Today is Eight Track Tape Day and while some of us may have never owned an eight track, due to cassette tapes, CDs, iPods, etc., we want to take a minute to honor this “founding father” of music technology.  After all, we know many modern inventions stem from making advancements to current products!

In honor of the eight track, here are a few fun facts about the gone, but certainly not forgotten, technology:

• William Powell Lear, the man behind LearJet, was also the inventor of the eight track cartridge tape system.
• All 1966 Fords offered a factory installed, in-dash eight track player.
• Eight tracks were the preeminent portable and car audio format of the 1970s.
• Record clubs, like Columbia House, offered eight track tapes well into the 1980s.
• Madonna’s early albums, as well as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” were offered to Columbia House club members on eight track!

So, today, while you’re cranking up your iPod, satellite or iHeart radio, say a silent “thank you” to the eight track tape!

Tonight, again, we beg the question, do you… “Dare to Invent?” when we feature the fifth in our 13-episode “Dare to Invent” series on YouTube and at Davison.com.  This week’s webisode is live now and features John Iavarone, inventor of the BikeBoard.

In tonight’s episode, the California native faces an “X-treme” problem:  Trying to ride a conventional scooter, enjoying the ride, then being jolted off by uneven pavement or stray twigs.  Worse yet, John has to watch in horror as his kids do the same thing!

He wants a safer, sturdier scooter that is more unique and maneuverable; so, he takes matters into his own hands and brings his idea for a “west-coast” scooter, which combines surfboarding, skateboarding and biking… to Davison!

Nathan leads the creative team and, with a little help from fellow creationeer (and, often, test-dummy), Clay, they overcome all obstacles and the BikeBoard proves to be a rolling success!

John’s invention also reaches another exciting milestone when an international giant features the BikeBoard on some of their “cheesiest” packaging!

“This is an entrepreneur’s dream, to have a company like this to work with,” says John. “This has been a great relationship.”

Tune in NOW to watch John “Dare to Invent” and see all the twists and turns the BikeBoard takes as it goes from idea to reality!

Here is a sneak peek of some photos from this week’s “Dare to Invent” webisode:

A typical project does not get a royalty agreement, sell in stores or generate a profit.

Recenty, Mr. Davison and our production team made a “royal” visit in St. Louis!  While the pictures are breathtaking, the purpose of the trip to the Midwest was to surprise our client, Lennell, with the very first royalty check from her invention, the TheraPED.

Lennell’s TheraPED is an innovative spa-therapy product that she came up with to provide comfort from the “hot feet” she experienced as a result from multiple sclerosis.  Now, the TheraPED has been licensed by Health Enterprises and is marketed to people everywhere, who would like to provide hot or cold therapy to sore feet and toes.

So far, the product has been a big hit among yoga and zumba bloggers and was even given out in gift bags at the 45th Annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards!

So, the Davison team hit the road to surprise Lennell with all of the TheraPED’s success.  After talking with members of the production team, it seems that pulling off the surprise was quite the task!

According to Mike, a member of the production team, Lennell almost arrived to the surprise party before any of the guests!

“Jasmin, Lennell’s daughter, was driving her mother and aunt to the party.  They were scheduled for an arrival at 6:00 p.m. sharp for the surprise party… the guests were supposed to arrive by 5:30 p.m.  Jasmin told me that their house was 10 minutes away from the building we were having the party in… a little after 5:00 p.m., I got a message from Jasmin… she said “We’re leaving now.  See you soon.”  I was worried that they would be arriving at 5:15 p.m., even before the guests!” said Mike.

Mike said he went to the lobby to wait for the guest of honor and tried to think of a way to logically delay her arrival at the party, but 5:30 p.m. came and went.  He met several of the other party guests and directed them into the party… but, there was still no Lennell, until right at 6:00 p.m.

“Lennell was totally surprised.  I asked Jasmin how she delayed their arrival.  She said that she pretended that she was lost and drove around the city until it was time.  Apparently, Lennell thought that her daughter had lost her mind, getting lost in the city that she knew so well,” said Mike.  “I should have known to trust Jasmin.” 

