The idea for the Clever Stand smartphone accessory was intuitive.

So was the name.

Art Larsen Jr. would show people his new invention and they'd say, "Oh, that's clever!"

And oh so simple.

You peel off the 3M adhesive flap and plant the plastic wafer on back of your smartphone.

Slide a credit card into one of the wafer's four slots. Or use the little store bonus tag on your key chain.

And, holy ringtone, your iPhone, iPod touch –– or virtually any flat-backed communication device –– can sit up on its own.

You can stream sports video or view cartoons, or whatever, hands-free.

Anyone could have thought of it.

But Larsen, a 41-year-old Lancaster resident who tends bar at the John J. Jeffries Restaurant, is the one who did.

He said he has started to actively market the patent-pending device using promos he developed in Adobe Photoshop.

Larsen's met with 3M and tapped DuPont engineers to help him choose a polymer that can be imprinted with a logo of the customer's choosing.

He considers the logo a product "go-getter" that will give him an advantage when he knocks on the doors of advertising marketers.

"I'd love Verizon to buy them in quantity from me," mused Larsen, who said he has spent about $10,000 of his own money to develop Clever Stand.

His goal: to launch a local manufacturing company "before the big guys squash me."

Larsen has posted product details on cleverstand.com, where customers can buy the product for $9.95.

His is not the only screen elevation product out there.

Earlier, for example, there was iBend, a light, low-cost plastic cradle available through Amazon.com.

But iBend, though light, is just another item you have to carry around, Larsen said.

The 1991 Millersville University business graduate, who once operated a mobile disc jockey service, sensed demand for something more minimalist.

As a bartender, he said, he often catches Lancaster Arts Hotel business travelers propping their phones against their beer glasses.

"It's fine until he wants to take a drink of his beer."

The notion of a prop that integrates an everyday item, such as a credit card, suggested itself.

That was on Memorial Day weekend, when Larsen was vacationing with his family in Bucks County.

Larsen ran with the idea and quickly lined up an injection molder, Lancaster Mold Inc., 2501 Horseshoe Road, which fabricated Clever Stand and its predecessor, Sniper Stand.

Sniper Stand was round, dome-shaped and featured two slots that crossed in the middle. It was less versatile and more hostile-sounding than Clever Stand.

But it drew rave online technology reviews.

"I think it's pretty cool," blogged Charlie Sorrel, of Wired.com's "Gadget Lab."

"Since it stays stuck on the back of your device," pointed out "OhGizmo!" reviewer Andrew Liszewski, "you're never going to forget to bring it with you."

Larsen said he sold about 50 Sniper Stands — also $9.95 — "from my bedroom," with the understanding that they were first-generation pieces.

Early adopters essentially represent a test market, Larsen added; he has promised them free Clever Stand upgrades.

Clever Stand is square instead of round. It's flatter than Sniper Stand –– all the better for displaying logos –– thinner and, literally, groovier.

The four slots along the edges allow 16 points of orientation.

Though the patch is not meant to be removed it can be by wiggling a credit card underneath it.

Clever Stands will be available in multiple colors, and they will adhere solidly to all kinds of phone frames except jelly cases, Larsen said.

"It's really a nice solution for the Amazon Kindle," added Larsen, who is already brainstorming new uses for the gadget.

"I think it's going to be much more consumer friendly" than Sniper Stand, he said. And, if luck smiles, it will be sticking around a long time.

"People like the idea of being able to stand their phone up."