5 Things to Crowdfund

You’d think that with the new year, your neighbors would take a break from making awesome things. But no, here they are putting new things into the world. They just need a little help from you.

January 13, 2014; 6:00 AM • by Sam Davies

Magnolia Fern Studios Posable Art Dolls

Katherine Helm is a Richmond sculptor that hopes you are into super realistic animal figurines. The star of her Kickstarter campaign is a delightful Poseable Japanese Flying Squirrel Art Doll. With her modest goal of $750, Helm plans to expand her business with a new vacuum chamber and pump system, unless Godzilla attacks RVA in which case “you can all have refunds.”

• Goal: $750¹
• Campaign ends: February 21st
• Best reward: If you can’t afford the $150 tier for the Japanese Flying Squirrel Art Doll, $25 gets you a cast of an adorable tiny squirrel.

Church Hill Tunnel Collapse Documentary

Local documentarians are seeking funds to create a film about the Church Hill Tunnel collapse in 1925. 90 years later, there’s still a train trapped there. If you are like me, you’ll watch this video, then spend more time you thought possible on the Church Hill Tunnel Wikipedia page.

• Goal: $5,000
• Campaign ends: January 21st
• Best reward: $25 dollar backers get a digital download of the completed documentary.

Love This Airstream Shop

Amber Lantz and Rupa Singh, the co-founders of Love This, seem to really love what they do, which is sell fashion products from socially conscious brands. They also really seem to love Richmond. Watch their video and see if you can spot all the locations around town they pop up in. They are seeking $12,000 to convert an Airstream trailer into a home for their shop.

• Goal: $12,000
• Campaign ends: January 31st
• Best reward: Love This Tote at $25. There is a reason PBS pledge drives always offer tote bags—everyone loves tote bags.

Instructional bellydance DVDs from Madame Onca

Local dance instructor and entertainer Madame Onca is seeking to release two DVDs to teach the fundamentals of bellydance and fan. And while Madame Onca seems incredibly qualified and these DVDs will be great, she had me at “driving on-screen in a steampunk tank.”

• Goal: $3,500
• Campaign ends: February 6th
• Best reward: If you have $100 to spare, you will score a VIP invitation to the DVD release party here in RVA.

The Troubadours—Life, Below Zero

The Troubadours Community Theatre Group needs $5,000 to travel to Mobile, Alabama in March where they will represent Virginia at the 2014 Southeastern Theatre Conference Community Theatre Festival. They will perform the original play Life, Below Zero, written by member Chris Mondoux, which won four awards at the Virginia Theatre Association’s Community Theater Festival.

• Goal: $5,000
• Campaign ends: January 15th
• Best reward: The $100 Platinum Contributor gets two tickets to a the Troubadours April show at the Henrico Theater, a DVD, and it is tax-deductible.

Funded

Projects we’ve featured in the past that have met their funding goals:

1. Li’l Eddie: Edgar Allan Poe for kid
2. Let’s Use Goats
3. Commonwealth Roller Derby: Junior League
4. Desktop Gremlins

Photo courtesy of: Magnolia Fern Studios

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January 13, 2014 6:00 AM 1