FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh product designer and Art Institute graduate recently licensed a new cooking pot he designed and built to an infomercial marketing firm.
Frank Kulikowski created the Pivot Pot on his own about three years ago as a personal project. After joining Davison Design and Development in Pittsburgh, he used the design firm’s resources to design and build the pot. Davison designers are allowed to use the company’s resources and materials to build and design a personal project once a year. The Pivot Pot is a pot with a built-in strainer. It pivots on the corners, so when pasta is cooked, the pot can be tipped over a sink, draining the water and holding the pasta in place.
As a person who worked his way through Pittsburgh’s Art Institute as a cook, the idea was obvious to Kulikowski. In fact, he thought it would be perfect for restaurant use, reducing the time to prepare food. He graduated from the Art Institute in December 2005 with a degree in industrial and product design.
“I was in Kauffman’s looking at the cooking aisle,” he explained. “I just put two and two together.”
The product was licensed to Allstar Marketing, which has worked with QVC and HSN, for an advance on future royalties. When the Pivot Pot hits the market, Kulikowski will receive royalties on the project that he will share with Davison Design.
Kulikowski submitted the project to Davison Design when he first started on their award-winning design team about five months ago. He said he wanted to work on it, because he didn’t want to see the idea sit in the closet and go nowhere. What started out as the “Pasta Champ,” was later changed. He found that the design could be used for more than just pasta. He used it to steam vegetables and cook hardboiled eggs. Later it became the Pivot Pot.
“I always hoped it would be licensed, but you never know until you try,” he said.
While Kulikowski had already designed and created the initial model proving that the gravity-driven project would work, he didn’t have much else when he presented it to Davison. From there he worked on the design and other Davison team members worked on graphics, engineering and the final prototype. Davison’s licensing department then worked on presenting the project to various corporations.
“When we showed it to Allstar it was an instant ‘yes, we want it,'” said Frank Vescio, vice president of licensing for Davison.
Vescio noted that the design and simplicity of Kulikowski’s product made it easy to license.
Since 1989 Davison, Inc. has produced products for inventors and corporations. It’s a cutting-edge 110,000-square foot product design and development factory; its services include research, industrial design, virtual reality, video, animation, product samples, packaging, presentation and royalty management. Davison-designed products have been sold in stores such as Home Depot, Target, JC Penney, Linens ‘n Things, Sears, Dick’s Sporting Goods, AutoZone, The Sports Authority, FAO Schwarz, Modell’s and Dunham Sports. Learn more at www.davison.com or call 1-800-544-3327.
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