Liette Tousignant can tell you. When she started her interior design business in 1996, she had no idea that one of her greatest work frustrations would lead to her inventing a solution.

Liette loved her work but did not enjoy the task of hanging art and pictures. By the time a frame was hanging picture-perfect, Liette was exasperated with the constellation of little holes she had made trying to get everything just right. Time after time she wished there was a tool that could help her get the job done right on the first try.

After an exhaustive search, Liette and her husband Kelly Krake came to the conclusion that no tool existed, and decided to create one of their own. After 10 years of work, they came up with Hang & Level, the picture hanging tool. But the road to get there was rocky.

Conceived in the couple’s basement, the first version of the tool piqued the interest of clients who wanted to know where they could get one.

The couple then made the first of many plastic prototypes in an effort to make their tool available to the world, but they hit one stumbling block after another. They then decided to take a break from product development and concentrate on their two daughters and their day jobs.

But with Liette using the picture hanging tool daily, people continued to ask her where they could get one. Finally, the couple decided to give it another try before someone else did. In 2004, Kelly decided to quit his job after 20 years as a partner with an International Consulting firm, to work with Liette on Hang & Level full time.

After countless hours, more prototypes, lots of hard work, and cash infusions from some farsighted investors, Hang & Level entered production and went on sale in a small hardware store in Calgary, Alberta.

Since then, things have grown. The company now has an office in downtown Calgary, and the product is on sale at many major retailers, including The Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Linens-N-Things, Home Hardware, Home Outfitters, and others in Canada and the United States, as well as through the company's website.

Liette is also becoming a visible celebrity, appearing with her trademark ponytail in everything from the product packaging to the company's quirky television commercial. It’s not unusual for people to recognize her when they see her in a coffee shop.

Hang & Level has been profiled in many newspapers and magazines such as The Toronto Star, Alberta Venture, Mompreneur, Chatelaine, Enterprise, Home and Décor, not to mention numerous other publications.

Hang & Level is just the first of many new and innovative decorating products Under the Roof Decorating plans to launch.