CraftyPod - Latest Comments

Re: If this is Saturday, then I must be at the farmer’s market.

SisterDiane — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:51:53 -0000

Hmmm... I'm not sure, really. The recipe I'm using says to cool it a little before pouring it over the veggies. But I've also seen recipes that specify pouring it hot, like you do. Ooh- and thanks for reminding me - we get to eat them today!

Re: If this is Saturday, then I must be at the farmer’s market.

Tsoniki Crazy Bull — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:34:45 -0000

Why do you cool the brine? We usually add the cucs to the jars, pour the hot brine over it, seal them and as they cool they seal. Does cooling it add something to the flavor? They are delicious! We haven't done any canning yet this season. I feel like we are late. LOL

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

M.K. Carroll — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:18:37 -0000

I've given my support to a few crafty Kickstarter campaigns and at least one non-crafty (30 Mosques in 30 Days). Part of it is about putting my money where my mouth is, and part of it is knowing how hard it can be to keep a small business in operation (even in economic "good times").

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Marcyhobbs — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:44:29 -0000

The business/project distinction is interesting. I wonder how many Kickstarters are stand-alone projects vs hopeful businesses. Projects are much more tempting to support.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

SisterDiane — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:23:42 -0000

Thanks so much for that link. MaryBeth! That's a wonderful analysis, and I was not surprised to see Rob Walker's byline. I really liked his distinction (and, apparently, Kickstarter's) that the site helps fund "creative projects" rather than businesses. Perhaps our creative community feels a little twisted up over Kickstarter because for us, these two things are so often the same thing.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Britta Folden — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:51:14 -0000

Thank you Diane! I really appreciate how much you support small businesses and crafters.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Marcyhobbs — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:23:22 -0000

I don't love kickstarter. Mostly for the reasons that smallerbox mentioned.

But I also wonder if kickstarter is the way a business should want to represent themselves. Do they want to be perceived as an organization that needs to ask for donations rather than one that has the resources to create and bring their products to market? What kind of message is that sending to their customers?

Particularly in the world or crafts, it's hard to be taken seriously. Lorna's Laces post today shows how they have to fight the perception that their work isn't legitimate. I'm not sure that kickstarter doesn't reinforce that perception.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

MaryBethTemple — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:13:25 -0000

I just read an article in the New York Times magazine that got me thinking about Kickstarter too - here is the link if you are interested. http://www.nytimes.com/2011...

The article gives a little bit of backstage information on the vetting process.

I am sort of feeling "all of the above" with your comment authors; it does smack of charity to me a little bit, but there might be some "I built my company from scratch why do you get a grant essentially for being cool?" in my brain as well.

Haven't tried it for myself, and I have kicked it to three projects myself, all people I knew.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Isaac B Watson — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:03:15 -0000

Yes! This is much more interesting and rewarding. As relates to the "charitable donations" end of things, many of these projects wouldn't actually qualify for tax deduction, making it much more of a business transaction than an actual donation.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Isaac B Watson — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:00:30 -0000

What if Kickstarter evolved into more of a microfinance funding model? Instead of charity-izing business projects, what if the pledges were actually micro-loans that had to be paid back after an established amount of time?

The microfinance industry is booming in underdeveloped nations (with great controversy recently from one microfinance lender who just went public), and the popularity of IDA (Individual Development Accounts) is mounting, but I think microfinance could be just as applicable in a Kickstarter-like model.

Doing so increases accountability of the project owner, elevates donors to micro-investors (and amplifies their vested interest), and is more in line with a traditional business plan. Instead of relatively free seed money, project/business owners must think about how they can fulfill their commitment to their investor to pay them back (and plan the business/venture accordingly so that it will produce profits that benefit the owner).

And then you don't have to spend 60 hours bagging and packaging and shipping a million little bonus gifts.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Tara Swiger — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:51:59 -0000

Ooh, I like this idea that the investors (at least, at a certain level) have some stake and input.
I certainly wouldn't want it for my whole BUSINESS (otherwise, I'd get investors the usual way, or go public with stock sales)...but for a specific project, it'd be useful.

For example, if I Kickstarted a wacky idea I have (travel and have coffee with smart crafty businesses, share the conversations via podcast and pictures of studio + written notes via private blog), the high levels of donations would be on a Board of Advisers that would help me pick the subjects (via application, maybe?) and...I'm not sure, but I'd figure out some way for them to be a part of the process, even if they were just who I turned to for advice/encouragement.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Tara Swiger — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:43:00 -0000

Ooh, I very much love Kickstarter...I think it holds the possibility of a lot of BIG thinking and dreaming for people would otherwise stay *small*. Perhaps non-businesses get tired of hearing about everyone's projects, but that seems to me like an issue of what you're paying attention to. I tend to ignore the ones I'm uninterested and follow with bated breath the ones I'm excited about.
But like you mentioned, I'm only interested in funding PROJECTS, not businesses.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

sockmonkeyfun — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:49:04 -0000

He's a paper crafter. He was very successful in that he was 300%+ funded, but he was not asking for very much money. :)
http://www.kickstarter.com/...

