Our client, Ed, loves his dog. But like many dog owners, he has had to tether his canine companion outdoors at times. Usually, it was just a matter of time before the chain or cable would knock over the dog’s food and water bowls as his pet ran around. Sure, the food could be eaten off the ground, but the water would soak into the soil or evaporate, leaving his dog thirsty … no wonder dogs bark when tethered outdoors for any length of time!

Thanks to Ed, this unhappy scenario is a thing of the past.

The retiree from Michigan had an idea for a better way to tether a dog — a stake that sits below ground level, so people and pets don’t trip over it and you never have to move it out of the way to mow the lawn. Ed came to Davison to develop his idea, and now the Better Tether is headed to the market so it can benefit countless dogs and the people who love them.

“I’m really proud I invented a more humane way to tie up your pet outside,” Ed said during his visit to Inventionland. He and Mr. Davison had a great meeting getting to know each other and discussing the Better Tether.

“It was such a pleasure meeting Ed,” said Mr. Davison. “He’s a great guy, and has a real heart for animals.”

The Better Tether wasn’t Ed’s first idea for a new product. Several years ago, he came up with a new tool attachment. He had it built and he even used it in his work. He thought others could also benefit from his invention. The inventor wanted to try to get his product to the market, but he listened to someone who told him it would never be a success.

You guessed it — a while later Ed saw his idea sitting on a store shelf after it was brought to market by someone else. Ed vowed to never let that happen again. When he got the idea for the Better Tether, he was determined to not listen to negative people. Ed chose Davison to develop his idea because he thought the company “sounded more professional.” As we were showing the Better Tether at trade shows, a buyer commented about the problem of tethered dogs always knocking over their bowls. Our corporate team took the porous cup on the top of the post that was designed to go into the ground and expanded and sealed it so it could hold food and water that could never be spilled.

“When we went back to the manufacturer and buyer, they loved it,” said Mr. Davison. “Everyone is loving this product and orders are flying in.”

Ed’s director explained why we made the changes, and he fully understood, said the vice president of new products. “He put his trust in us and let us do what we know how to do best. Obviously, he’s thrilled with his design at this point.”

Most of all, Ed was extremely happy that his product was improved to benefit the lives of dogs. He thought his design was “perfect,” and he connected with his director who thoroughly explained the process and made him feel comfortable. The 80-year-old retiree was “extremely passionate” about pursuing his dream. His friends and family were doubtful, however, and they told him so.

“People told me, ‘Edward you’re dreaming.’ Well, let me dream! This is what I want to do and I think they can put it out there for me,” he would reply.

But it didn’t happen overnight. Even when it was turned down by two other companies before getting licensed, Ed never lost faith in his idea or in Davison…

Check out Part 2 of Ed’s story — there’s so much good stuff we just couldn’t fit it all into one!

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

Many people know that Thomas Jefferson was the 3^rd president of the United States, the author of the Declaration of Independence and the founder of the University of Virginia, but not everyone associates him with being a successful inventor.

Jefferson created many well-known inventions such as the polygraph, the pedometer and the hideaway bed. Some of his most interesting inventions; however, are perhaps those that few have heard about. Check out a few of these inventions that are on display at the Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Moldboard of Least Resistance — A moldboard is the curved part of a plow that turns over the soil. Jefferson designed it so that it was light enough to be pulled by two small horses or mules with little effort. Because this was such a revolutionary invention at the time, France’s Society of Agriculture awarded him a gold metal for the design.

The Great Clock — This innovative clock was powered by two sets of cannonball-like weights that were eighteen pounds each. These weights drove its ticking noise and the gong that sound on the roof. The clock also revealed each day of the week and was wound every Sunday with a key to restart its weekly cycle. The Great Clock was designed by Jefferson; however, we must credit Peter Spruck for its development.

Spherical Sundial — Although original sundials are thought to have originated around 3500 B.C.,  Jefferson is credited to inventing the first spherical sundial — which was considered a novelty in its time. The horizontal lines were drawn for the Tropic of Cancer, the Equator, and the Tropic of Capricorn. The vertical lines that extended from tropic to tropic represented the hours of the day — indicated by Roman numerals below the Tropic of Capricorn.

There is no doubt that Jefferson was a president that strived on innovation — his own inventions are great indicators of his this. There is no better time than on his birthday to recognize how important his life and accomplishments were to both the U.S. and the rest of the world.

