the yourdoormat site because its flexible, easy to use, and they can see a preview of their mat before they purchase it. So this St. Paddys Day Sharp Bolster is hoping for the luck of the Irish to sell as many mats as possible. Gordon Sharp Bolster can be reached at 804.771.5155 or through www.yourdoormat.com .