I was there to greet the movie stars as they got out of the limousine.
- Kerry Lorenz
BENDIGO singing teacher turned inventor Kerry Lorenz is making a break for the Chinese market.
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Ms Lorenz is the brains behind MyOki – the anywhere, anytime, wearable heat scarf.
Ms Lorenz said her product had an "Asian feel" to its design and decided to sponsor the Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival.
"It was opened in Sydney on February 9 so I flew up for it," Ms Lorenz said.
"Then it goes throughout Australia, it goes to all the major cities throughout Australia.
"I was there to greet the movie stars as they got out of the limousine, I went onto the red carpet with them and met the press and then I went to an awards ceremony."
At the awards ceremony Ms Lorenz was invited onto the stage and presented a MyOki to each of the award winners.
"After the ceremony there was a banquet and I got to meet the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China and his wife and I was able to present them with a MyOki," she said.
"It was wonderful."
Ms Lorenz said the festival had provided invaluable exposure for her product.
"Celebrities in China are absolutely huge," she said.
"They really, really take their celebrities very seriously so it was an opportunity for my product to be seen with them.
"They walked out from the awards ceremony, all these winning movie stars, with a MyOki and all the Chinese media were following behind taking photos of them."
Ms Lorenz's website has also been translated into Chinese.
"I just feel like this is where the product wants to go - just the look of it, the name of it and we've already started selling to China," she said.
"The whole thing has just been amazing."
During the creation phase of MyOki, Ms Lorenz worked with an agent in Sydney to find a manufacturer in China.
Ms Lorenz has previously entered in the Bendigo Inventor Awards and says she happened upon MyOki by chance.
“I was having a party and I needed my wheat bag for a friend who had a bad back,” she said.
“So I lent him my wheat bag and he stuck it down the back of his trousers so he could still move around and socialise.
“But it had sprung a leak so the next day there was wheat everywhere.
“So from there I just kept thinking ‘somebody’s got to make a wheat bag that’s transportable, more versatile’.
“You can buy different ones but they’re very therapeutic looking – you’ve got to get one for your shoulders and a separate one for your lower back and so on.
“So the idea began.”
For more information about MyOki visit www.myoki.net