Tag: Kickstarter
Wearables You’ll Want To Wear
With the iWatch on the scene let’s face it, wearables are becoming quite the hot commodity. But instead of the clunky futuristic looking gadgets lurking out there, why not try on something you can actually…well wear! ABCey Events would like to introduce you to our favorite wearables of the moment, both on the market and coming soon!
MICA Bracelet
The MICA bracelet, or My Intelligent Communication Accessory, is a beautiful gadget, combining elements such as semi-precious gems and water snakeskin with cutting-edge technology. The style comes in both black and whites and features a curved sapphire glass touchscreen display. On the bracelet, users will be able to receive alerts, SMS messages, and other general notifications, right on your wrist! The MICA is not yet released so many other functionalities of the bracelet are TBD. But no need to worry, MICA bracelets will arrive on shelves this holiday season at select Barney’s and Open Ceremony stores!
The Everpurse
Shooting to the top of our wishlists this Christmas has got to be the 2015 Everpurse, posing as a sleeker more versatile version of it’s predecessor. As a clutch, rather than a wristlet the Everpurse will be able to store daily essentials such as sunglasses, beauty basics and of course, our phones! In addition to the size the new model provides new designs as like the Saffiano leather bags with delicate gold hinges, replacing the clunky silver hardware, and a simpler color palette of black, deep blue and nude. Similar to it’s predecessor the 2015 Everpurse will be able to give your phone a 48 hour charge while zipped in, with the new model will be able to now double your battery’s life giving it up to 96 hours of juice!
Linou
Want a wearable that’s a little simpler, as well as sustainable? Why not try the Linou? The Linou comes in two forms, the Notification Necklace and the Wood Tech Watch, mixing technology with a sleek and natural design. This simple little gadget made from wood (black ebony timber, bamboo, or walnut), stainless steal, and sapphire and serves as notification tool linking to your phone via bluetooth. The Linou vibrates as well as has different custom color alerts based on the notification. Fashion-tech guru, and designer Christopher Magick set out to create a wearable more focuses on the design.
Memory Ring
Though the Memory Ring is adorable, this little guy really packs a punch with memory starting at 16GB with the capacity to store you digital valuables, like photos, personal, and work files. It’s fashionable as well as handy in work situations, planners can have all their files at the tips of their fingers if a crisis every arises all while looking fabulous at the same time! Though the ring still isn’t on the market, be sure to get an Early Bird Pledge on Kickstarter available for $40! This ring is not something to miss, especially with the holidays coming up!
Which of these wearables are you inclined to wear? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Startup Monday: Kickstarter
Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events.
As many of you know, Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Every week, tens of thousands of people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, art, design, technology, film, publishing, games, fashion, food, and other creative fields. Since its launch in 2009, 5.8 million people have pledged $1 billion, funding 57,000 creative projects! They also recently won the most coveted award at the 7th Annual Tech Crunch Crunchies for Best Overall Startup of 2013!
What’s so great about Kickstarter is that each project is independently created. The unique creators have complete control over and responsibility for their projects. Creators are able to keep 100% ownership of their work, and backers support projects to help them come to life. Together, creators and backers make projects happen.
Kickstarter believes that creative projects make for a better world, and are thrilled to help support new ones. Anyone can launch a project on Kickstarter as long as it meets their deadlines. The startup is based in Brooklyn, New York and will support any creative minds! The Bay Area is filled with innovation and creativity, so if you have a project or idea you want to see come to life, Kickstarter is the right platform! Take a look at the thousands of projects launched from the San Francisco Bay Area or highlights from 2013, or the best projected Kickstarter projects of 2014.
What do you think of the Best Overall Startup of 2013?! Would you use it to launch a project? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!
Tech Tuesday: SOSCharger
Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming companies for their innovative ideas and ability to think outside the box!
They say time is money and with your phone, you’re definitely able to maximize your time. But there are those unfortunate days you forget to charge your phone and the battery dies when you need your phone the most. At ABCey, we know how important your phone is (we’ve been reviewing the most helpful apps, after all!) and on today’s Tech Tuesday, we’re featuring SOSCharger, the self-powered smartphone or iPhone charger!
Especially for all you super organized, schedule-conscious people out there (we’re talking to you, event planners), losing your phone in the middle of the day can create some serious roadblocks. We love recommending apps for you to use, whether it’s for an upcoming wedding or a holiday occasion, but with a dead phone, the apps are dead too! The SOSCharger lets you charge your phone on-the-spot, so you don’t have to search for an outlet if you’re on the road, in the house, on the plane, or in the middle of nowhere. All you need to pack is the SOSCharger and your usual USB cable.
We recommend the SOSCharger because it’s best to be prepared for the worst, and sometimes, the worst is when your phone dies right before an important meeting, or event! Is the SOSCharger something you’d fine worthwhile? Let us know in the comments below and Facebook & Twitter!
