Happy Birthoween!

Over here, we have a very special birthday!

She got a special tattoo (it says Happy Birthday!) & special earrings for her birthday, because we love her.

BUT WE LOVE YOU TOO!

So this one's for you.

(Did you see the pumpkins we made last year?)

Eye love Monsters!

If you don't feel like carving up your pumpkins but you want a halloween project, try making these little monsters!

We found the tutorial how to make them (& the photo) over at a blog called AIR-DRY-CLAY - aren't they cute?! I'm mean, SCARY!  They made these adorable monsters out of clay and then added different fasteners, like nuts, washers and grommets as EYES. What a creative and effective way of using fasteners - we love it.

I can't wait to make some - in fact, I'm off to go buy the clay NOW!

Bolt Halloween Costumes

Do you have your costume?

Why not go as a bolt.

Like this one.

Photo credit.

Here's Lady Gaga's version of a bolt.   

Photo Credit

Then of course the peppy puppy from the movie, BOLT, and his best friend Penny.

Photo Credit

BUT THEN

there are

THESE BOLTS!!!! 

Photo Credit

And one for couples (adorable, right?)

Photo Credit

Of course click here for the famous one we posted last year.

And lastly, for folks looking for simple yet horrific, how's this one?

Photo Credit (You can buy this one on Ebay!)

As for my costume, it will have a hint of flat heads in it...
but you'll have to wait and see.

Spooky Skeleton Claw

SO SCARY!!!! It's a creepy skeleton hand coming after us!

(Halloween just got exciting.)

A guy named Dan, at one of my favorite websites Instructables.com, made a giant nut & bolt skeleton hand, and - the best part - he shows YOU how to make one too!

THANKS DAN!!!!

Here's Dan being attacked by the very hand made by his hands - oh the horror!

Take a look and then LOOK OUT!  It is truly terrific.

ARGH! It's alive and it's coming to get me!

WHAT FUN!!! If you would like to weld your own skeleton hand check out the tutorial at Instructables.com. And give us a call if you don't have any carriage bolts laying around - we've got plenty!

Last thing, Dan also mentions that the hand makes a great coat rack - click here to see that.

Screwy Furniture

We found the most awesome furniture by CARLO CONTIN - all based on screws!

The photos below are from the article, which were done by Andrea Basile Studio.

Check these out!

These tables are great because you can adjust the height.

See the threads.

Awesome stool, which is also adjustable. 

More threads.

The tripod stool.

I even like the colors.

Another adjustable stool.

And a smaller version of the first adjustable stool.

A second table which - believe it or not - is also adjustable.

This photo demonstrates how the same table can have so many height possibilities.

EVEN BOOKSHELVES?!

And combos - it's just unbelievable, right?

Carlo's version of the standard table.

And this lamp - SO GREAT!!!!!!!

I'm really impressed by this furniture. It makes a lot of sense using the screw threading to make it adjustable, which makes it really versatile furniture. And it is good looking too!

Carlo Contin is brilliant.

And again below is the link to the article where I discovered it. Have a read for more info.

Article from Design Milk about Carlo Contin Screw-like Furniture

The 'Nuts & Bolts' of Graphic Design

Lots of graphic designs are inspired by our little product so I compiled a few of them I really like.

Sarah Hodgkins' silhouette

Found it: HERE

Fake but true propaganda.

Found it: HERE

Better than 'bang' there is 'crash'

Found it: HERE

"Tim Fischer reminds everyone of the importance of restraining bolts."

Found it: HERE

You know Chock full o' Nuts but do you know this one?

Found it: HERE

Lastly, Dan Brisse has a snowboarding show and it is called (drum roll)

Watch it: HERE

People are so creative.

Vikings, Gladiators, Aliens & Skulls meet Fasteners

Allow me to introduce you to the Viking...

and the Gladiator, Alien & Skull Thumb Screws

(these are wacky.)

So I guess people buy these for computer cases...I'm not really sure.

But they are all over the internet!

Do an internet search for "Themed Thumb Screws" and you can find where to buy them, like Ebay or Amazon.

I knew my industry had an infinite amount of possibilities...

but now, having themed head styles like these, our market just got a little bigger.

Am I going to have to start stocking these?!

(Maybe the viking - it's my favorite.)

Hexagon/Sexagon Shelves

 I FOUND THE GREATEST SHELVES!!!!!!!!!!

People are making shelves in the shapes of the hex (or sex) head shape.

These are just brilliant.

 Buy these at this Etsy Store

Or buy these at this Etsy Store

If I had an unlimited budget, my office walls would be lined with these - and my house!

Also, don't forget that we have an Etsy shop - take a look!

Screw City

There is a town called Rockford in Illinois and this Saturday, September 7, 2013, they are hosting this:

Do you wonder why they named it SCREW CITY when it is actually in Rockford? 

They are paying tribute to Rockford's industrial manufacturing history. Apparently they were the "Screw Capital" of the country at one time.

So what better way to pay tribute than with a beer festival.

Look at all the cool things I read at GoRockford.com that the city is responsible for,  

"The city's industrial background has produced many important and interesting inventions, among them the Nelson knitting machine, airbrush, electric brake, electric garage door opener, dollar bill changer, and electronic dartboard."

 Some fun stuff came out of Rockford.

In the 1800's Rockford was known as SCREW CITY because of  the billions of screws, bolts and fasteners its factories produced for the manufacturers of the world but do you wonder which modern city would be named SCREW CITY today?

I thought today it might be in India, Taiwan or China but not necessarily.

Despite the fact that many foreign countries have been doing a lot of the manufacturing of fasteners these days, the American fastener industry is alive and thriving.

I found an awesome article from Assembly Magazine called The Comeback of the American Fastener that wrote,

"Despite the recent economy, U.S. fastener manufacturing is quite healthy. According to the most recent IFI market data, manufacturers consumed $13.2 billion worth of industrial fasteners last year. More than two-thirds (67 percent) of those screws, nuts and bolts were produced in North America, while the remaining 33 percent were imported."

 That's great news!

I'm not sure that Rockford will ever get back in on the action but at least now they will be famous for the best named beer festival!

For more info visit:  www.ScrewCityBeerFest.com

So which city today would be named SCREW CITY...I don't know.

I tried looking up statistics but it was too hard to determine.

So I will conclude this post with some other cool Screw Cities - arrivederci people!

'Screw York City'  by Stephen Knowles - found it here.

'Screw This City' by Cloudeme - found it here.

Downloadable wallpaper by Gregor Kerle - found it here.

Our Long Eye Bolts...off they go

We sold more than a dozen of these this week to one of our construction guys, and I couldn't let them leave without getting a photo...it's like when mom & dad want a photo of their little son or daughter right before they send them off to school - do a good job, our precious, large eye bolts!

1'-8  x 12" Eye Bolt - it's a foot long - we're so proud.