Three of our creative Directors of New Products here at Davison channeled their innovative and inventive spirits to create a costume that won them the award for Best Group Costume.

Lara, Laurie Ann, and Katelynn went above and beyond to tie in their costumes to our company! As you can see in the picture below, the group dressed as a piñata + a cupcake + Peter PAN and the result was the Piñata Cupcake Pan – get it?

“We all had such a great time putting these three costumes together. We worked really hard on them during our lunch breaks throughout the week, leading up to the very last minute! Laurie Ann is so creative and is always thinking outside of the box! We couldn’t have done it without her! Katelynn came up with the idea initially and we just built on it from there. We were so excited to win and even if we didn’t win a thing, the look on Mr. D’s face was rewarding enough! “said Lara.

This sweet costume was inspired by the Mrs. Fields Bake N Stuff Cupcake pan, a product that our friends over at Inventionland designed for the Love Cooking Company. Before airing on QVC, this innovative baking product was repackaged as the Piñata Cupcake Pan!

“We had so much fun with our costumes! Katelynn and Lara were troopers working so hard during lunchtime with all of my bossiness. I agree with Lara that seeing the look on Mr. Davison’s face was priceless. The hardest part was maneuvering around in a giant cupcake,” said Laurie Ann.

Just like the Piñata Cupcake Pan made an impression on QVC viewers, so too did this costume on the judges!

“This is the third Halloween party that I’ve attended to date at Inventionland and I must admit this year was the best! Laurie Ann is so creative in the way she put together the concept of the ‘Pinata Cupcake Pan’! It was so much fun getting to work together and bring the idea to life. The look on everyone’s faces was well worth the embarrassment of walking around as a Pinata! I’m excited about next year’s challenge and, who knows, maybe it will be another costume inspired by a great product!” exclaimed Katelynn.

We must admit that this costume was pretty sweet! Congratulations Lara, Laurie Ann and Katelynn for a job well done!

Copyright Davison, 2015

The post And the Best Group Costume Award Goes to… appeared first on Davison.

Where did the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Coolest Offices Month showcase begin? None other than at our friends over at Inventionland’s creative design facility! Yes, they were featured as the first, coolest office of September!

In the write-up of “WHY WE HAVE A COOL OFFICE,” the Pittsburgh Business Times’ listing states:

“Inventionland is America’s largest invention factory, where new products are designed, engineered and packaged by creative professionals who work inside 16-unique themed sets. Ideas are conceived at the round table in the Inventalot Castle, take root inside Davy’s Treehouse, come to life inside the Animation Attic and really take off at the Inventionland Motor Speedway, just to name a few. Our innovators are inspired by the sights and sounds of a shipwrecked pirate ship, three running waterfalls, life-like trees and grass-lined sidewalks.”

What an awesome way for our friends at Inventionland to start out September! See the entire Pittsburgh Business Times’ Coolest Offices Month showcase on Inventionland here!

Copyright Davison, 2015

The post Guess Who Made the Pittsburgh Business Times’ List of the City’s Coolest Offices! appeared first on Davison.

Not only are our tails wagging for our friends at Hugs, but we’re also pretty pumped about the fact that you can clearly see our logo on the back of the Paula Deen pet food bags, too!

Though we can’t hold a candle to Paula’s cooking in the kitchen, at our creative design facility, we designed and developed the packaging for Deen’s entire dog food line!

If you’re interested in treating your pup to Paula’s recipes, she’ll start showcasing the dog food in her General Store next week. And, if you can’t wait that long, our friends at Hugs are selling it now!

Copyright Davison, 2015

The post We’re Sharing Some Dog-gone Exciting News from Paula Deen! appeared first on Davison.

This year’s National Hardware Show will take place starting tomorrow, Tuesday, May 6^th and run through Thursday, May 8th!

More than 27,000 industry professionals are expected to attend the three-day event that is being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The National Hardware Show is one of the largest industry gatherings and we are excited to say that some of our Davison-designed products will be featured at the trade show! Our products that were designed at Inventionland, such as the Bucket Bench, Compressor Keeper, Chuck A Puck, Curved Sports Bench and Garage Grate will all be featured at the Creative Outdoors booth!

Stay tuned for updates and exciting news from the National Hardware Show!

Copyright Davison 2014

The post National Hardware Show Kicks Off in Vegas Tomorrow! appeared first on Davison.

It is nothing new for our creative design facility, Inventionland, to open its doors to welcome eager young minds to tour through on a regular basis. But, it is not everyday that 250 of those eager minds meet at Inventionland to explore their ideas and share them with our Creationeers.

However, that was exactly the case for the 2013 Invention Convention, which was held at Inventionland last Friday. The event, which was sponsored by WQED’s Design Lives Here, attracted middle school students from across the region, who competed in four different inventing activities.

Those four interactive activities included the Speedy Shelter, Zip Line, Paddle Power and Invention Challenge.

During the Invention Challenge, students teamed up and pitched their own invention ideas to our CEO and Founder, Mr. Davison, and our talented cast of Creationeers, including Executive Director of Design Nathan Field, John Margolis, Jason Rogge, Nikki Egleton and Sharon George.

