Some entrepreneurs get an idea for a home-based business by looking toward the future and trying to predict what trends might lead to profitable niche markets. But Diane M. Gracely of Ontelaunee Township got the inspiration for her venture, Kewl Tubes, from the past.

“A lot of the golfers actually call them old-school head covers,” said Gracely, describing her retro product. “A lot of women used to knit them for their husbands.”

Gracely’s pompom head covers protect putters, drivers and other clubs from clanging together in golf bags. She said the pompom style probably was most popular with golfers in the 1950s and 1960s.

Kewl Tubes was born in February 2006 after Gracely’s future husband, Keith A., whom she married that June, got her interested in golf.

“I’m the kind of person that when I get an idea in my head, I run with it,” Gracely said.

The company name came to her one night when she couldn’t fall asleep. She chose the variant spelling of “cool” because she wanted the business to stand out.

Although her pompom style remains the most popular, the 43-year-old Boyertown High School graduate expanded her product line to include other types of covers, including ones made of wool and fur. Priced between $20 and $35, the covers can be created in a variety of styles, and with stripes to match the number of the club.

“They can order any color they want,” she said. “The hot pink and lime green are really big sellers.”

Gracely bought five antique sock-knitting machines on the popular auction site eBay.

“They run between $500 and $1,500,” she said. “They’re actually collector’s items.”

The machines, which she believes were manufactured sometime between the late 1800s and the 1920s, allow her to create different-sized head covers.

“If we didn’t have these machines, we’d be doing all hand knitting,” she said.

Gracely started her first home business in 1996 after being forced to quit her accounting job because of a rare hereditary disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, or CMT.

The disease mainly affected nerves in her legs, forcing her to undergo foot-reconstruction surgery.

“I was laid up for three years,” she said.

After dabbling in envelope stuffing and other unprofitable home-based efforts, Gracely launched Creative Bookmarks, designing and making laminated bookmarks for wedding favors, baby showers and other events.

But when Kewl Tubes took off, Gracely decided to concentrate solely on that business and sold Creative Bookmarks to a work-at-home mom in North Carolina.

Gracely ships the head covers, which can be ordered through her Web site or by phone. She has retail and wholesale customers throughout the country, with a concentration in warmer states such as California, Florida and Texas. International orders have gone to Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Spain and other countries.

Although her mother-in-law, Dorothy, a Topton resident, helps with the sewing, the business is growing fast.

“By next year, I’m going to be hiring some more work-at-home people,” she said. “My goal is to become the largest manufacturer of custom golf-club covers.”

Gracely’s success recently was acknowledged by the National Association of Professional & Executive Women, which inducted her into its Women of Excellence Registry — an acknowledgment of her success and professional achievements.

Gracely said she wants to grow the wholesale side of the business by marketing her products to pro shops and golf tournaments.

“I plan on this being my lifetime business,” she said.

•Contact reporter Christopher Hinz at 610-371-5050 or chinz@readingeagle.com.