My project would involve a bigger dollar amount, but still, nothing huge.
And it would be similar in reward structure- basically a pre-order.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

SisterDiane — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:15:31 -0000

Looks like you're close to your funding goal, Britta - and I just kicked in a little. I love grand plans like this one, and the idea is really fun. I hope your campaign succeeds!

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

SisterDiane — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:07:08 -0000

I've always had similar experiences to yours, Terra. I think I've contributed to 4 or 5 projects now, and I always feel good about helping someone I like and want to support. I never have a ton of money to kick in, but I do what I can. It's part of giving back to the community for me.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

SisterDiane — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:05:28 -0000

That's an interesting point, Elizabeth. I've been thinking along similar lines - I think that, as a general rule, money matters tend to have strong emotions tied to them. So many of us feel money as a scarcity, and as a result we have perhaps more negative reactions to Kickstarter's fairly direct conversations around funding. And I think what what Allison shared about funding SeamedUp relates here, too: business funding is hard. We live in a pretty bootstrap-oriented age, especially where web-based projects are concerned.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

SisterDiane — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:02:20 -0000

That's a really interesting take on things. What would stake in a small business look like? Would you want shares?

...And I should clarify why I chose to fund Christine's Kickstarter as part of my "Support Free" ongoing project. Christine produces a lovely blog, http://www.christinehaynes...., which brings me a great deal of inspiration at no cost. So my contribution to her Kickstarter was a thank-you for that. I actually chose the no-gifty option when I contributed.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

SisterDiane — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:59:22 -0000

What community is your brother in? Maybe we're hitting some Kickstarter fatigue in the creative community because we have such a high ratio of producers to consumers. There are more of us wanting to produce income than to spend it, I believe.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

SisterDiane — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:57:32 -0000

Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Allison. I wonder how much your funding struggles stem from our current collective assumption that websites "just happen" and should always be free. It's not an easy thing at all to get a deep-service site off the ground, unless you have a star programmer at your disposal who's willing to work mostly for free initially (which is, I believe, how Ravelry came to be).

I wonder how long it will take before the general public can see the true value of online content and services?

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Alex Yarnover — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 04:09:17 -0000

That's interesting - I don't think Kickstarter is very well known in the UK
and I think I've only read about it from your blog and perhaps a few
other tweeters. I supported a project to make Terry Pratchett's "Troll
Bridge" into a film and they've started shooting in New Zealand and send
me regular updates. I've urged friends to use it to get started with
projects but there is this (british?) unease with asking people for
money. I see it as investment rather than charity though. Hmmm,
definitely food for thought.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

SeamedUP - Allison R — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:14:12 -0000

Interestingly enough - I do not have a kickstarter campaign going because they do NOT support websites of any kind... My company (seamedup.com ~ a ravelry for quilters and sewers) joined IndieGoGo which is another version of the 'raise money for the little people' framework.

I do have a business degree, several in fact. I also have a business plan. A 5 year plan, a 3 year plan, and a tomorrow's to-do list to get there.

And yes, we could have gotten funding from a traditional source. But guess what? They aren't really lending very much these days... Even to those with fantastic credit scores and solid plans... It's a tough climate for everyone. And while I have heard at least 4 million times that the economic recovery will depend on entrepreneurs - the lenders aren't quite there yet.

So where do we go? We seek out alternative funding. And so - I am about 30 odd days in to a funding campaign (want to help! www.seamedup.com ~ click on find us ~ click on IndieGoGo! ha!) without much luck. (Read: everyone is asking everyone for money when none of us have any! and I guess the idea that if everyone who read the campaign gave a dollar we would be there by know is a pipe dream...)

We are not going to give up though, the personal credit cards will step in. Our family's debt ratio will increase. Our stress levels too. But that is what it takes to BE an entrepreneur - the guts to jump.

So what do you say? Grab your suit and jump with me. It's more fun with friends...

And Diane - thanks again for another provocative post!

Re: Sofa Rehab Time!

Megacrafty — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:32:32 -0000

Veyr nice rehab. I have been thinking of trying something similar with our couches- they have developed the distinct impression of a 50lb lab that thinks she's a cat. Also I have the same Matisse print. : ) Although it's not behind the couch.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

sockmonkeyfun — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:02:14 -0000

Thanks for this post!
I have been thinking of launching a Kickstarter and have been wondering about the fatigue issue.
My brother just had a very successful Kickstarter project- and that has inspired me to give it a shot.
I personally think Kickstarter is fantastic. :)

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

Crafts-friendly onlooker — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:57:45 -0000

While I'm sympathetic to people trying to raise money for their projects, I'm not crazy about Kickstarter. What bothers me is that it seems to be based on the idea of microinvestment, but it's actually just a charitable donation with no stake in the business. Yes, there are premiums or prizes, but it's more akin to a public television telethon than any kind of participation in the business.

And, while I realize we have a responsibility to help support free, this is not doing that. None of the quite a few Kickstarter projects I've read and thought about have any intention of offering the result of their efforts for free. The goal is to charge for and sell the resulting book, pattern, video, or whatever.

Re: Do People Hate Kickstarter? (And, How I Supported Free in August)

KJ McLean — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:37:01 -0000

I'm a little bitter about Kickstarter, but that's only because I am waiting for it to be available in Canada to Canadians. Seeing projects in Canada but requiring an American business partner is just a tease. (sigh)