Those of you who are long-time Clayton Customers may have seen that we offer Eco friendly guitar picks through our site at http://www.steveclayton.com/ecopicks.php. Before now, these picks were only available with the standard Clayton Eco logo printed on them. Now we have added them to the options for custom printed guitar picks! Check it out at www.claytoncustom.com! Eco-Picks are an earth-friendly product made of a unique agricultural (non-petroleum) based polymer that is made utilizing renewable energy. Eco picks are made of a plastic that is certified compostable (BPI Certified to ASTM D6400). Now you can rock with a good sounding pick & be responsible to the earth while you do it! The custom Eco Picks are available in two colors; white and natural, and can be printed with any colors on one or two sides. They come in a standard shape and medium (.80mm) gauge. Shown to the left is an example of the natural colored Eco pick with a custom design. Order your own custom Eco picks today!

As many of you already know, Bret Michaels is one of our featured endorsed artists. Bret Michaels started his career as the lead singer of the metal band Poisen. He also starred in the hit shows, Rock of Love with Bret Michaels , its sequels, and was the winning contestant on NBC’s reality show Celebrity Apprentice 3. He now tours the country with The Bret Michaels Band, and we were lucky enough to have him appear in our home of the Rogue Valley in Oregon! Needless to say, the Clayton team made it a priority to go to his concert and meet him in person. All of us had a fabulous time watching Bret, and his band members Dirty Ray and Pete Evick who we also supply guitar picks for. They put on a rockin’ show and we had the opportunity to meet him and take a photo after the concert was over. A big thanks to Bret, Ray, and Pete and other members of the band and tour group. We love working with you!!

Bret has charismatic stage presence that delights the audience

Backup vocalist and guitarist Pete Evick sings his heart out

Members of the Clayton team, along with friends and family, pose for a group shot with The Bret Michaels Band

Last week we had a Facebook contest to share your band’s story on our blog, the winner was Aaron from Story of a Ghost ! Story of a ghost began their musical journey from the release of their single “Akimbo”, based loosely on the May 22 2011 tornado. Akimbo, was recorded in their home town of Joplin, Mo by producer Jerrod Naff, at Zombielife Studios. It has been featured on radio stations in their home state, as well as on the 2011 compilation cd for magazine, “The Dead Timez”. They are currently in the studio working on their self-titled e.p “Story of a ghost” that is expected for release on ITUNES and AmazonMP3 in early 2012. A national tour for 2012 is definitely in the works. (Bio)      links: www.reverbnation.com/storyofaghost

This week’s Pick of the Week was created for a unique band known as the Warrior Spirit Band. “They are the first all wounded warrior band in the US. Their mission is to bring awareness to various disabilities our veterans and soldiers face once they come home after war. They use music as a healing tool and a way to tell their stories of the experiences they had during combat and the struggles they have faced since coming home. Their goal is to make sure that every veteran that has a disability knows that there is help….and giving up is never an option! The Warrior Spirit band has the potential to do so much for our men and women of the armed forces that have sacrificed their ability to lead a normal life after being wounded or disabled in a combat zone. Warrior Spirit will help bring selected veterans outreach programs into the spotlight and will raise awareness of the struggles that our service men and women go through upon returning home and re-acclimating to a normal life.” Find out more about this amazing group at http://www.warriorspiritband.com/ Warrior Spirit Band’s picks were made on our white pearl material, which gives their logo an awesome 3-D effect and makes the gradient in the text really pop. Order your own custom guitar picks today at www.claytoncustom.com. And, if you are ordering custom picks as a holiday gift, hurry up!! Time is running out!!

Hey Clayton fans!! This week only, we are running a special on our custom guitar picks! We are offering free shipping on your order, to anywhere in the US, along with a free pack of our Eco-Picks (for both international and domestic orders). Our Eco-Picks are made from environmentally friendly material, and are certified compostable…in addition to being professional quality and producing an awesome sound. All you need to do to take advantage of this offer is to enter the code ECO897 when placing your order through our website at www.claytoncustom.com. Be sure to put all letters in capitals, and have no spaces when entering the code. This sale only goes through August 30th, so don’t wait to place your order!