Mr. Davison said the event was a huge success and just the beginning of a growing partnership with WQED.

“Our partnership with WQED in the development of S.T.E.M.(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Curriculum and entertainment for our middle school children is one of our emerging initiatives. You will see our commitment grow in this area over the next few years. We have worked together for years now and the program and number of children participating is growing rapidly. It was a great convention in Inventionland, but it was difficult to pick the winner amongst all those hopeful kids. In the end, we selected one team but they all tried their best and did a great job… each and every one of them!” said Mr. Davison.

The Invention Convention was such a success that even KDKA was on the scene. The local CBS-affiliate covered the event for their Friday evening newscast.

Mr. Davison told KDKA’s Rick Dayton that “All this creativity is in these children… It’s just a matter of what we do to bring it out.”

You can also read KDKA’s story here. See more photos from the 2013 WQED Invention Convention below:

Copyright Davison 2013

The post Inventionland “Invention Convention” Makes CBS News! appeared first on Davison.

The office at the top of Bell’s International List? Our very own creative design facility, Inventionland!

Bell compared our creative wonderland to”… the barmy corporate equivalent of The Crystal Maze,” which was a popular British TV show in the 1990s.

Inventionland was among international company, too. The Telegraph article also included eccentric offices from England, Switzerland, Spain and several other countries.

Copyright Davison 2013

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10157498/Eight-offices-odder-than-Googles.html

The post UK Telegraph Ranks Inventionland “Oddest” of All! appeared first on Davison.

It’s time to get together for the sake of inventing! Inventionland is gearing up to host WQED’s Invention Convention 2013 – a day filled with invention challenges, advice from engineers and inventors and even an appearance by the cast of WGBH’s “Design Squad Nation.”

And, that’s not all. Students in grades 5-8 (and their families) are invited to the Saturday, April 6, 2013 event at Inventionland, where they can bring invention ideas, paper prototypes or models for review by Inventionland Creationeers. Students are even able to construct their own prototypes on-site.

Interested students can register for one of two sessions, which are slated from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Space is limited, so if you know a young, aspiring inventor, encourage them to attend (and to bring you, of course!)

Find out more about Invention Convention 2013 here.

The post Inventionland to Host Invention Convention 2013 – April 6th! appeared first on Davison.

The Valentine’s Day “A Sweet Gesture: Chocolate Factory of Invention” event attracted more than 420 guests to our creative wonderland, which Whirl Magazine deemed a “magnet for inventors with a dream” in their April 2013 issue, which has just hit newsstands.

“Guests reveled in the presentation and taste of fresh fruit kebabs, displayed on giant red and white polka-dotted mushrooms, with vanilla dipping sauce and real golden eggs filled with velvety cream of tomato soup. How sweet, and scrumptious,” Whirl’s writer commented.

The magazine also published a few photos from the event in their latest issue and online at whirlmagazine.com.

The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation’s event at Inventionland was also covered in the Pittsburgh Business Times’ “After Hours” section in early March.

There, Mr. and Mrs. Davison appeared with David and Laura Mabon. Ms. Mabon co-chaired the event.

Congratulations to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation on another great “A Sweet Gesture” event! We’re so glad we got to be a part of it!

The post Sweet Gesture Event at Inventionland Raises Nearly $56,000! appeared first on Davison.

Recently, KDKA’s Kristine Sorensen got a sweet taste of our creative workspace, in preparation for next Thursday’s Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation “A Sweet Gesture” fundraising event.

Sorensen’s tour aired during the CBS affiliate’s newscast last week and featured several sweet details not only about Inventionland, but also how the Foundation co-chairs asked Mr. Davison to host the Valentine’s Day event.

He explains how event organizers made up a chocolate prototype to ask him to host the Willy Wonka-themed evening.

“How do you turn down a request like that?” Mr. Davison asks.

Walking Sorensen through Inventionland’s secret bookcase-entrance, which will lead party-goers to the charity event, Mr. Davison explains how Inventionland is a creative mind-set that is meant to inspire inventors.

“This is the creative space that we dream everything up in,” says Mr. Davison.

Sorensen was quick to notice that the fantasy-like environment was much more than just a Disney-esque theme park.

“There’s a surprise at every turn… they’re creating, problem-solving, inventing – and, it’s working, based on the array of products floating through the building that are samples of real success stories,” says Sorensen.

After Sorensen interviews Mr. Davison, she speaks with the “Sweet Gesture” co-chairs, Tori Yoos and Laura Mabon, who explain how they plan to utilize the magnificent facility.

“The entire night is full of many surprises…” says Yoos.  “Everything you can imagine will be here:  food, music, drinks… activities… a fun, fun night.”

All proceeds from “A Sweet Gesture” benefit Children’s Hospital’s Family Life Fund.

The post Mr. Davison Takes Pittsburgh’s KDKA on a “Sweet” Inventionland Tour appeared first on 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.”

“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.

The post George Davison Discusses Inventing, Inventionland & Inspiring Inventors on BTR appeared first on Davison.