Woodworker West (July-August, 2013)

Mesquite, TX received $91,542 for Artisan Dice, crafted from
various woods (including 50,000 year old ancient Kauri
wood), and $291,920 for Polyhedral Sided Dice, made from a
variety of exotic species.
Michael Woods of Mountain View, CA attracted the greatest
number of backers among the woodworkers with 1,876
people funding $96,248 for a snap-together model Trebuchet.
This Middle Age catapult is billed as “perfect for office
warfare or annoying your roommate!” and almost all the
contributors wanted one.
Kickstarter also has been used to raise money for educational
ventures. Woodworkers’ Clubhouse in Buffalo,
NY is an open access community wood shop that offers
educational classes. This organization sought funding in
2012 to bring their space into building code compliance and
purchase tools. The goal of $5,000 was met by 39 backers to
total $6,448. Premiums included crafted gift items and club
memberships.
Grain Surfboards of Maine, the “most experienced builder
of hollow wood boards,” sought $38,500 “to share the
rewards and the fun of building wooden surfboards” to the
West Coast. Their objective was to purchase, customize,
and equip a truck into a mobile classroom to offer workshops,
as they drove up Pacific Coast Highway, probably
surfing the entire way. During their 30-day window, they
did attract 474 backers to the tune of $43,184, with offers of
various promotional items and instructional lessons.
Finally, there is C.C. Boyce. She came to Los Angeles for an
acting career, and now, she is getting a Fine Woodworking and
Cabinet Maker certificate from El Camino College in Torrance,
CA. Her concept is Would You Woodwork?; a comedic,
instructional woodworking web series, giving very basic
information about different equipment in the woodshop.
Obviously, she’s already developed an audience for her
show, since she surpassed her goal of $7,500 with contributions
from 153 people. And within two months of funding,
she shot video for four different programs, covering the
band saw, planer, vertical belt sander, drill press, table saw,
and the lathe. “I think some people on the crew became
converts; the make-up artist turned her own pen on the
lathe before she left! I think these videos are going to do
what I wanted them to do, which is take the mystery out
of the woodshop and show people than anyone can do it,
and it’s fun!” Editting is almost complete, with a target of
July for posting them on the Internet. You can follow C.C.’s
adventures in woodworking on her blog: few-bits.com.
NOt ALL ARe wINNeRs
This is not to say Kickstarter is the home of free money, as
there are plenty of proposals that did not achieve funding.
However, it is a potential avenue to get a business or project
going or a way to gain market visibility and gather pre-sale
orders. There are also a number of websites emerging with
strategies of how to best achieve success on this service. If
you haven’t yet, its worth taking a look at www.kickstarter.
com.
Artisan Dice
and Polyhedral
Sided Dice by
Charlie
Brumfield
Michael Woods’ Trebuchet, 16" tall, made of 1 /8" Baltic Birch
plywood.
C.C. Boyce of Los Angeles utilized Kickstarter to underwrite a web
video series Would You Woodwork?, a comedic, instructional look
covering a variety of woodworking equipment.
July-August, 2013 Woodworker West Page 41