 

 

Women all over the world unite during March to celebrate National Women’s History Month. Throughout history, women have made significant contributions to innovation. Many products that we commonly use today, such as windshield wipers, the circular saw, hydrometer and liquid paper, were invented by women.

At Davison, we’ve come to realize that the best inventors are just everyday people who have found a solution to a problem in their routine tasks – like female inventor, Bette Nesmith Graham.

Bette Nesmith-Graham — Liquid Paper

Bette was an executive secretary in Dallas who was often frustrated by the fact that one simple typing error resulted in having to retype the entire document. As an inspiring artist, Bette found inspiration in the way painters correct their mistakes by simply painting over them. She thought the same theory could apply to her typing, so one day she took a bottle of her white tempera water-based paint and a paintbrush with her to work. Not long after, other secretaries in her office began asking for her mistake correcting liquid.

Eventually, Bette realized her creation could help typists like her around the country. She turned to her son’s high school chemistry teacher for helping developing a more suitable substance. In 1956, Bette sought help from friends and family to bottle and sell the product which was then called “Mistake Out.” By 1967, Bette’s invention was renamed “Liquid Paper” and had turned into a million-dollar business.

——————————————————————————

It’s women inventors like Bette who are truly inspirational. They are ordinary people with extraordinary ideas. Davison has helped several women inventors just like her. Below are three stories of everyday women who had an idea and came to us for help developing it into a product.

Jean — The Meatball Baker

Jean wanted an easier and healthier way to cook meatballs. She came to us with the idea and we helped her design it. In 2008, Jean received the good news that her idea was licensed by Xtraordinary Home Products. The  Meatball Baker sold out in the first half hour of its debut on QVC. Since then, the Meatball Baker has sold in Bed Bath & Beyond, A.C. Moore, Avon, Sky Mall and many online retailers.

Sharon — The Cool Cot House

Sharon often went camping and wanted a comfortable, convenient shelter for her pets to use. She could not find a product currently on the market that would solve this problem, so she decided to invent it herself. The finished product, the Cool Cot House, features a water-resistant tent with a vented roof, raised bed and mesh cot designed to keep dogs and cats cool and dry. In 2010, Sharon shared her inventing story on Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act” alongside Davison CEO, George Davison, and the president of Hugs Pet Products — the company that licensed the Cool Cot House.

Joy — The Party Traveler

Joy loved going to get-togethers, but always had a problem transporting the deviled eggs she prepared from her house to the party. She searched for proper containers in stores and came back empty handed. After coming to us for help designing the product, it was licensed by a company looking for new items in their line of functionally unique housewares. The Party Traveler transports not only deviled eggs, but also a variety of other foods, including cupcakes and veggies, in a neat and easy-to-carry tray.

At Davison, we are very proud of these women and their inventions and we look forward to more female inventors and innovative products in the future.

Choosing the best “Rube Goldberg Machine” built by local high school students at the Chain Reaction Contraption Contest at Carnegie Science Center was not easy, but Davison’s VP of Design, Pete, and designer, Clay, were up to the task. They chose the “Gator Vendomator” created by a team from Gateway High School to win the “What Will You Create?” award sponsored by Davison. The contraption made change for a dollar bill in 22 steps using a series of levers.

“It was a really neat machine, with a lot of complicated mechanisms,” said Pete. “If they could automatically reset it, people would be putting dollars into it all day long.”

For winning the award, the winning team and their honors physics classmates were given a tour of Davison’s unique design facility, Inventionland. Gifted coordinator, Jim, thought it was “a once in a lifetime experience” for his students, who “like to think outside the box,” to see how engineering and creativity go hand in hand.

“This is a perfect example of engineering and creativity coming together; I’ve always encouraged that.”

The teacher was hoping his students would be inspired by the visit to pursue their interests in the field of engineering and science; he also thought seeing that they don’t necessarily have to work in a dull office would encourage them.

“Students associate engineering with sitting in an office doing boring work; seeing a place that looks like this can alter their perception,” said Jim. “And having a place like this in Pittsburgh – it’s a treasure, and it’s appropriate because of Pittsburgh’s history of inventing.”

Several students in the class are interested in engineering and “a number of them are just extremely creative. They tend to attack a problem from a different level,” said Lynn, gifted coordinator.

“When we opened up the tour many of them jumped at the chance to come. Having these opportunities out there in the work force, not just the standard engineering job, is inspiring for them — especially in Western Pennsylvania,” she continued. “To have it so close to home and to have the opportunity to see it is an inspiration for the kids to pursue something like this.”

