Host of Illinois Outdoors Television Show Don Dziedzina, who has been involved in the outdoors industry for nearly 35 years and has published columns in 11 weekly newspapers, three monthly outdoor magazines and one bi-weekly outdoor newspaper, recently tried Davison package designed AWAY products to keep pesky bugs at bay. What he found was nothing less than a miracle.

Don writes:

“Being in the outdoors industry for so many years I’ve come across many bug repellent options. Electronic, aerosol, creams, wipes, pump sprays and more are all on the list. And I’ve tried them all. But finally, I’ve come across one that’s simple and easy to use. No need to buy batteries and this one is okay with the environment.”

“AWAY Bug Repellent is all-natural. It comes in small packets that you can easily have in hand and use practically anywhere.”

“Deer season is upon us. Southern Illinois is where I’ve hunted and it’s still warm down there. Mosquitoes, ticks, spiders, and other things that bug you are out now. If it stays warm, they can even be seen in November. AWAY is the answer.”

“In that the ingredients are all natural, it won’t hurt your chances of getting a deer. They won’t be scared off by any unnatural smell or odor. But best of all, you won’t be swatting mosquitoes, brushing off spiders, or picking ticks off your arms, which can scare off a deer that may be out of your sight, but they can see you. This is important for deer hunting… being still.”

“Late season, early morning anglers can have a problem with skeeters, too, at this time of year. I’m in the south suburbs of Chicago and still see those pesky buggers in my back yard. AWAY has small packets that you put into a small tin. Place one or two in the boat and you’re bug free. At the end of the day, cover the can and continue to use it on your next trip. My wife still continues to use AWAY while picking the never-ending tomato crop from her garden.”

Davison package designed AWAY deters pesky bugs without spraying harmful chemicals or setting off dangerous fog bombs in your home. Specially-formulated with all-natural ingredients, AWAY is proven to keep bugs away! AWAY offers a bevy of bug-repellent products, including: Flea Pouches, Stinkbug Pouches, Moth Pouches, Bug Pouches and the Bug Repellent Tin.

The ever popular Hydro Bone has a brand new look and, in a word, it’s awesome! The Hydro Bone and Hydro Ball are now packaged in a blister pack that highlights the great features of the freezable water-soaking rubber toys. The corporate team’s goal was to visually communicate the liquid and ice aspects of the product so the consumer would instantly be able to tell what it does, said the corporate design manager. They definitely succeeded.

“It looks great,” he said. “So far it’s getting some pretty good reviews from everyone who’s seen it.”

The design was originally used on the four-pack, which went over big with retailers as well as the Hugs Pet Products, the manufacturer.

“Hugs liked it so much they asked us to put the same packaging style on all the Hugs toys,” said the manager.

The products are being shipped in the new packaging, with the distinctive blue ‘D’ on the back, to everywhere they are sold. The hydrating chew toys are sure to make tails wag wherever they are found.

“The new packaging tells a much better story of the hydro line,” said Davison’s VP of Licensing. “Great work to the design team!”

In addition to the product design, the team created the eye-catching graphics and packaging.

Congratulations to the entire team on a job well done!

Four new ‘wellness’ products for which we created all the packaging, photography and in-use shots are now selling on Walmart.com!

TheComfort Me Spa Sets and the Relaxzen 5-Motor Massage Mat with Heat are the first in a new line of more than 20 individual wellness items that we have worked on for Comfort Products, as we help the manufacturer branch out into other areas. Davison’s corporate design manager was a bit surprised when he came across the items that just went up on Walmart’s website. “It definitely was nice to stumble across them,” he said.

Although the website does not show the packaging, it does use the product images that we provided, as well as the in-use shots , which feature Davison employees.

We initially created planograms for the kits so Comfort Products could present the items to another buyer. Walmart was quick to express interest, however, and decided to first test the products on their website.

The corporate team has just received two additional new items from Comfort Products to add to the line for which we will do photography now and create the packaging later. More products in the line are sure to hit the market, and all the new products soon will be added to our product pages, as well.

“It’s a nice surprise, and it’s great to see that we continue to get more and more D’s on the market,” said Davison’s senior category director of licensing. He soon will have more good news to report about Comfort Products items with the Davison “D” that are slated to go to market next month – So stay tuned!

Davison’s quarterly company meeting was packed full of good news about the 43 new products and packaging with the Davison “D” that have gone to stores in the first quarter of 2010. “This is huge win,” said the Vice President of Licensing several times during the meeting.

