Tag Archives: kickstarter

Picky Mat – Make Your Own Cat Food Dish Liner

While I’m sad that the Kickstarter project failed for Picky Mat, I know the product works and I know it solves a real problem: cats who complain when they eat their dry food and suddenly see the bottom of the dish and consider their dish empty. Picky Mat solves this by removing the discouragement and in some cases retrains the cat to eat more of their food even after the mat is removed. All that being said, I didn’t want that work to go to waste, so here is a quick tutorial in making your own DIY Picky Mat.
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Why the Kickstarter Project “Clang” Should Fail

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As of this writing, the Kickstarter project “Clang” has 10 days left to raise another $153,817 to succeed and take everyone’s money. I hope it never gets there.

The project has a big name backer in prolific author Neal Stephenson who, to his credit, has been very supportive about the ongoing debate within his Kickstarter comments section regarding the scope and feasibility of what he is trying to create: a true-to-form swordfighting game. Also, the ever growing FAQ for the project has attempted to address many of the concerns and questions by visitors, backers, and doubters. The most recent salvo is over the Kinect Disconnect, which is described in video form through this Penny Arcade video. From almost every standpoint, this project is doing everything right. The project has a well-known individual standing behind a high dollar value goal, they are responsive to questions from the public, transparency about limitations based upon the financial scope is prolific, and the project consistently maintains its character in the face of opponents. It’s respectable, intelligent, and upfront… and you still shouldn’t give them your money.
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Successful CrowdFunding Venture through Kickstarter – Dice Candies

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Candy Dice Mold Making

First and foremost, in the month of December I went to the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.com and launched a project entitled, “Gaming Dice in Chocolate and Sugar“. I asked for a modest $950 to fund the project, thinking it would just be another small part of the bigger income picture of my life. Well, to my surprise, the project went viral within the gaming community, and in the end it was funded over 1700%, raising over $16,000 (before fees).

Wow.

So, gears shifted, new plans were made, advice was sought out, and Dice Candies was born. My apartment is currently a workstation and storage facility for Lego blocks, mold material, vacuum chamber and pump, and a collection of pots and thermometers. Needless to say, I’m doing a decent job of maintaining a normal living environment, save the loss of a kitchen table. Even with all of the problems and all of the work preparing to make 1800+ sets of dice (11,000 individual dice), it’s a good problem to have. Pictured to the right is an image of the process of building a single mold (this was version #6). It takes 4 days, a strong wrist, and some sore fingertips. However, it’s moving forward, which is always a critical part of the venture.

It’s an adventure to say the least, but I did get to add a new title to my business cards. Mario Lurig — Author. Web Developer. Chocolatier.