My Fascination with Kickstarter

Aurora

 Since discovering it late last year, I must admit that Kickstarter has evolved to become a major part of my daily internet read. I can't lie, their webpage design endears itself to many allowing for many joyous hours of reading pleasure. Far better than that though is the varied number of stories of mastery of a myriad of crafts, and the great amount of work that goes into crafting each product.


I usually spend my time perusing 3 different categories: Design, Comics and Technology; there are a lot more sections to pick from, but I find myself drawn to these ones in particular. There is truth to the saying, "Necessity is the mother of all invention"; as long as there will be a ton of problems to solve, there will always be forward-thinking innovators who can anticipate solutions to those same problems. The big question is whether they can make any money off those solutions.


One project that was particularly elegant in design was the Muse Clock by Nate Borozinski. True, this is merely a wall mounted clock, but the new spin he took on this idea is an artistic marvel.

 Two more favourites arrive in the form of light bulbs (Plumen 002 and Dome Lamp);

Dome Lamp

Plumen 002

However, my ultimate favourite has to be Palm Republik by Peisy. Malaysia, the country she hails from, produces a lot of the world's Oil Palm, which thus results in a lot of biomass waste. Malaysia, in the same vein, is also researching into various ways of utilizing this waste - and their most promising product is Palm Paper. Peisy took this one step further, building a company around novelty designs made from Palm Paper.


 Just like Palm Republik, I too have the idea of moulding the concepts I laid out in "The Hyacinth Economy" into a business (tentatively titled "The Hyacinth Lab"). Those aspirations will have to be postponed because my current medical internship does not leave me with any spare time to pursue the needed research...but at least the dream is still alive and kicking.


The Comics section is a visual joy because the authors usually leave snippets of their works in progress in form of comic pages, illustrations and synopsis accounts. I've had the beginnings of a graphic novel swirling around in my mind for 2 years now, so with a little inspiration I think I could put pen to paper and come up with quite a delightful read. With a finished story, I could start looking for an illustrator of repute.




But as the aspirations wait, at least I'm being inspired a little more everyday. It's been almost 9 years since I wrote my paper on Hyacinth & Phytoremediation; about 1.5 years ago, I finished my paper of "The Hyacinth Economy", and now I can picture it as a potential full-fledged business. Who knows! Sooner, rather than later, I just might throw my hand in along with the rest of the entrepreneurs; but till that day comes, at least I've got Kickstarter.

 God Bless.