Kickstarter Project: HOPE & FEAR – Egypt On The Tipping Point
Today ABCey is featuring an up-and-coming documentary called HOPE & FEAR – Egypt On The Tipping Point, a film that provides a rare glimpse into the lives of four young liberal-minded Egyptians as they struggle to reshape their nation. Egyptian born Sam Khedr, owner of an online music culture site Nitevibe, and Anjuli Bedi, Amnesty International organizer and journalist, joined forces during the Egyptian Revolution to produce this exciting and important film.
Khedr and Bedi are turning to the popular crowd-funding site Kickstarter to help them finish post-production on HOPE & FEAR – an epic 18-month journey that saw the crew beaten, tear-gassed, jailed, and hospitalized while filming in Cairo, Egypt.
The film follows Salman, Nada, Ammar, and Reham beyond the idealism and euphoria of the revolution. “Their story is one of aspiration and empowerment in the face of the fear and chaos that has dominated Egypt since the resignation of Hosni Mubarak” says Khedr. The goals of the revolution are far from achieved. This is, in fact, the most crucial and fragile period for Egypt and its people.
In order to make a different type of documentary, one which captures Cairo’s chaotic and vibrant energy, Khedr and Bedi pulled together a stellar team of industry pros which includes Oscar-nominated director and Chairman of the Monaco Film Festival, Georges Chamchoum, Iranian-American director & DP Lila Javan, famed American intellectual Dr. Cornel West, International best-selling author Reza Alsan, and Kais Menoufy the President of the American Egyptian Strategic Alliance.
Help Khedr and Bedi tell this universal story of aspiration and empowerment. Those interested in supporting the project should visit the Film’s Kickstarter Page and the HOPE & FEAR Facebook Page to learn more. Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!
View Director’s Cut Trailer – HOPE & FEAR Long Trailer
HOPE & FEAR website – www.HOPEandFEARmovie.com
Startup Monday: Swish
ABCey Events is always on the hunt for the latest gadgets or tools that will serve as unique event gifts or help us to better plan an event. This just got a whole lot easier with Swish! Swish, which only launched this past Friday, offers VERY new (not-yet-made) products from creators and inventors across the world. Each product gets a 30-day pre-order campaign giving all Swish users the chance to be one of the first people to own a new product.
If you’re hosting a tech event maybe you want to include a Card Ninja in your gift bag? I just finished baking an absurd amount of brownies for a Super Bowl party and could actually use the Ultimate Spatula. There are tons of innovative items that would be very helpful for event planners (and everyone) on this site. Furthermore, never before has your order for something been so meaningful.
Swish co-founder Heather Brundage tells us, “We want to give consumers a voice like the App Store or Reddit, where you get to go and say ‘Hey, I want that!’ and not be limited by what only big retailers think you will like.” When you order a product, you signify to everyone else and the public that the product is worthy and has value – moving it up on the Crowd Favorite list. Your order invariably helps inventors determine a demand for their creation which gives them the go-ahead to ramp up production.
If Fab and Kickstarter had a startup baby, Swish would be their child. It is creative, fun gadgets and products for sale with a little crowdfunding thrown in the mix. It might take them a few months (or up to a year) to get these brand-new products to you, however, you will have the ultimate satisfaction that you’ll be one of the first people to get your hands on an awesome new product that you helped become a reality!
What’s your favorite product on their site? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter.
TechCrunch Crunchies Coverage: Biggest Social Impact
ABCey Events is super excited for tomorrow’s 2012 Crunchie Awards here in our beloved SF! For our final awards coverage, we wanted to spotlight the startups that are up for Biggest Social Impact, those that have contributed to some meaningful and significant social impact in our society.
1. Donors Choose – Donors Choose is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers post classroom project requests on the site, and one can give any amount to the project that most inspires. When a project reaches its funding goal, Donors Choose ship the materials to the school. In return, donors get photos of the project taking place, a letter from the teacher, and insight into how every dollar was spent. Give over $50 and you’ll also receive hand-written thank-yous from the students. This truly makes giving back an easy and fun task. After all, we’ve all been there when someone ate all the glue.
2. Indiegogo – Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform where people who want to raise money can create fundraising campaigns to tell their story and get the word out. Indiegogo is also a place to discover what people all over the world are passionate about and how to get involved. IndieGoGo campaigns receive all the money they have been pledged, whether the initial funding goal was reached or not. IndieGoGo is available internationally.
3. Kickstarter – Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. They are particularly useful and great for finding and funding creative projects such as music albums or indie movies. Every project creator sets their project’s funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers’ credit cards are charged when time expires. If the project falls short, no one is charged. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing.
4. Kiva – Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. Loans funded through Kiva have a 98 percent repayment rate, so the money you lend to a small business owner is likely to come back to you. By connecting people through lending, Kiva has empowered small businesses and served as an important catalyst for positive change and job growth.
5. Reddit – Reddit is a source for what’s new and popular on the web. Users like you provide all of the content and decide, through voting, what’s good and what’s junk. Links that receive community approval bubble up towards #1, so the front page is constantly in motion and (hopefully) filled with fresh, interesting links. This is far more effective and significant than when you “like” something on Facebook. Interestingly, Mashable has a complete section devoted to “Reddit Facts” learned each week.
Which of these startups have made the most social impact on your life? Who did you vote for? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter.