CH, I am sorry I am entering late. As you see here, my ideas are fresh and different. I have been copied constantly, and have not found the "secret" yet for entering these contests. I will keep trying, but for now, I believe this logo speaks for itself, (isn't that what you want?) Enjoy !
Thanks for joining my contest. Unfortunately, the "nuts and bolts" idea does not work for me. I don't want to waste your time and talent - I'm very close to choosing a winner based on existing submissions.
Appreciate your contribution,
-- David
p.s. As a marketing guy myself, I understand about your issue over being copied -- but still it might make sense to enter contests earlier in the process and establish a good relationship with the CH via comments so you can build ideas together. That way. even when you're copied, the CH knows YOU are the one listening, communicating back, and revising according to their specific directions. Even in this contest, I mostly ignored the copycat designers and had great dialogue with 2-3 designers who were in it from the start despite their designs being copied and "borrowed" by later entries from other folks. Hope that helps!!