Grammy Awards swag bags to include product created by Raleigh inventor

Linda Ravary started Bedding Bandz out of necessity. Standing in front of the family linen closet, wondering why it was so difficult to keep it in order, Ravary became determined to come up with a solution.

Three years later, in 2013, Bedding Bandz, a line of bands that bundle and label sheets, was born. And this weekend, some of the top artists in the music industry - from Alicia Keyes to Cardi B, Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton and Diana Ross - could be walking away with her product, which will be tucked into the swag bags for the Grammy Awards.

Ravary provided 160 of her Bedding Bandz to be included in the bags, which will be distributed to presenters and performers on the show. The 61st annual Grammy Awards air on Sunday night. The goal is that one of those celebrities will fall in love with the product and share it on social media.

"It's going to be great," said Ravary, who holds a patent on her bands. "We don't really know who the presenters will be. It will be excitement all the time every time. We're preparing a bottle of champagne, my husband and I, and we'll be following them on social networks and hopefully hearing about our product."

Ravary and her husband David live in north Raleigh where they raised their three children. And this isn't their only brush with fame this year. Their eldest child, Justin, actually was on an episode of Dynasty on The CW Network with his band Easter Island last week.

Ravary, who is originally from Canada, learned about the opportunity for businesses to add items to awards show swag bags on the French Canadian channel on Sirius XM. There, she heard an interview with another business owner who had done the same thing.

"In my head, I thought it was a very, very exclusive thing," she said. "You hear about the $8,000 trip. But you can also have affordable gifts in there."

Eventually, she reached out to Distinctive Assets, the company that prepares the bags. Ravary quickly heard back that she'd been accepted. In fact, she also had the opportunity to include items in a swag bag for the Academy Awards later this month, but she opted to stick with a single show this year.

"One show at a time might be enough," Ravary said.

Ravary's Bedding Bandz currently sell for $19.99 for a pack of two on her website. What's next depends on the reception at the Grammy Awards.

"We will see where this leads to," she said. "We are very much looking forward to it."