Seems like after a while, there are more broken crayons strewn around a house with school-age kids than whole crayons. The Real Crayon Maker offers an interesting idea that may make for a fun indoor activity on rainy days, or when the kids come inside to warm up after creating backyard snow cities in the coming months. Broken crayons can be melted down in a heat safe system to create new crayons, or the melted crayons can be molded into interesting new shapes and characters. Seems like something useful to have on hand to offer kids something new to do, but new crayons really aren’t all that expensive if the focus is on replacing the broken ones. The refurbished fun begins with $34, and an expected delivery of November 2014.
Category: Arts
The Premise. People love to decorate their homes. Many choose artwork to pepper their walls with in order to give a room some depth and personality. The only problem is that people are limited to art that they can purchase and transport home easily. The internet offers millions of digital artwork, but these can be difficult to gain access to on an everyday basis.
The Product. FRAMED is a digital frame that allows the person to purchase and display a myriad of digital artwork. The frame comes in 24” and 40” sizes, several finishes and is compatible with many different file formats. Its image can be animated, stagnant or even interactive. FRAMED works with a free iPhone and Android app so that the image can be controlled remotely. The screen is HD and features a 180° viewing angle.
The Pitch. FRAMED’s campaign video shows the creators talking about the benefits of sharing and buying artwork from around the globe. Artists can sell or give away their work using the FRAMED network. Using one of these frames means that the stream of artwork in your home can change constantly. The rest of the campaign goes through the tech specs of the frame and shows just a few examples of the vast selection of images that the frame can display. This Japanese product hopes to raise $75,000 in a month-long Kickstarter campaign.
The Perks. Several early-bird special allows backers to purchase the product for an earlier delivery date of March 2015 at $399 and $449 for the 24” frame. The regularly-priced 24” FRAMED costs $499 for delivery in February 2015. The 40” comes in at a regular price of $1,500 and includes three pieces of artwork. Higher tiers offer multi-packs, custom colors and include free artwork. Reward tiers go all the way up to $10,000.
The Potential. In an ever-evolving digital world, it’s refreshing to come across a product that values the potential of digital with the practicalities of a physical object. FRAMED introduces a way to bring art from around the world home in the easiest way. We’ve seen a similar product recently in Electric Objects, a digital frame that displays artwork controlled by a smartphone app. Electric Objects is meant to completely blend in with physical artwork and its image isn’t animated. FRAMED allows for animated or interactive content, but is clearly digital. Both products are quite interesting and FRAMED is a great way for people to enjoy all the internet has to offer in their everyday lives without being glued to a screen.
The Premise. The Internet offers so much in the way of art, but these beautiful pieces are stuck on screen. We decorate our houses with art on the wall, but must manually change them when the room’s ambience or our taste changes.
The Product. Electric Objects is a computer designed to display art. Using apps and online databases, Electric Objects owners can change the image that the product shows. The screen doesn’t look like any traditional screen, making the EO blend in with other framed paintings and photographs. The frame comes in different colors and materials, just like traditional frames. With the app, it’s possible to change the image on the screen easily via wifi.
The Pitch. Electric Objects’ campaign video shows different rooms and scenes with the product featured. It does well in showing backers how inconspicuous EO looks and how it blends right into any home without looking like technology. The creators talk about how they are partnering with museums and other venues interested in integrating EO into their collections. Logos of different blogs and news sources permeate the rest of the blog along with quotes of satisfied users. Electric Objects is looking to raise $25,000 in a month-long campaign on Kickstarter.
The Perks. Backers can enjoy the EO for $299 at the special Kickstarter price with estimated delivery in May 2015. This comes with a choice of either black or white and a wall mounting kit. The EO costs $499 at its regular price and at this tier, backers can choose between black, white and wood for the frame.
