In their 110th anniversary special, Popular Mechanics (PM) magazine editors have featured none other than our very own CEO and founder, Mr. Davison!  The article, titled “The World of Tomorrow,” relies on Davison, among several other scientists, engineers and consultants to boldly make 110 predictions for the next 110 years.
“It’s never easy to predict the future, but… we’ve decided to give it a try (with a little help from some very smart friends),” said PM editors.

Who are those smart friends?  PM fondly refers to the over 20-person panel as their “Brain Trust.”
“… we tried to balance our deep-rooted techno-optimism with some hardheaded skepticism,” said PM editors.
Here is just a glimpse of what the PM Brain Trust predicted:

WITHIN 20 YEARS…Self-driving cars will hit the mainstream market.Battles will be waged without direct human participation (think robots or unmanned aerial vehicles).The first fully functional brain-controlled bionic limb will arrive.
WITHIN 30 YEARS…All-purpose robots will help us with household chores.Space travel will become as affordable as a round-the-world plane ticket.Soldiers will use exoskeletons to enhance battlefield performance.

WITHIN 40 YEARS…Nanobots will perform medical procedures inside our bodies.

WITHIN 50 YEARS…We will have a colony on Mars.Doctors will successfully transplant a lab-grown human heart.We will fly the friendly skies without pilots onboard.And renewable energy sources will surpass fossil fuels in electricity generation.

WITHIN 60 YEARS…Digital data (texts, songs, etc.) will be zapped directly into our brains.We will activate the first fusion power plant.And we will wage the first battle in space.

WITHIN 100 YEARS…The last gasoline-powered car will come off the assembly line.

See more of the PM Brain Trust’s predictions and read the entire article here.

“Should old acquaintance be forgot and… ”  Ok, so, we may not know all the words to Auld Lang Syne, but we are more than ready to ring in the new year with some great memories from 2012.  And, when it comes down to it, we are pretty sure that’s what the song means!

Although there were many, many great things that happened this year, our post simply would be WAY too long if we included them all, so here are just a few highlights from each month.

January: The late celebrity icon known for hosting a “rockin” New Year’s Eve reviews the History Channel’s “Inventionland” reality TV special. “I found it fun to watch and most interesting and, undoubtedly, will be a successful History Channel venture,” says Dick Clark.

Also after the History Channel’s “Inventionland” reality TV show special, which was promoted high above the strip in Las Vegas and in NYC’s Times Square, our creative workspace also appears in the Wall Street Journal!

February: We launch our innovative “Dare to Invent” webisode series! The 13-episode series showcases our clients and their inventions, from product inception to licensing… and beyond!  The series begins with Joy, inventor of the Party on the Go, and Kay, inventor of Pugz Shoes.  The webisodes can be found at Davison.com and on YouTube.

We go international twice! Inventionland is featured on the the German TV show “Galileo” and the Davison-designed Hydro Family (which was licensed by Hugs Pet Products) is set to sell in the United Kingdom and Canada.

March: Walmart runs an “Idol-style” competition online called “Get on the Shelf” and Hugs Pet Products, a company that has licensed many of our designs, enters several of Davison-designed pet products in the contest!

The TheraPED, a spa-therapy product that we designed for our client, Lennell, continues to receive rave reviews from Zumba and yoga instructors across the nation.

April: We present our TheraPED inventor, Lennell, with her very first royalty check at a surprise party for her family and friends in her hometown, St. Louis! Mr. Davison and our production crew get some great photos and video footage under the city’s famous Arch for an upcoming “Dare to Invent” episode!

Speaking of “Dare to Invent,” the webisodes continue!  This month, we feature John, inventor of the BikeBoard, and Jean, inventor of the Meatball Baker!

May: Davison is nominated for a Small Business Community Association (SBCA) 2012 Best of Business Award for Pittsburgh! According to the SBCA, the Best of Business Awards are designed to empower and recognize businesses that make a difference in their communities.

Continuing a school tradition, George Davison speaks to students at his high school alma mater, The Kiski School, in Saltsburg, Pa.  The day-long event includes three sessions, where Mr. Davison enlightens young minds on what it is like to be an entrepreneur.

June: In what becomes the first of many appearances in 2012, George Davison is featured on Lifetime’s “The Balancing Act,” America’s premier one-hour women’s morning show dedicated to creating trusted solutions for today’s woman. Mr. Davison joins host Danielle Knox to field questions both before and after Lifetime airs Joy Clymer’s (Party on the Go) episode of “Dare to Invent.”

Fox Business Network cameras join George Davison at Inventionland, where we get a sneak peek inside Davy’s Treehouse. “Inventionland is like a big playground for creative people,” George tells Lauren Simonetti. “We try to keep everybody in a state of mind that is real creative and real positive, because the world of inventing can be a crazy up-and-down world. It’s a state of mind.”

