This furniture is nuts!

Both of my sisters moved this month to new homes and I've been looking for gifts and furniture to get them - things new homes need - and I came across these! Imagine the look of shock and surprise I will find on their faces when I show up at the house warmings toting these along!

It's a sculpture and a table - I think they are so great!

This one is a stool, although I might use it as an end table.  And I read that it DOES unscrew! IT'S BEAUTIFUL!

They were designed by Peter Bingham and Charlie Heyward from the Steneby School at the University of Gothenburg.  I don't know who took the photos but there are more if you go HERE.

My sisters are going to need coasters too - I'll get these from etsy for them!

What a stud!

We sell studs. These are studs.

But the real stud is the guy who gets his hands dirty handling the studs...although we like to call him Studmuffin.

Fathers & Fasteners

Father's Day is this Sunday and I found the perfect gift for my dad!

Nuts & Bolts ~ The Cologne & Aftershave

Unfortunately I don't think it is made anymore but check it out; read about how cool of a gift it once was.

I found the following information from: Cleopatra's Boudoir

Photos by www.Vignelli.com

"From 1969 to about 1972, a man could get an unusual cologne called Nuts & Bolts, manufactured by the Colton Company who also made the Nine Flags and My Islands colognes.

The bottles for Nuts and Bolts were designed by Massimo Vignelli.

From a1969 newspaper ad : "Nuts and Bolts cologne and after shave lotion are two items in a new line from the Colton Company. The spicy fragrances come in orange glass and plastic nuts and bolts bottles".

Another 1969 ad reads "NUTS AND BOLTS What a nutty idea, it's about time someone came up with a line of grooming aids for the rugged individualist. Now there's NUTS AND BOLT. Five new super-virile products which come in man sized orange nuts and bolts containers. There's just about every grooming aid a man needs to make him feel like a man. A vigorous Cologne...a zesty After Shave...a biteless After Shave Conditioner...a strong-arm Deodorant Stick...and a couple of rousing Nut Shaped Soaps that help prevent bacteria odor..Available separately or any of three gift combinations. NUTS AND BOLTS from $2.50 to $9.50"

Photos by www.Vignelli.com

Hey Dad,                                                

Happy Father's Day!

Photos of Venus...from Freeway

Here's where all the action was!

It was fun and interesting...

but really hard to see.

Here's our attempt at photographing our sister planet...it's there somewhere

The Transit of Venus...at Freeway

Freeway is prepared for the Transit of Venus - we've got our Eclipse Shades to stare at the sun.

This has nothing to do with fasteners but it is happening while we're at work - and it's super special! It won't happen again until 2117. So today's blog is about the Transit of Venus!

I am going to try and take photos - we've got glasses and the sky is clear - come on Venus!

A Mammoth Memorial Day

There is so much to see when you road trip to Mammoth Mountain.

This was in Pearsonville - you drive through it on the 395 heading to Mammoth.

Apparently they have a lot of hub caps but I only noticed one thing on this thing.

Nuts & Bolts! DO YOU SEE HOW MANY ARE ON HERE?!

Little ones, big ones & bigger ones...breathtaking.

And this is the gondola ride that takes you to the top of Mammoth Mt.

Those are the gondolas...

being held down (or up) by these massive rusty beauties!

Even on the inside...

nuts & bolts are holding it all together...

making it all possible to see this view! Truly breathtaking.

Then this guy walked by - his t-shirt was nutty (and bolty!)

And I discovered Mountain Hard Wear.

Both their name & logo caught my eye.

Lastly, driving the long distance gave me plenty of time to think about how wonderful it is to see beautiful landscapes, to feel safe and to spend time away. It was the perfect time to remember a lot of men & women have fallen in service so that I could enjoy all of this.  I am super appreciative and I will do my best to live a life worthy of their efforts...a moment of remembrance is so little for what they gave for us.  I hope everyone had a memorial Memorial Day weekend.

Old School Women in the Fastener Industry

20 acres of land are up for sale in Gary, Indiana where the Screw & Bolt Company was located. This company opened its doors in 1912 and lasted until 1986.  Thanks to the property going up for sale, and the archivists at Ancestry.com, we get to see some of the coolest old photos of people selling nuts & bolts - just like we do but decades ago!  Take a look at these photos. (The historical images below of the Gary Screw & Bolt Company are from the Calumet Regional Archives, Indiana University Northwest. The photos were taken in 1956.)

Due to the war, women filled the warehouses! They packed, weighed and labeled everything.

I pose with my product too!
"Big or Small - we have it all."

And look at those old kegs made of wood.

From an article in the Chicago Sun Times about the Gary Screw & Bolt Company:

"One of the city’s biggest employers, the plant opened in 1912. During World War II, it became a significant defense contractor, producing 4,000 tons of bolts, nuts and rivets, rods and fasteners. By the mid-1950s, the plant employed about 900 workers. It fell upon hard economic times in the 1980s and closed in 1986."

That's their history in a nutshell (the other kind of nut.)

Our 1 Year Anniversary

Today - May 16th - marks a year of blogging - hooray!

In honor of making a full year of content we're celebrating with cake.

Check out these awesome cakes with nuts & bolts that I found online.*

We found this cake at offbeatbride.com - we love it of course!

Adorable fondant Nuts & Bolts on this Robot Cake

Happy Anniversary to US!!!

And thanks for reading people. 

(Ben & Chad, we're talking to youz.)

* I can't remember where I found the first three photos so if they are yours - tell me and I'll credit you!


Caine's Arcade

This is one of the best videos I've seen go viral in a while.  The video is the story of a little boy named Caine who starts his own business - an arcade.  This little guy embodies all the things that we consider important values to a successful business and a happy & healthy life - passion, hardwork, dedication and imagination.  These are things we strive for and he presents them so purely that we were touched deeply. What he does with an 'S' hook brought me to tears! (Kudos to Nirvan Mullick too for making this and sharing it with us.)  ENJOY!

I left my bolts in San Francisco!

San Francisco is such a cool city but while I was there over the weekend I saw some of the coolest fastener stuff too.

At the Urban Outfitters store I fell in love with their staircase. I know they sell cool but even the way they used fasteners was awesome.  Look how they show off the acorn nuts - cool, right?!

On the BART (the Bay Area Rapid Transit) I saw something rare.

This is the inside of the BART

On the bars I saw a drive called a 'ONE WAY' - which you don't see every day!

And at the Academy of Science I saw this guy!

Talk about cool - an albino alligator!
Nothing to do with fasteners but I was rivetted!