Local resident Laurie Peterson is the founder of Kidz Gear, an online provider of high-quality stereo electronics aimed at the 12-and-under set.

“We kind of fell into it. Our son, who is now 10, needed stereo headphones a few years ago, so we looked into the market and found that everything out there was either adult-sized (and priced) or it was a cheap foam toy,” Peterson shares. “My husband and I were also kind of looking for something that could be our product, and this seemed so obvious after we did a little research.” With the introduction of their wireless headphones, in December of 2009, Kidz Gear received an award from Amazon.com, as one of the hottest selling products on their entire Web site.

Peterson, however, has not forgotten her roots in the community. “We often put up cases of the headphones for raffles. People in El Dorado County know that we are a family business, and they know that they can come to us if they need products or money for their causes,” she says. Kidz Gear has also donated to local schools for various programs, and they are huge supporters of their local community. “This is a tough time for family businesses, and we are fortunate. We really do our best to make sure that we support the community wherever we can,” shares Peterson.

For more about Laurie Peterson, and other local happenings and information, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style – Folsom, El Dorado Hills edition. Click on the Get Your Copy link on this Web site for some of our newsstand locations; click on the Subscribe link on this Web site to become a regular subscriber, or to order a copy of this issue or one of our back issues, please email  [email protected], or call 916-988-9888.