July: “Dare to Invent” airs the final episodes of the webisode series. The first features Christine Walker, inventor of the Brownie Bowl and our 1st season final episode treats viewers to Gary and Ruth Frazer, inventors of the Twister Bolts and Twister Caps.

We proudly announce that the TheraPED will be included in 200 VIP gift bags given out during the 13th Annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis (Aug. 23, 2012). As part of the 2012 U.S. Open festivities held in New York City, The Taste of Tennis combines NYC’s top chefs and the world’s greatest tennis players to showcase their culinary skills for the benefit of New York Junior Tennis League.

August: Davison products burn up the blogosphere. TheraPED once again earns rave reviews from the One Bored Mommy blog; 6-in-1 Manicure Multitool has “got everything you want,” according to a Hello Dollface blogger; The Clip & Drain replaces colanders for the writer of Sugar Pop Ribbons; The Neat Things in Life blog gets cooking with the Silicone Dog Treat Pan; and AWAY is celebrated by holistic health guru The Savvy Sister.

Davison is featured in an article in the summer edition of Soul Pitt Quarterly, Pittsburgh’s Premier Minority A&E Magazine.  In the piece, Soul Pitt’s writer (Mimi Gray) speaks with CEO and Founder George Davison, President Frank Vescio, Senior Director of New Products Steve Smith and Director of New Products Hassan Walker and picks their brains about what it takes to be an inventor and to work at Davison.

September: A defining moment in company history, the entire fall 2012 Hugs Pet Products Pugz line arrives at Petco!  The line, which we helped design, includes leashes, beds, coats, leg warmers, harnesses and boots; and it’s prominently displayed on Petco’s end caps.

We expand our social media presence, launching Pinterest and Google+ pages.  Pinterest allows us to share all things inventing on our pinboard and Google+ allows us to chat with our followers in circles or groups, so we can better meet their inventing needs.

October: Mr. Davison’s Lifetime TV appearances continue as he and Jean Rindfuss (as part of her Dare to Invent episode) appear on “The Balancing Act.” Before showing the appetizing webisode, Mr. Davison discusses Davison’s Better Way to Invent and how it worked for Jean Rindfuss and her Meatball Baker.

Davison’s Hydro Bone is featured in Real Simple Magazine as part of their “40 Most-Pinned Problem Solving Products” list. Of the hydrating chew toy, the Hydro Bone, the magazine said, “If you’re hitting the park with Fido, be sure to pack the proper warm-weather essentials. Simply soak this rubber bone in water and toss it to your four-legged friend, so he’ll stay well “hydrated all day long.”

November: In time for the holiday season, Mr. Davison illustrates how Davison’s Better Way to Invent works for everyday people with ideas.  He signs, seals and delivers big news and royalty checks to Davison inventors from all over the country and even England.

Our Licensing Team attends Atlantic City’s Non-Foods Marketing Expo, a trade show that caters to retailers interested in general merchandise and seasonal items that one may find at a grocery or drug store. Among over 150 vendors, past licensees of Davison products, Hugs Pet Products and AWAY Bug Repellent, showcase several Davison designs. Quickly heading to the west coast, the Licensing Team also makes a stop at the SEMA and AAPEX shows, where Davison car-cleaning products shine!

December: Ending 2012 with a bang, Mr. Davison makes a few more appearances on Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act.”  This time, he brings along our clients, Christine – Brownie Bowl Inventor and Gary and Ruth – Twister Caps and Twister Bolts inventors, as part of their “Dare to Invent” webisodes.

The Keystone Edge, an online publication that covers the entrepreneurial ecosystem that drives Pennsylvania forward, features Mr. Davison in their “Founders” section.  Comparing him to Henry Ford, deeming the title “a praise that should not be viewed lightly,” Keystone Edge also calls Mr. Davison “one heckuva entrepreneur.”

Thank you for everything, 2012!  We can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store!!

Happy New Year! 

 

Just as we’re getting ready to cap off 2012, Mr. Davison is making another appearance on Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act.”  Tomorrow at 7 a.m., he’ll be telling the tale of our clients, Ruth and Gary Frazer, and their Twister Bolts, a toilet bolt success-story!

Before showing Ruth and Gary’s “Dare to Invent” episode, Mr. Davison will shed light on Davison’s Better Way to Invent, which helped Twister Bolts swirl their way to store shelves.

It all started when Ruth was cleaning her bathroom one day. She became annoyed with the loosely-fitting toilet bolt caps that were easily broken and could get carried away by her grandchildren or pets (like her son’s dog).  She talked with Gary and they decided to flush away the gross annoyance by taking matters into their own hands.

