Westfielders Turn to Kickstarter to Fund Dandelion Dream

Weed or wildflower? "Redefining dandelions from suburban nuisances into playful and unique works of art" is the mission of the Westfield-based Dandelion Collective. 

After selling out of more than 50 dandelion paperweights on Etsy last summer, and shipping them across the US, Europe and Asia, the creators, a Westfield couple, started to think about how to grow the idea.

Seeking seed money, the Dandelion Collective turned to Kickstarter, a platform for financing creative endeavors that takes an all-or-nothing approach. For example, this project will only be funded if at least $3,800 is pledged by Sunday, April 21. As of Monday, March 25, the founders are two-thirds of their way to the goal. 

"We discovered that Kickstarter was a crowd-sourcing platform that connected 'makers' of creative projects with backers willing to make pledges to help fund these efforts," said the Collective's co-founder, who preferred to remain anonymous. "We were inspired by projects meeting their goals and thought Kickstarter would be a great, 'grass-roots' way of getting additional funding and exposure to meet our goals. We've enjoyed reading feedback from backers and hearing about their personal connection to the humble dandelion."

For the creators, the idea came about through a personal experience as well. As explained on their Kickstarter page, the couple saw potential where others see pesky parasites. After moving from the city to Westfield during the winter, a simple excursion sparked an idea.

"When spring finally arrived, we decided to go out for a walk with our two young daughters. We passed neighbors starting to work on their already well-manicured green lawns, some with crocuses and daffodils starting to sprout. 

"When we arrived back to our yard, our toddler started picking our dandelion puffs and playfully blowing the seeds. At first we stopped her, thinking about how the dandelion seeds would spread. Then we realized that somewhere between her age and buying a home, dandelions had gone from amazing wish-grantors to annoying lawn pests. We each picked one up and made a wish. This simple act of watching dandelion seeds float away into the wind was remarkable."

The goal of this Kickstarter is to go from prototype to larger-scale production (1000+) of these dandelion paperweights, according to the site.

Those who back projects on the crowd-funding platform often receive something in return. All of the rewards in this project are hand-made dandelion paperweights, the base of which measures almost two inches in diameter. All paperweights will be shipped to backers free of charge in the United States and for $5 internationally. Each dandelion paperweight will be sold with eco-friendly packaging

"Now that it is spring again, we’re looking forward to seeing the dandelions sprout to allow us to start creating more dandelion paperweights," said the co-founder.

The paperweights can also be pre-ordered, through the Dandelion Collective's Etsy Store at www.etsy.com/shop/DandelionPaperWeight and at www.DandelionPaperweights.com.The couple also hopes to sell the paperweights through local stores that specialize in handcrafted gifts.

For more information, visit the Dandelion Collective's Kickstarter page at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dandelions/dandelion-paperweights-born-from-weeds or email dandelionpaperweights@gmail.com .