Pete is looking forward to seeing more inventive creations and “chain reaction contraptions” at the next Carnegie Science Center competition — It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.

“It’s really neat to see the inventions of young people. There was a lot of competition this year,” Pete said. “Every year it gets better and better.”

The Silicone Dessert Bar Pan had its big QVC debut this week, and it appears to have done very well. Popular host Chris Freytag presented the product during the “Kitchen Unlimited with Carolyn” show. Chris loved the fact the pan remains cool to the touch and the treats pop right out. The fitness guru also added a ‘healthy eating angle’ to the product and even included a collection of her own recipes for healthy treats!

“That was pretty cool,” said Joseph, the inventor of the 2010 Davison Product of the Year. “I thought the presentation was very good, and that was very nice of Chris Freytag to include the recipes … She did a super job; I don’t think they could have done a better job with it.”

The presentation showed a pan of the treat that inspired his idea, chewy-edge brownies, as well as many other sweet and savory baked goods, including cornbread, quiche, gingerbread, carrot cake, macaroni and cheese loaves, and mini meatloaves.

Our client also liked the new product colors – blue and red. He even called to order a set of pans for his wife, Rhonda, a nurse, so she could give them as gifts to her aides at work. The QVC personnel he spoke with told him that the pan “did very well.” Hopefully we’ll learn just how well in the coming days, so stay tuned!

Click on the button above, then on the arrow to see the video presentation on QVC.com; and spread the word about this awesome new product that would make a wonderful gift for the bakers on anyone’s Christmas list!

This week marks the 21st anniversary of Davison Design and Development, which was officially incorporated on December 8, 1989. Davison had its beginnings in George Davison’s grandfather’s basement in the late 1980’s. While the date marks 21 years in business, Davison and a committed group of creative people spent several years prior to that making the company the success it is today. To mark this momentous day in our history, let’s take a look back at what was happening at that time.

Some of the top songs in early December 1989 were Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and Milli Vanilli’s “Blame It on the Rain.” The War of the Roses starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny Devito, and She-Devil starring Meryl Streep, Ed Begley, Jr. and Roseanne were both released on December 8, 1989. Two other notable films around that time include Driving Miss Daisy, which went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture of 1989 and the holiday classic National Lampoons Christmas Vacation starring Chevy Chase.

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on December 8, 1989. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New York Jets 13-0 on December 10th, improving their record to 7-7. And in the news, on December 3, 1989, less than one month after the fall of the Berlin Wall, U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev released statements indicating that the Cold War between their nations may be coming to an end.

Davison Design and Development shares its December 8th birthday with the following people: Eli Whitney (Inventor of the Cotton Gin – 1765); Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925); Nick Nolte (1940); Sinead O’Connor (1966); Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers QB -1981) and Drew Doughty who plays in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings, who was born on Dec. 8th, 1989. Here’s to 21 years as a company! Thanks to everyone who has contributed over the years to help make this company such a success!

The BikeBoard

We are happy to announce the premier of “How’s That Invented!” In these video blog posts, Davison designers show and explain how many of our products were invented – from concept to finished product on the store shelf. In this first installment, viewers will see how the popular BikeBoard came to life using our unique 9-step process, as well as how some hurdles were overcome along the way so the product could “carve” out a path to success.

So take a few minutes and enjoy the show!

We hope you enjoyed this installment of ‘How’s that Invented.’ We have recently re-evaluated this web series and decided to make it bigger and better! Please check back soon for our new series. Use the form on the right to sign up and get our blog posts via email. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed and updated information will be automatically downloaded to your computer.

The good news about the Silicone Dessert Bar Pan, which we developed for our client, Joseph, just keeps coming in. The manufacturer reported that the pan is “selling very well at retail.” The product will be featured on QVC in October, and it is already in a “full roll out” at Hobby Lobby, Kitchen Collections, Brylane Home, Miles Kimball, Bimart and it was just picked up by Bed, Bath & Beyond! Versions of the pan for holiday-themed treats are also in the works for next year — And to think it all started with a husband who likes chewy brownies! 

Inventor’s Story:
Joseph has always loved brownies with a chewy edge, so much so that he used to slice a pan of brownies before it was finished baking so all the squares would have edges. His wife did not appreciate that and told him so. “She yelled at me,” he recalls, laughing.

