Steve Carman began designing climbing products in 1981. After years of working for others, Steve had enough. In 1994 he founded Smiley's Climbing Equipment. In 2000 Smiley's Climbing Equipment became part of Omega Pacific Mountaineering.
The following note by Marty Karabin on the Supertopo Forum provides additional information:
"The story I heard was that Wild Country was suing Smiley's stating that their nuts were the same. Wild Country nuts are set #1-9. It was an absurd lawsuit since Smiley's nuts were a direct copy of Black Diamonds #1-13 Stoppers but were anodized. Smileys kept winning the lawsuit but Wild Country kept appealing. DMM eventually purchased Wild Country and dropped the lawsuit absurdness, but Steve ran out of money and some of the Smiley's gear then got absorbed by Omega Pacific. Shortly after, Black Diamond anodized their Stoppers."
I purchased as a pair of these. They are identical but #417 shows more wear than #416, and has some minor damage to the leash that the previous owner repaired with some duct tape.
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↑ 416: Smiley's Venom
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↑ 417: Smiley's Venom