The 'Peelie' aesthetic

When a room needs to be clean – especially clean – for preparing medications and other pharmaceutical products, medical facilities often use a particular mat to collect dirt and germs from the shoes of people who enter. Kurt and his wife Lindsay Rumold, both pharmacists, walked on these mats each time they entered their facilities’ compounding rooms: The mats were a plain blue and stuck to the floor. In Kurt’s opinion, they were “not very aesthetically pleasing.” 

But they did accomplish their jobs. And, the former Holyoke resident decided, with additional design work and engineering, these mats could become a welcome addition to homes nationwide. 

A more than three-year process ensued, and the Lubbock, Texas, couple opened their new business, Peels Mats, in October 2022; the American Broadcasting Company saw the product in a Dallas market and took notice.

“I am reaching out about a product sales opportunity for Peels Mats on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America,’” wrote Jenna Rubin, product planning manager, to Kurt and Lindsay in an email. “We see huge success in this category and have featured big brands, and know you would be in great company!”

While the couple will not be on “Good Morning America” personally, their specialty doormat is set to be featured Feb. 25 in the program’s “Secret Deals and Steals” segment. 

“We’re just thankful for the opportunity,” Kurt said. “It’s pretty amazing they saw us and liked our product [enough] to ask us to be on there.”

Upon assembly, the Peels Mats system incorporates a rubber base interlinked with one of nearly 100 designs and 30 “Peelies”: adhesive, peelable sheets that – like the mats in medical facilities – take on the filth one might otherwise track indoors. Each set of 30 is replaceable, Kurt said, and will last longer or shorter depending on foot-traffic through a home or building.

According to one Peels Mats reviewer named Lucy, she “fell in love” with the mats “from the start!”

“I live on a farm and there is dust and dirt everywhere. It’s not always possible to take off our shoes when running in and out daily,” she stated. “You don’t have to wonder if it’s working. You can see the dust and dirt with your own eyes with each peel.”

For Kurt and Lindsay, construction and distribution of the mat proved an extensive process. They located an engineering firm and utilized computer-aided design software, and found contacts in China to help with manufacturing. Then came the samples, and adjustments, and “right materials of rubber” – and the vinyl stickers for the base, and the website, and brokers and boxing companies.

“There’s always a lot more to it than you think,” Kurt said of business. “It’s like building a house; it always takes longer than you think it should.”

Growing up in Holyoke, Kurt attended school while his parents owned and operated Holyoke Drug from the late 1980s into the 2010s. Kurt believes that he may have learned lessons in town that impacted how he would run Peels Mats in Lubbock.

At times, he said, service involved helping a customer set up a mat. At others, it involved delivering a product personally.

“I think customer care was a big piece being in a small-town business,” he said, “and taking care of people and wanting to take care of people.”

His time in Holyoke, Kurt said, impressed on him the desire to make a strong impact in the world.

“That’s what we want to do is help people live cleaner, easier lives,” he said. “I think it’s something we both enjoy being a part of, seeing how this will grow.”

More information on Peels Mats may be found online at www.peelsmats.com.