The EMS pilot wondered if he could invent an “all edge” brownie pan to keep peace in the family and give him a whole pan full of chewy brownies. He first came up with the idea about 20 years ago when he was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps. A fellow Marine and friend had spent a “huge amount of money” patenting a new product idea, however, so Joseph didn’t think developing his was an option. He thought that was just the way it was done.

“I really didn’t have any desire (to pursue it) because of what I perceived about the cost,” he said. Several years later, however, he submitted his idea to Davison, and the work began. “They did some modifications to my pan design which I actually thought was an improvement.”

In October, his product will air on QVC, the nation’s most popular home shopping network. In addition, the manufacturer is expanding the product to an entire line of silicone bakeware for holiday-themed treats, including pans for Valentine’s Day and Easter, which will hit the stores in early 2011! Variations for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are also in the works.

During the design process, the product evolved from a metal pan to silicone bakeware that remains cool to the touch and bends for easy removal of items after baking; a rigid frame molded into the perimeter makes the pan safe to carry. The 12 candy-bar shaped molds can be filled with brownie batter, Rice Krispie treats, cookie dough, and more – and all the treats come out with four chewy edges.

It took about three years to find a manufacturer, but the first-time inventor decided to keep going, despite the setbacks. 

“It is an emotional roller coaster; up and down,” said Joseph, who can’t wait to see his product on national TV.

“Joseph had his share of struggles along the way, but he never gave up,” said George Davison. “We couldn’t be happier for him and his family.”

Joseph’s father, also a Marine veteran, thought he was a bit foolish for pursuing and investing in his idea over the years; then his son gave him a box from Davison with his packaged product inside.

Joseph recalls, “When he saw the pan and after I told him it would be in stores and on QVC he was quite surprised, and he did change his tone!”

 The client has not realized a net profit on his product.

 As National Inventors’ Month winds down, we continue to celebrate the inventive and creative spirit of inventors who dream of ways to improve the world and then make their dreams a reality, overcoming many obstacles along the way. Their efforts have enriched the lives of millions throughout history and will continue to do so into the future. We pay tribute this month to inventors who relentlessly pursue their dreams, including our clients, several of whom have seen their dreams become reality in the past year. Joy, Jean, Gary and Sharon are just a few who are reaping the rewards of their efforts, while consumers benefit from their inventiveness and determination. Here’s to all of the inventors out there who don’t give up on their dreams! 

Let’s take a look back at some of their stories: 

Our client, Joy, whose Party on the Go was a big hit on QVC, got a wonderful surprise when Mr. Davison and his team visited her in her Colorado hometown to celebrate her success. Joy’s first royalty check was hidden in a Party on the Go platter at a festive picnic held in her honor at Colorado National Monument Park. Read more…  

Our client, Sharon, was featured on ABC affiliate, KXLY, as well as in her hometown newspaper. She described how she came up with her new product idea and told of her amazing visit to Davison. The wife, mother and entrepreneur learned her invention was already selling in Sky Mall and saw the packaged product for the first time during a visit to Inventionland, where her new product was developed. Read more…

Our client, Jean, visited us so we could celebrate her success. At a delicious dinner held in Inventionland of spaghetti and meatballs (prepared in the Meatball Baker), she was presented with a gleaming covered tray that concealed a large royalty check. Jean responded with shock, amazement and tears of joy. Read more…

Our client, Gary, was blown away when he found out his pet care invention, the Dog Wash, was selling in Sky Mall. The sprinkler installer got the great news as an invited guest to Davison in Pittsburgh, PA, where his idea was developed. During a visit to Inventionland, he saw the packaged product for the first time and learned it was already on the market. Read more… 

We look forward to surprising many more of our clients with good news in the future!

The typical new product is not licensed, sold in stores or profitable.

A revealing new book about many celebrated innovators of historic and modern times and some of their not so celebrated inventions includes chapters on Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, George Washington Carver – and George Davison.

The book features “tales of independent inventors and their struggles” and examines their successes, as well as inventions that never got off the ground. All were created, however, by “great inventors who have, or are thought to have, made a significant contribution to society.”

A chapter devoted to Mr. Davison explores some of his successes and challenges, as well as his greatest invention — the methodology that makes inventing affordable to the everyday person. 

“The book is a lesson in determination; you follow your dreams regardless of what other people say,” said Mr. Davison. “It’s a good thing you do, otherwise we’d have no commerce in this country; we’d have no country at all.”

Read the full press release posted on the Davison Newsroom. To find out more about the book, go to www.concretepiano.com.