It’s that time of year when we all know (as the old saying goes), it is better to give than to receive.

Lucky for us – we just can’t wait to give the news we’ve just received from our Founder and CEO, George Davison!

Mr. Davison has been hard at work ensuring some lucky clients receive a little extra gift this holiday season. In his own words…

“Here is a photo of me just after I signed all these client royalty checks for this quarter… It gives me great satisfaction and pride knowing that Davison’s Better Way to Invent is sending out all these checks to clients all over the country and even England, right before Thanksgiving,” said Mr. Davison.

What awesome news right before the holiday!

We look forward to hearing – and sharing – many more details about this great news! Stay tuned!

Until then, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy time with family and friends!

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

While you may not have considered eating meatballs for breakfast, you just may after you tune in to the next episode of Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act.”  On the show, featured guest and Davison CEO and Founder George Davison will be showcasing the Meatball Baker and its inventor, Jean Rindfuss, as part of their “Dare to Invent” webisode.

The tasty segment airs tomorrow, October 12th at 7 a.m. and again on October 25th at the same time.  Before showing the appetizing webisode, Mr. Davison will discuss the Davison Way to Invent and how it worked for Jean’s Meatball Baker.

An avid cook, loving mother and adoring grandmother, Jean had always tried to make perfect meatballs for her family. Although they were delicious, her meatballs always end up covered in grease.

After she received some disappointing news from her family’s doctor, Jean decided to find a way to remove the grease and she brought her idea for a healthier meatball to Davison.

Davison’s creative team headed straight to the kitchen to find the perfect recipe for a health-friendly pan to bake meatballs.  A heaping spoonful of research, a dash of redesign and a sprinkle of some unconventional product testing combined to cook up Jean’s Meatball Baker – which rolled its way onto QVC and the shelves of several major national retailers!

To coincide with the Meatball Baker’s debut on “The Balancing Act,” we’re giving our Pinterest followers the chance to win  their very own Meatball Baker in our “Re-pin to Win” giveaway!  Check out the giveaway details and rules below, tune into “The Balancing Act,” then head to Pinterest for a chance to win!

Visit Here

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

Breakfast with Davison CEO and Founder George Davison?  Yes, please!

Mr. Davison will be a featured guest on the next episode of Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act,” which airs September 28th and October 5th at 7:00 a.m.

Giving viewers a look inside the Davison Way to Invent, which allows the everyday people who work with Davison to turn their invention ideas into reality, Mr. Davison will share an innovative “Dare to Invent” webisode, featuring Julian, inventor of The Best Stink Bug Trap Ever.

Before showing the highly entertaining webisode, Mr. Davison will explain just how his better way to invent worked for Julian.

Just like you and me, Julian was an average, everyday person; but, Julian’s Pennsylvania home was filled with uninvited house guests… stink bugs!

He tried every bug repellent and trap on the market, but his stinky visitors continued to claim his home. That’s when Julian took matters into his own hands and even created a model stink bug trap out of a used soda bottle. Armed with his idea and his working trap, Julian came to Davison.

The Davison Creationeers quickly got to work, taking Julian’s working trap and making it more appealing to bug victims, while ensuring it was a friendly fit for company product lines.  After some intense testing, the Best Stink Bug Trap Ever was ready for production!

Congratulations to Mr. Davison, Julian and the entire Davison team for getting our minds crawling with a way to keep uninvited house guests out of our hair!

Recently, George Davison appeared on Your15Minutes Radio, which features inventors, musicians and entrepreneurs via BlogTalkRadio — the world’s largest online talk radio network with thousands of hosts representing different viewpoints and topics — to talk about Inventionland and Davison.

Host Angle Bush introduces George and Inventionland: “The company Inventionland has established a dominance as a new product and development firm that serves independent consumers and corporations to create new product ideas.

Inventionland [handles] predevelopment, development, engineering and packaging to product sample presentation. There is no other company in the world with Davison’s approach! Today, the company uses this development to produce 240 products a month. Products designed by Davison have sold in Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, Home Depot, CVS, Sears, Kmart and FAO Schwarz.”

Listen to how to develop your invention idea on BTR

“I want to talk about Inventionland. It sounds like a magical place to work,” Bush continued.

“Inventionland is really a culmination of things that happened to me as kid. I was blessed to have a very creative mother, who surrounded me with a lot of folks that were also artistic and creative, as well as business people. That saturation allowed [me] to think outside the box,” George shares.

“I have this belief; if you can inspire people and put them in a positive environment, that would help to fuel the human spirit. And today, we have about 300 people that work with us. We do tours [at Inventionland] and have about 100 to 500 children a month from our local [Pittsburgh] schools to show them how to invent and inspire them to create.”

