Tumbleweeds

Somewhere along the way during this last week of our fundraising campaign on kickstarter, we lost all momentum. And since we've entered the final hours of our campaign (at the time of writing this we have 35 hours to go), it's pretty much a ghost town on our campaign page. I don't know if it's that we are still only a little over halfway to our goal, and this makes people feel like it's not worth backing, or if it's just bad timing, or what's going on, but every time I check my email I hold my breath that there are new backers, and my face is starting to turn blue!

I'm writing this not to make anyone feel bad, but rather to express frustration in not knowing what it is that makes someone want to pledge. After working at a non-profit public radio station for a few years, and experiencing the ebbs/flows of pledge drives, I'm used to there being inexplicable periods of silence on the donation front. But one thing I've always experienced is the rush of donations that comes in on the final days of a campaign. Hence my confusion about the silence over on Pulp & Deckle's kickstarter. Usually everyone wants to be the hero that charges in on the white horse and saves the day.

We've been trying every which way to get the word out, from putting up flyers around town (even on porta-potty doors!), to haranguing art-loving celebrities on twitter. Author Margaret Atwood was kind enough to RT our campaign link, and at first I was ecstatic and hopeful that her signal boost would increase traffic and support on our campaign. Now, I'm just confused. We've had so many wonderful, unexpected, and generous donations from friends, family, neighbors, and strangers. So I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. I am crazy grateful for all the love and support that has taken us this far. But now that we're ready to charge the finish line and meet our campaign goal, we're concerned it's not going to happen. And while we have some contingency plans bouncing around for what we'll do if we don't make our goal, and don't get the funds, it won't be the kind of triumphant start to our business that we are hoping for.

If you've read this far, thank you. Thanks for listening and for caring. And if you have any brilliant ideas (that are doable in the next 35 hours) for us to meet our goal, by all means, send them our way! 

                                                 -Jenn, Studio Founder at Pulp & Deckle

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