The Go To Market Show chatted with Jon Kemnitzer about his firm, KEM Studio and his Kickstarter project. KEM Studio is an architecture and industrial design firm that designs everything from tools and furniture to spaces whose goal is to make life better. They have designed spaces for Kemper Crossroads museum, the Dolphin Gallery, Retro Inferno and have made things like the digital microscope and, now, the skate bench, Kemnitzer's new Kickstarter project.
Kemnitzer has designed for furniture companies but decided to keep the skate bench for themselves. The inspiration was derived from a combination of Jon's admiration for mid-century Eames furniture and the numerous skateboards they use to get around their expansive office space. Jon built one and started getting inquiries about it after posting a couple of pictures on their site. It was featured in "1,000 Product Designs" design book, and KEM Studios began to get a few orders. Jonathan decided to try Kickstarter to see if he could get enough orders to reduce the per-item cost and make it worth his time.
Kickstarter is a way to fund projects where a person needs a certain amount of money to make their project feasible. In this case, Jon needed $15,000. People pledge to back the project and are charged only if the project accumulates enough backing to create the project. Kemnitzer's project had various price points where backers received things from a simple thank you for $1 to an ultra-finished model for $500. Kickstarter retains 5% of the money recieved, and Amazon processes the payments for an additional 5%. Jon successfully reached his funding goal on October 16th.
There has been interest from folks from Singapore, Spain, and Japan. Jon has even befriended a few backers. So far, Jon has liked the process and overall, it’s been a good experience.
Go to kemstudio.com for more information about Jon and KEM Studios. The Kickstarter Skate Bench project can be found on kickstarter.com.
Don't miss out on upcoming shows!
Tags
