Glass Shards!

I added soft, silicone glass shards to my website www.traumafx.com yesterday! (click on the picture and see a super-sized view!)

A good EMT or Paramedic Instructor wants their students to train realistically so they're prepared for what they'll see the real world - the street. Just slapping on some fake blood and smearing makeup doesn't cut it. It doesn't look real and every student knows it. But they'll never tell the Instructor it looks totally fake. They'll simply sigh and put up with it. That actually makes the training sub-standard. I don't think any instructor wants that. These shards will really add the realism.

These are really cool. They look exactly like real glass, but are completely safe - unless of course you decide to give one to your 1-year old to choke on. The silicone isn't your hardware store stuff for windows or bathtubs. It's is a special formula (and NOT cheap), so I'm pretty much selling them just a little above my cost. It's worth it to me. I not only want to make things affordable for the small, volunteer organizations, but I want my products to look REAL and be SAFE. Most of the fake glass you buy from some of the "big names" is very expensive. Allot of it is just thin Plexiglass. That's dangerous for a training scenario in my opinion. Plexiglass can provide some pretty good lacerations when pushed into your skin hard enough!

I designed my Glass Shards so you can use them as they are, or tear them into different shapes (sharp looking) or small bits (like an exploded automobile window). You really have to see and feel these to appreciate them. They will add total realism to any effect or scenario.

For the picture on the web site, I simply made a TraumaGel wound from one of the large laceration molds I sell, filled the inside of the laceration with some TraumFX Wound Filler and inserted a Glass Shard and took the picture. I scattered a few more shards around to make the picture look interesting. The Wound Filler is like a thick paste so it's easy to get just about anything to stand up in it. When it dries, the Wound Filler gets very firm but doesn't loose it's wet, meaty look. I love the stuff. It certainly makes Casualty Simulation injuries much easier to do.

Today, I'm taking the day off to teach a little Emergency Medicine to a group of really great students. I'll be back in the "Lab" tomorrow making more TraumaFX products....there's still so much to get on the website. More Graftobian products on the way too - should be here the first part of May. Keep checking out the website!

I CAN'T KEEP UP!

As I've explained earlier, in addition to my TraumaFX line, we're now selling some Graftobian makeup products on the website (www.traumafx.com). They are great products and reasonably priced. I like that.

It's hard to keep up on the website - I have so many of my own products to get on there yet. It's a full time job, but I'm getting there! I've had allot of customers so far considering I've only been online for a couple of weeks.

I still have to put much more time into marketing, but I want to get all the products on there first. I'm still in the R&D phase for some new things that customers will absolutely love. Here's the deal with makeup and casualty simulation makeup in particular - the retail makeup products you buy from the "big names" can be very expensive. The entire reason for developing my TraumaFX products is to offer the SAME items at a cost that will fit the budgets of even small volunteer ambulance services, fire departments, hospitals, etc. Yes, it costs $$ for testing, approval, etc., but they will still be more reasonably priced than what most are paying now. Little organizations need training supplies just as much as a big municipal agency. But they need something they can afford. Fundraisers, bake sales and pancake breakfasts are sometimes their only means of surviving . That's why TraumaFX was created.

I believe in a quality product. Some might think I'm a perfectionist, but I believe excellence sells. Excellence is not a skill or an education - it's your attitude.

Keep checking the website, I'm adding new products all the time. And let me know if there's something you would like to see on there! Thanks for taking the time to read about a business I really have a passion for.

TraumaFX is online!

Well, I've FINALLY done it! I've been working and selling TraumaFX products for quite awhile now, but I've taken the leap and went public with a web site you can order TraumaFX products from! If you'd like to check it out, you can find it at www.traumafx.com . I'm still adding stuff all the time and the web site is FAR from finished, but I'm getting there!
Let me backup and give you a little info about why this all happened:

TraumaFX began in 2002 as an idea to help ambulance services, fire departments, EMT’s, paramedics, hospitals, CERT teams, Disaster and Emergency Services, and the Military create cost effective, but REAL, injury simulations for their training. There is NO substitute for realism when it comes to training.

As owner of TraumaFX, I have over 25 years experience in the emergency medical services field. I have trained countless numbers of responders and early on found a curious phenomenon when it came to the difference between training scenarios and real life. I found that nearly ¾ of all responders who trained with substandard trauma simulation literally “froze” and became confused as to how to treat the victim of a real event. Their senses were overwhelmed by the real trauma they were seeing for the first time. The makeup that was done in their classroom training was nothing like what they would experience on the street. That’s when I decided that if you are going to train for the real thing, then the training must appear real!

Hence, I began looking for ways to provide those responsible for training with an economical, easy, and different way to present the accuracy of real wounds, blood, and other trauma, including WMD. It had to look real. It had to be believable.

After many months of experimentation and with the help from other movie special effects artists, I developed the TraumaFX line you see here on this website. Although my products have been on the market since 2003, this is the first time I have offered them on the Internet.

Whether it’s ultra-real simulated blood, lacerations, cuts, bullet wounds (entrance and exit), avulsions, open fractures, slime and snot for chemical WMD scenarios, simulated sweat, makeup for bruises and trauma, realistic first, second and even 3-D third degree burns, shock, anthrax, smallpox, blisters, or even severe frostbite, I offer it at TraumaFX.

If you are a member of a hospital, CERT team, ambulance, fire department, Disaster and Emergency Services, Military or an instructor for EMT and paramedics, you’ll find our products to be superior in quality and usually lower in price than most of the “big names” in casualty simulation products.

Try us. I stand behind them 100%. If you ever have any questions, I’m just an email or phone call away. Because TraumaFX isn’t one of the “big boys” in the industry, I can offer the best in customer service. You talk to the owner – not some secretary or representative. I can usually answer any questions you might have. If I can’t, I have a large number of friends who are legends in the movie special effects industry who can. Your satisfaction is my priority. I appreciate your business and promise you’ll love my products.

Remember: if you’re training for the real thing, then the training must be real!

We've just been approved to sell products for the highest quality makeup manufacturer in the U.S. - Graftobian. I've used their products many times and most professional makeup artists prefer their products over anyone else. You can view their products on my web site (www.traumafx.com ).

Keep checking back for more updates! Things are moving FAST!