He revealed 15 – 20 new products that are or soon will be selling in a wide variety of stores, including the Luma Threader and Ergo Stiletto, two more sewing tools that we redesigned for the Fons & Porter product line. The manufacturer loved our redesign, including the lighted feature on the threader, and the products are selling very well, said the VP.

A new client product, the Silicone Dessert Bar Pan, will air this summer on QVC, and it will ship in store packaging complete with the Davison “D,” as opposed to a plain brown package. We also received word that Kitchen Collections and Hobby Lobby have both placed orders for the innovative product.

The 10 car cleaning items we developed for the Helping Hands line are available for purchase and also have been presented to Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and “every big boy out there,” he said. The line also includes a product created by a client who hired us after he could not fully develop it on his own.

The fabric birdhouse and birdfeeder we designed for Hugs Pet Products are now in Menards, a chain of 250 home improvement stores in the Midwest, and they also are selling at e-tailers.

New packaging we created for products that have hit the stores include several home décor items that have been picked up by Big Lots and Belle’s — both of which are new stores for Davison. There are also 5 additional Comfort Products cushions on the shelves (3 in AutoZone and 2 in Walmart).

“This year we’re going to see a huge increase in all the packaging we’re doing for them,” the VP said. We also will have packaging “all over board” for Metro, such as pet products, home décor, housewares, silverware and storage — and we just picked up another order, with many more items headed to Davison for packaging!

“They’re happy with our work, the quick turnaround time and the quality packaging,” said the senior category director.

The best thing about creating new packaging for companies, other than the Davison “D,” is the fact we’ve created trademarked logos and a new look for the products, which provides royalties and an updated brand that communicates clearly to consumers.

“Congratulations to everyone involved with all the new products and packaging in the first quarter,” the VP told the company. “It’s a great accomplishment, and you’re going to continue to see more.”

The client’s whose products are mentioned in this post have not received a net profit.

The Petite Press mini iron, for which Davison created innovative packaging, is featured in the June issue of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, which will hit the newsstands the first week of April. The mini iron, which “packs a lot of heat for its size,” is featured under “favorite finds” on page 14 of the Better Homes and Gardens publication — which is read by more than 300,000 sewing and quilting enthusiasts! The Petite Press is for sale in Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores, A.C. Moore, Ben Franklin Crafts & Hardware, and many other retailers — Check it out!

There are 7 new cushion products in Walmart and on Davison.com for which we created the packaging — Massage Lumbar, Microsuede Seat, Ortho Mesh Back Support, Ortho Wedge Seat, Gel Seat, Simulated Leather Seat, and Neck Support. In addition, 3 more cushions will be in our packaging as soon as the old stock is used up. The 10 items complete the line of 11 Relaxzen seat cushions by Comfort Products that (with our help) knocked a competitor off the megastore’s shelves.

“I’m surprised to see them in there already,” said the corporate design manager, who found them in his local Walmart. “It’s really neat to walk down the aisle in a store and say, ‘Hey, we did that!’ It’s definitely a pay-off after the amount of work we went through in a short amount of time.”

His team presented two different styles and color combinations last year, then the buyer decided he wanted the entire aisle redone, so they redid the packages according to Walmart’s specifications. What is so unique about the packaging is the “little dude” the team created. They came up with an icon similar to the one on a vehicle’s instrument panel, which, when combined with graphics, immediately conveys the unique features of the product, such as vibration and support, so the shopper doesn’t need to spend time reading.

The wraparound packaging is “technically” Walmart’s private label, said the design manager. In addition, all the packages feature the “Relaxzen” brand logo created by a Davison graphic designer. The logo also will be used on a line of wellness products that Comfort Products is getting ready to launch, for which we also did the packaging. More news on that to come!

“Design did a really good job on the packaging,” said the senior category director in the Licensing Department.

“As usual, the team put the line together in a relatively short amount of time, and it’s great to see the products on the shelf.”

It may be cold and blustery outside, but one of the summer’s hottest items can be found for sale in the holiday edition of “Things You Never Knew Existed.” Check out the Aviva Sun Seats, for which we created the graphics and packaging. The new pool product also has been added to Davison.com … can’t wait until next summer!

The latest issue of Sky Mall once again features two familiar products we developed for our clients, the Dog Wash and the Cool Cot House. Congratulations again to our clients and all who worked on their products!

In addition, two more Aviva products for which we designed the packaging, the Rocket Toss Dart Game and the Tot Totter, have hit SkyMall’s fall online catalog. That’s two more to add to our ever-growing list in the stores… the hits just keep on coming!