range. David Allred of Salt Lake City, UT funds each series of pens in separate requests. Last Fall, he set a goal of $500 for Handcrafted Pens Made from Exotic Woods and received $3,700 in support. In the Spring, he raised the goal to $1,500 for Handmade Pens Made from Australian Woods, and he received $6,485 in pledges. Since all these pledgers seem to have received pens as premiums, it looks like David uses Kickstarter as a retail outlet. Tom Casper of Kettering, OH seems to have done the best in this category, collecting $11,529 from 162 supporters for his pens made from Oak Barrels used to age Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Makers Mark, or Wild Turkey.
Tom Casper’s pens made from Oak Barrels used to age Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Makers Mark, and Wild Turkey.
An item of growing interest from several producers are wood coverings for electronics, such as iPhones and iPads. There is also a studio out of Brooklyn, NY that received nearly $15,000 for MacBook and Apple computer keyboards with keys made from Rosewood and Bamboo. David Laituri of Framingham, MA accumulated 1,309 backers for $194,682 in support of 1Q, a compact, powerful Bluetooth sound system with a handcrafted, solid wood cabinet—perfect for iPhones and iPads. A San Diego company, Original Grain, sought $10,000 for production of its next generation of wood watches and received over $390,000. Similarly, NFNT of Laie, HI garnered $101,607 for its Big Face Woody Bamboo watch. Proof of Boise, ID is an eco-eyewear company that strives to make cool products from sustainable sources of wood. They use Kickstarter to add new products to their established line. In the summer of 2011, they proposed classically-designed Bamboo framed sunglasses, with springed hinges, using only panda bear-friendly bamboo. They raised $15,427, and most of the contributors received sunglasses. In the summer of 2012, Proof returned with a proposal for a wood wallet. “It is made with a piece of sustainable wood which offers rigidity and protection for your stuff. A single recycled bicycle inner tube holds all your business cards, credit cards, cash, etc. in place. We've used two sustainable woods: quick growing Bamboo and clean-looking Birch to make the minimalist wood frame that acts as the backbone of all your cards and cash. Coming in at just 3mm thick, they are light, strong and good looking.” Though their goal was only $2,000, they received 768 responses for a total of