Image by wendysoucie via Flickr
While waiting in the lobby of the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, which is a the only existing hotel in the world with a Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced design, serendipity introduced me to Rob Barros, a film maker. He was filming the glass art design in the lobby and I was waiting for a business contact for dinner. The Social Product Development and Cocreation Conference sponsored by Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) brought me to Phoenix to learn more about this hot topic.
It was a brilliant stroke of luck since Rob hails from the Twin Cities of Minnesota and is in the process of filming an independent film on John Howe, one of the architects who did over 50% of the Frank Lloyd Wright drawings. Turns out he used Kickstarter to solicit funding for the project so he could keep it an independent film. In 2 months on Kickstarter, he raised the 100% of the capital he needed for traveling to sites, filming, production and editing the project.
What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects. We believe that:
• A good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide.
• A large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.
Kickstarter is a great place for creative projects but not for donations for a cause. They describe projects as those that have a beginning and a defined end. The project may be initiated by artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, writers, illustrators, explorers, curators, performers, and others. This really seems to be a way to have a dream and through blogs, sharing your vision, you can make it happen.
Although this site didn’t fall under the cocreation concept I was learning about, there is a bit of crowdsourcing going on since you promote your project, get others to join the site to become your backer. The fact that you have to get the project fully funded for it to proceed (no money changes hands until that happens) puts the pressure on you – the dreamer – to convey your passion and the importance of the work.
I have participated in the funding attempt for a Tshirt design with a cool bicycle graphic that did not get funded, but I tried.
Meet Rob Barros
Rob was the one who initiated the conversation sitting on the lobby sofa and having this cook piece of art behind us. I recognized the Artwork as it had been used for the cover of an Wisconsin AIA entry for the design of a Green Laboratory by Flad Architects when I was the Project Director for R&D there. We took off on a discussion of the displayed piece, his project, living in Wisconsin, Taliesin, and the efforts of John Howe, the architect. I can see how Rob was able to make his passion contagious for this project and quickly raise the funds. Here is how he described the project:
And the project
I hope that Rob stays in touch so I can see the completed project. What kind of creative project would you fund?
