OXO International began with a few simple questions — Why do ordinary kitchen tools hurt your hands? Why can't there be wonderfully comfortable tools that are easy to use?

The man who asked these questions was Sam Farber, who put these queries to rest when he launched OXO Good Grips in 1990. Farber, the founder of Copco, a successful cookware company, had a long history of providing consumers with housewares products. With OXO, Farber brought the concept of Universal Design (design for the comfort and ease of users of all ages and abilities) into the housewares industry — an innovation that continues to be one of the strongest market influences of the decade.