George encourages people to do what they love and notes that human beings are “inherently creative.”

“When we’re young, people throw crayons and white pieces of paper at us and we just go at it. Then, we get older and for some reason… we think that’s just not that fun anymore.”

Davison employs people from all walks of life who are chasing their dream to be creative. “I have a lot of people who work with us who are graphic designers, photographers, backyard mechanics and engineers … find what you love and put your passion into it.”

George and Angle speak further about inventing. George gives advice, talks about successes and urges inventors to know themselves before they try to know the market. Listen to the complete interview here.

George Davison (Founder & CEO of Davison) and Sharon, inventor of the Cool Cot House (as part of her “Dare to Invent” episode), will be featured on an all-new episode of Lifetime’s “The Balancing Act.”

Mr. Davison (September 14th at 7:00 a.m.) will talk about the Davison Way to Invent and the Cool Cot House before and after the airing of Sharon’s episode of “Dare to Invent” – the webisode series that explores what can happen when everyday people work with Davison to make their invention ideas a reality.

Sharon, a small-town homemaker and self-published poet, got tired of seeing pets in stuffy, dirty doghouses or (worse yet) out in the rain, snow or sweltering sun, where there was no comfortable spot to stretch out on.

The animal lover, who often took her pet cats on walks and even camping trips, devised her own way to protect Fido, Lassie and Fluffy Kitty from bad weather and stinky shelters.

She brought her innovative idea for a comfortable, portable “tent” to Davison, where our team began working on an extreme pet home makeover that resulted in Sharon’s Cool Cot House!

Equipped with a comfortable raised pet bed that can be used indoors and out, the Cool Cot House is lightweight, portable and features a heavy-duty, water-resistant canvas cover with mesh vents to protect pets from the rain, while increasing air flow.

Congratulations to Mr. Davison, Sharon and the Davison team for blowing a cool breeze across national audiences!

Mr. Davison, along with more Dare to Invent episodes, will be featured on “The Balancing Act” in the next several months.  We will keep you updated on dates and times.

Lifetime Network’s “The Balancing Act” is America’s premier one-hour women’s morning show dedicated to creating trusted solutions for today’s woman and treats viewers to the most current and hot topics, while featuring some of the hottest celebs from the sports and entertainment industries.

The Lifetime Network can be found on the following channels:

• DirecTV Channel 252 (SD/HD)
• Dish Network Channel 108 (SD/HD)
• Available on most cable systems: Check local listings
• Verizon FiOS Channel 140 (SD); Channel 640 (HD)
• AT&T U-verse Channel 360 (SD); Channel 1360 (HD)

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

Just as we’re about ready to close the books on one of the hottest summers on record, one of the hottest new bug repellents (that Davison helped to develop packaging) has been featured in a local Pittsburgh media outlet!

AWAY Bug Repellent and the company’s founder, Phil Boxwell, (along with Dan Simbeck, Davison’s VP of Business Development and Licensing) were featured in the ”Neighborhoods” section of the Tribune Review’s “Trib LIVE.”

In the article, Boxwell helps tell the story of how AWAY came to be:

A mosquito bite led Phil Boxwell to a new business opportunity that he hopes to expand outside the Pittsburgh area.

While playing golf several years ago, Boxwell, of Aspinwall (suburb of Pittsburgh), was bit by a mosquito. That bite led to a hospital stay and the need to fend off insects. Because of previous medical issues, Boxwell couldn’t use many of the products available.

“I’m really not supposed to be putting any type of chemicals on my skin as in bug repellents,” Boxwell said.

With the help of a friend with a chemistry background, Boxwell began working to develop an alternative. The result, Away Bug Repellent, underwent testing for two summers before it reached local stores last year.

Just like we all hope 2013 takes stinkbugs and other pesky insects AWAY, Boxwell explains how he hopes the year carries AWAY into many major retailers.

Boxwell said he expects to focus on marketing full time during the next year and plans to attend trade shows to promote the products. He expects to spend a good portion of his time getting them in stores nationwide.

“It has to be non-stop, 24/7,” Boxwell said.

Boxwell also explains how part of that non-stop promotion has included enlisting Davison’s help!

Earlier this year, Boxwell began working with Davison in O’Hara Township to better market the product.

Dan Simbeck, of Davison, said the firm’s role will be to help get the product into larger stores.

They have also worked on creating new delivery systems including a door hanger and sticker that gives off the smell.

Congratulations to Boxwell, AWAY and everyone at Davison who has helped launch this innovative repellent to success! Read the entire Trib LIVE article here!

Disclaimer: This client has not realized a net profit on this product. A typical project does not get a royalty agreement, sell in stores or generate a profit.