The Potential. Electric Objects has found a way for the beauty of art to meet the convenience of technology. Digital photo frames offer a way for people to enjoy their own photographs at home, but typically look conspicuous. In addition, they only feature photographed images instead of anything else. Electric Objects looks like any other frame, but has so much more to offer. With the vast gallery of images that its online library offers, this product demonstrates its amazing versatility. Its price is reasonable too, considering how much each new painting must cost. However, like most previous digital picture frames, you won’t be able to set it up too far from an outlet without getting creative with the wiring and it may be too bright at night for active use in a bedroom. All in all, Electric Objects is an excellent way for art buffs to explore different images from all around the world in their own homes.
As everyone walks around constantly glued to their mobile devices, paper still remains relevant. Drawing on a tablet just isn’t the same as drawing on paper. To combine the convenience of digital with the functionality of paper, try out Blerline. These iOS-optimized sticky notes adhere to your iPad or iPhone and allow you to trace the image on your device onto the paper. It’s perfect for recreating a photograph, copying down notes or composing music. One pack of 25 notes for the iPhone 5 only costs backers $4 with estimated delivery in August 2014. Blerline hopes to raise $9,000 in a 41-day Kickstarter campaign.
The fascination with drawing in the air and the 3d effect that makes art seem to come to life has been an amazing journey. From the not so distant days of heated plastic and 3Doodler, to the slimmed down Lix pen that could function with either heated or cooled plastic, to today’s CreoPop that is wireless and uses only cooled plastic, it’s been an exciting development. So how does this wireless art tool allow the user to create their masterpieces? By the use of photopolymers that are solidified using UV light. This means there is no bad smell, and that there are a multitude of color options available, some of which even glow in the dark. For $89 plus $15 for shipping, backers get a starter kit and expected delivery of March 2015.
There are some works of art that just shouldn’t be hindered by the confines of a frame. Some of these are found delicately complimenting the front of a refrigerator, or thoughtfully strewn along the walls of a teenage bedroom, college dorm room or first apartment. But seriously, some forms of modern art just don’t look right in a frame. That’s why there’s Pinch Rail. The metal hanging system attaches to the wall, and then two binder clips on the top left and right of the picture allow for it to slide into place. For $50, backers get a gift certificate for a 24” Pinch Rail, with an expected delivery of December 2014.
Kaleidoscopes have been a favorite toy for visuals buffs for many years. Now, the market has the SlideOScope to offer. It’s a similar device that distorts images, but it works with printed images that you can choose or completely on its own to make abstract images. The SlideOScope works by sliding the parts apart, much like an old-fashioned spyglass. It also doesn’t have to be close to your face to use, so several people can enjoy this toy at once. This product will cost backers $45 with an estimated delivery date of October 2014. SlideOScope hopes to raise $25,000 in a 30-day Kickstarter campaign.
For those who never really listened when told to quit playing with their food, CinniBird will appeal to that inner child, or maybe artist, or better yet, prankster although some practice is likely needed to create the fine art . When this kitchen gadget is filled with cinnamon (and AA batteries), food and beverages become a small canvas for creativity, provided the user has a steady hand and a sense of a smattering of talent and creativity. For $10, backers get one Cinnibird pen with an expected delivery of June 2014. If backers live outside of Hungary, an extra $10 will be needed for international shipping costs.
Finding just the right sketch pad can be one of the bigger challenges of being an artist. And a computer at a desk can seem confining and even inhibiting to the creative flow that comes with just kicking back and propping up one’s feet when dreaming up an idea in the rough draft stage. That’s where SketchyNotebook comes into the picture. It’s nearly 200 pages, lays flat, eliminates cumbersome spiral binding and rings and comes with up to six templates to help give precision to those great ideas. More templates come with a bigger contribution. Expected delivery is October 2014.
Tech-addicted early adopters and stubbornly cautious pessimists can agree on one thing: the possibilities of 3D printing are awesome. Now, a 3D printing pen, Lix, allows artists to use melted and cooled plastics to draw three-dimensional objects in real time the same way a pen would be used. If this all sound familiar, that’s because the Lix follows closely in the footsteps of the successful 3Doodler, though the latter’s campaign trades silly doodles in for the trendy European art crowd. Either way, this device looks just as capable of handling 3D art of any kind, created easily and instantly brought to life. Lix leaves its mark on the art world in December 2014 for pledges of £82 or more.