According to Adam, another member of our production team, overall, the trip was a huge success!

“The St. Louis trip was great.  The city was beautiful and the Arch was amazing.  Lennell and her family were very welcoming and a lot of fun.  I think we all felt like we were part of the family, especially during the surprise party.  It was a great moment that we can’t wait to share with everyone,” said Adam.

And, share they will!  Lennell, the TheraPED and more highlights from the St. Louis trip are scheduled to air in a future Dare to Invent webisode!

According to another member of the production team, Jimm, the quick trip proved for some awesome footage of our client Lennell, including the royalty check presentation and a little bit of the city, too.

“Our primary focus was to film an interview with Lennell and celebrate the success of her TheraPED… by presenting her with her first royalty check.  Lennell and her family welcomed us into their home and city; we had a great time… with her entire family.  We were able to get some video footage at Busch Stadium and the Arch.  The restaurant where we presented Lennell with her first royalty check probably has the best view of the Arch in the city,” said Jimm.

Lane also had an amazing time on the shoot in St. Louis, “We all had a really great time working together. It was a super rad experience. Lennel was a pleasure to meet and hang out with. The same goes for the family. They were all just so inviting!”

As if picturing all of that is not enough of a tease, we’ll have to wait for the Dare to Invent webisode to see the rest.  However, Mr. Davison offered us a great overview of what’s to come!

“Everyone did a great job.  To think that this whole project started as an idea years ago and it has brought together such wonderful people all along the way to its eventual, glorious surprise evening that was just… well, what it is really all about, isn’t it… people helping people to make the world a little better for our friends and neighbors.  Congrats to everyone at Davison, the Health Enterprises team, Lennell’s family, Lennell and all those who will benefit from this great new invention,” said Mr. Davison.

Lennell’s Dare to Invent debut is scheduled for late June.  Stay tuned!

A typical project does not get a royalty agreement, sell in stores or generate a profit.

As we prepare to celebrate next month’s National Scrabble Day on April 13th, we’re brushing up our “wordsmith” skills with a brief history of the game that made us all a little more aware of minding our “p’s” and “q’s”… literally!     

You can play it online, enjoy a variation like “Words With Friends” and even play a Jr. Edition with the younger set; but, SCRABBLE® was invented mostly because of tough economic times.  Yes, one of the most popular board games of all time was invented because its creator was out of work.

“If there hadn’t been any Depression in the thirties, there wouldn’t be any SCRABBLE®.”  So said Alfred Butts, the inventor of SCRABBLE®, who, incidentally, never made any money from what became one of the most successful board games of the 20th century.  Butts was an unemployed architect living in New York in the 30s when he began devising a word game using letters printed on small cardboard squares.

Butts called his game ‘Lexiko’ and there was no board.  That came later as the game changed its name to ‘It’ and then to ‘Criss-Cross.’  Butts made a few sets to sell to friends, but it went unnoticed until 1948 when James Brunot thought it might have commercial possibilities.  He and his wife began making the game in their home in Newtown, Connecticut.  They settled on the name SCRABBLE®.

The Brunots only sold 2,000 sets in their first year and sales remained sluggish until 1952, when the owner of Macy’s store, who had played the game while on vacation, told the toy department to stock it.  Other toy shops followed suit and the rest, as they say, is history.

The New York firm of Selchow & Righter, who were making the boards for the Brunots, bought the rights to the whole game in 1953.  In Britain, the rights are owned by J. W. Spear and Sons.

The standard set in the 50s cost $3, but Brunot devised a deluxe version with white plastic tiles, which cost $10.  These plastic tiles eventually became the norm.  The wooden tiles, which were manufactured of maple in Bavaria, had a grain in the wood that players could memorize to help them pick the letters they needed.

Since then, SCRABBLE® has remained a popular choice for young and old to test their word-building skills.  Hasbro markets a number of variations on the original concept to appeal to kids as young as three.  It is truly a board game with appeal to all ages and for the ages.