The sale is ON for custom picks! Starting on July 18th, we launched our Sizzling Summer Sale for 15% off any order for custom guitar picks from Steve Clayton! The sale will continue through July 25th, so there are only five days left to place your order! We offer custom printed guitar picks in a huge variety of materials, shapes and gauges. All you need to do is visit www.claytoncustom.com to create the design for your picks. Once the design is saved in your Clayton account, you may click on the “Order Pick” button to place your order directly through our site. The order process will prompt you for a promo code, and if you enter in the code SIZL9, you will automatically receive your 15% discount!! Also, be sure to check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/claytonUSA. Don’t wait until the last minute…create your design today!

During the past week, we have had the opportunity to make custom guitar picks to promote an awesome cause. We are excited about this organization, and we are so glad that they chose us to help support them! The Save the Ta-tas® Foundation and ta-tas® Brand was created by clothing designer Julia Fikse as a way to fight breast cancer using laughter and fun as a way to fight a serious disease. Her playful line of t-shirts and accessories include messages such as “save the ta-tas” and “friends don’t let friends lose ta-tas.”  Her messages of hope and humor have reached thousands of victims and survivors of breast cancer and have helped them to fight the disease with both strength and courage. ta-tas® Brand, which was started in 2004, donates 5% of gross sales year around to fight cancer. This is a unique, high and very risky commitment. They realize that women and families need support NOW so they also have an annual scholarship contest, support the Revlon Run Walk for Women and donate product year-round to independent fundraisers so others can raise funds for their favorite cancer charity. For more information, please visit www.savethetatas.com. The Save the Ta-tas picks were created, appropriately, on our pink delrin picks. To design your own custom guitar picks, visit www.claytoncustom.com today!

We are very excited to announce the launching of our new site created specifically for wedding guitar picks!! We have found that wedding picks are very popular, so we decided to make a site to help guide brides and grooms through the process of ordering custom guitar picks for the big day, and to provide examples of how guitar picks have been used by other customers for their weddings. To check out the site, visit http://www.customweddingpicks.com/. Be sure to click on the “Ideas”

section to see some examples of wedding pick designs, and photos of the picks actually being used! For more information about ordering custom guitar picks for your wedding, contact us at weddingpicks@steveclayton.com!

Recently, Clayton USA, Inc. has had the opportunity to contribute to a wonderful charity organization called Pick with Austin. Pick with Austin is a nonprofit corporation that operates in the memory of Texas teen guitarist, Alan Carter Villaruz-Curley. The purpose of the organization is to help elevate a community awareness and to educate the people about a growing epidemic of youth depression and suicide. They use Alan’s Gift of Music to enhance this awareness while providing donated guitars to kids and teens in hospitals, in youth groups and ministries, and/or those whom have been identified in some way of being potentially “at risk” of depression. On February 4th, Pick With Austin made a large presentation of donated guitars to the Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas, along with custom guitar picks made by Clayton. The media coverage of this event helped to support the charity, and the donations went to sick children, and kids undergoing chemo therapy. Shown below are some images of the picks and the event:

Be sure to check out these broadcasts of Clatyon involvement with Pick with Austin:

http://pickwithaustin.com/clayton.htm http://pickwithaustin.wordpress.com/

To find out more about Pick with Austin and how to donate, visit their site at http://www.PickWithAustin.com. It is truly an amazing organization that deserves our support!!

As you know, this year’s record-setting NAMM was an exciting time for Clayton and our endorsed artists. After the show was over, a final closing video was created to review this major yearly event. We are proud to announce that two of Clayton, Inc.’s endorsed artists, BooBoo Stewart and Kyle Gass, were chosen to speak for this important public service announcement. Be sure to check out the video entitled “NAMM Show: That’s a Wrap!” at http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2011 to get all of the highlights!!