(Information taken from About.com)

As fast as fast can be… and as speedy as his travels may be… we finally caught up with our Vice President of Business Development and Licensing (VP).  In a little over a month’s time, our VP has been all across the nation, informing current and potential licensees about awesome new Davison designs.

He began his most recent “national tour” in New York, at the Toy Industry Association’s 109th annual American International Toy Fair.  Our VP told us that the show was a first… for two reasons.

“[One of our] Senior Designers was able to… walk the show for the first time!  This was also the first year for Smiletime Toys to make [their] debut at the show,”  said our VP, who informed us that the new toy company that we have begun working with already has begun to make waves in the toy industry, thanks to the help of some innovative Davison designs!

From toys that make us smile to pets that make us smile, our VP’s next stop was the Global Pet Expo in Orlando and, according to him, the show was huge for an innovative pet product company that has licensed many Davison designs, Hugs Pet Products.

“Every major retailer stopped by the Hugs booth… Target, Costco, Camping World, Petco, Bed Bath & Beyond and many more.  Even the competition was taking note of the innovative products on display this year,” said our VP, who also said many of the retailers plan to add 10 to 20 new products, “all carrying the Davison ‘D,’” throughout the year.

“Retailers continue to challenge Hugs with new, innovative products and Hugs and Davison continue to meet those challenges.  You might see a few retailers visiting Inventionland in the near future!” said our VP, who also shared some great news about a new bug repellent company we’ve been working with.

“AWAY also received good feedback at the show and will start to open up their distribution networks to several new retailers this year,” he said.

From Orlando to Chicago, our VP led the Davison team, including our Senior Director of Special Operations, to the International Home and Housewares Show.  

“This show had a huge influence of Davison projects… we had meetings with 30+ different companies, factories, retailers and rep groups.  Everyone from XHP, Better Sleep, Jokari, SkyMall, Len Fast Media, All Star Marketing, Chef’s Planet, Focus Products Group, Metro Design and many more,” said our VP.

According to our Senior Director of Special Operations, from classic favorites to new designs, the Davison “D” was very well-represented at the show.

“Among the latest and greatest Davison-designed products on display were the ever-expanding line of Silicone Bakeware, the crowd favorite Surprise Pan and Meatball Baker, as well as the Disney family of Mickey measuring cups and Mickey Mouse cookie cutters.  Debuting this year were the Cereal Buddy and Silicone Brownie Bowl.  Some products were even on display as demos, including the Water Infuser at the Jokari booth and the Brownie Bowl at the Chicago Metallic booth,” he said.

After all of the trade show excitement, our VP was back on the road, heading to the West Coast to meet with some very familiar names:  Mrs. Fields, Walmart and Warner Brothers!

He said that we have begun to work with a new housewares company that he will be sharing more details about in the near future.  However, he did share some delicious morsels about the meeting with us now.

“The meeting was a huge success and we [met] the corporation that represents the Mrs. Fields brand to explore creating an entire line of bakeware carrying the Mrs. Fields brand,” said our VP. 

From cookies to corporations, our VP’s next stop was Walmart Labs, where he said he toured several of their facilities and told them about ours!

“We were able to get a tour of the Walmart Labs building that consists of Walmart International, Walmart Ecommerce, PR and Marketing and, mostly all of the new ideas, (product, marketing, PR, Internet, etc.) that flow through Walmart are developed inside this facility.  They are very interested in what we do at Davison and were blown away by Inventionland,” said our VP, who also said he had a particularly productive meeting with Walmart’s Head of Product Development and Director of Product Strategy. 

We can’t wait to hear more!  Our VP’s final stop on his national tour was in Burbank, California, at Warner Brothers Studios!

“We also stopped… to talk with Warner Brothers about possibly licensing a few of their properties for the new housewares company that will be coming online in the very near future.  The Warner Brothers studio was amazing… imagine, one day, having the Davison “D” on Batman, Superman or Looney Tunes’ products,” said our VP, who promised more details in the future.

“This is everything I have for now, but more will be on the way shortly,” he said.

In other words… that’s all folks!  

A typical project does not get a royalty agreement, sell in stores or generate a profit.