Blue Moon Update 10/31/2020
over 3 years ago
– Sun, Nov 01, 2020 at 08:17:06 PM
Hi.
Thanks for responding so quickly to your survey. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, follow this link before reading more. https://thepresent.backerkit.com/ (use the same email you use for Kickstarter)
Hello again.
You've already done your part, all you have to do now is sit back and watch the story unfold. NOTE: If you added items to your pledge on Backerkit, thank you. Your card will be charged on Tuesday, November 2nd, your statement will say The Present.
This update has a time menu:
1 to 2 minute check in
or 2 to 10 minuteread
or 1 hour 24 minutewatch
Twenty-three different companies in Japan have reached out to help me distribute The Present.
One to Two Minute Check In
1. Getting to know the phases of the moon this way truly is a gift, I have a functioning prototype.
2. 50% deposits have been placed on the steel, glass, cork, and the majority of components.
3. Full production is still months away as production prototypes are still being refined. That's normal.
4. Where will all of these clocks be assembled? Will there ever be a HQ for The Present? There is now.
5. Fundraising beyond Kickstarter, making 5000 clocks.
Two to Ten Minute read.
1-5 in more detail.
1. Getting to know the phases of the moon this way truly is a gift, I have a functioning prototype.
That's right. I've been living with The Present Moon and I have seen it complete one full circle so far and now I am half way through my second revolution. There is light and dark in all things. The Present Moon gives my screen weary eyes a place to rest that isn't asking anything of me. The grey unknown in the center of the graphic is comforting in its misty vagueness. Life is full of such magnificent unknowns and it's nice to see an object that isn't afraid to point toward the mystery. I love it. I hope you do too.
2.50% deposits have been placed on the steel, glass, cork, and the majority of components.
Yep. You can take comfort in knowing that a considerable amount of capital has been moved forward to get production underway. All of the tooling has been paid for in addition to 50% deposits on thousands upon thousands of clock parts.
3. Full production is still months away as production prototypes are still being refined. That's normal.
"Getting production underway" might sound like I'll have parts by the end of November. That is not the case. I still expect there to be one or two more back and forth exchanges of seemingly production ready prototypes before we are able to fully commit to the full production run. If ever there were a time to follow the wisdom of measure twice cut once it is in the realm of industrial manufacturing. I've made the mistake of ordering a part in a rush to "get it done" only to have it create whole new rivers of problems. The key is to not rush anything if at all possible. One can remain vigilant while hanging on loosely. Also I would be no where near as confident as I am right now if I were not working with CW&T and their existing vendor relationships.
4. Where will all these clocks be assembled? Will there ever be a HQ for The Present? There is now.
The wildest turn of events has happened in the past four weeks. It has become clear that the most important step I must take this year besides placing all of those purchase orders, is to decide on a single location where all of these clock parts will be sent so that I can assemble them. This will be my seventh production run and each one prior to this was done in a different location at great cost. On one of my most recent productions had me moving the production location four different times. To do this right, I need a clock shop / assembly factory that can accept large deliveries and pickups. I'm going to be moving dozens of pallets around and I will need a freight elevator to wrangle it all if I want to do it right. Well I think we have found the place. The lease is on my desk ready to be signed. Find out more below or by watching the daily Youtube show. It's truly the beginning of something incredible.
5. Fundraising beyond Kickstarter, making 5000 clocks.
One of the most short-sighted things I could possibly do at this point would be to only make the 1,750 clocks that you have already ordered. If I did that, the second I deliver them to you I will be back at stage one telling people they are sold out again. To stop that broken record, I will be making a total of 5000 clocks in 2021. That's 2000 steel and glass clocks, 2000 Cork and 1000 of The Little Present's. Does that sound like a lot of clocks? To me it sounds like a solid start. Remember, 1750 of those 5000 clocks are already spoken for so it won't be long before I need to order again (late 2022).
My goal is to be able to produce and sell ten thousand clocks a year and I believe I can get there by 2026 but there is no way to do that without a long term commitment right now. So I am continuing the process of fundraising to prevent another "sold out" situation. I'm looking for the fourth partner on a team of three existing investors who are joining me in fully funding the seventh production. Do you feel like you might be able to help us grow in some way? If so, write to me at [email protected] with the subject line: Here to Help
One Hour and Twenty-Four Minutes
If all the above isn't enough, this is a one-take one hour twenty-four minute cut of me talking to you today. It's me showing you what's up with the cork and how things will be different and where we are now and what's up with Telefoonstraat 13 and more. If it wasn't happening to me I might not believe any of this were true. I talk for the entire time and cover a lot but honestly I've left so much out.
What's the deal with the colors?
@daymoonyear The Instagram account for The Present uses a full screen of color to reveal the pace of change in nature one degree a day.
SLIDE ONE is the new color + a new name.
SLIDE TWO is the current location on the universal timepiece, The Present Year.
SLIDE THREE is a mystery box.
Different every day
We've kept up with a new video every day on Youtube. It's a low pressure way of trying things out by using this color theory approach. I lift the color name from the daily IG post. What's most important is that we post every day. The videos are slowly getting somewhere, one day at a time.
A Longer Now
I auditioned for a talk at the Long Now Foundation's virtual conference on 10/20/2020. They accepted my talk and I presented it live! Here I am trying to sort out the talk before I knew I was accepted.
Here is the actual five minute talk.
If you don't have the five minutes, the point I am making in the brief presentation is that The Present is a catalyst to help us collectively notice a longer now.
The full moon update is a place where I can open up about where the project is and where it is going. Is it missing something? Do you want to know more? Let me know at [email protected]
In time,
Scott Thrift
10/31/2020
BLUE MOON UPDATE
Next clear thing — look up
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Oct 03, 2020 at 03:30:11 AM
It is the full moon again.
The Present Moon — Full
Surveys Have Been Sent
Respond in your own time by the time the moon is empty again — Friday, October 16.
You and 1010 other backers from 41 countries are creating the gift of The Present together for everyone.
Equinox September 22, 2020
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 12:19:58 AM
Hello and thank you to each and every one of the 1,011 backers who pledged to make The Present happen. You've given me the gift of being able to make The Present for you and I could not be more grateful for that opportunity.
Today is September 22, 2020 - The Autumn Equinox for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and it's the start of spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
September 22, 2020
Incoming Survey from Backerkit
The survey that will allow you to choose your style of time will be sent out on OCTOBER 1, 2020 - The FULL MOON. Since October 1st is a Full Moon you will get an update from me on that day and the survey from Backerkit shortly after.
What is Backerkit?
Backerkit is a service that makes managing the fulfillment of a Kickstarter project painless and smart. I utilized their services on my last campaign and it was so helpful that I cannot imagine the fulfillment process without them.
Will I be able to add an extra clock or two to my pledge?
Yes! The Backerkit survey that will be sent to you on October 1st, will also grant you the ability to ADD-ON and edit your existing pledge. You will have two weeks to choose your style of time and ADD-ON anything you wish to your initial pledge.
Will the survey ask for my address?
Yep. However, if you plan to move house between now and the estimated shipping dates don't worry. A few weeks before your items ship, I will send an address confirmation to make sure you still live there.
You will be asked for your address on the October 1st Backerkit survey so that this image can happen.
Why don't you send the survey now?
After a project closes on Kickstarter, the payment process begins and they require two weeks to give everyone whose cards might be out of date to respond. Once the final total is tallied, Kickstarter takes their fee and releases the remaining capital to my business The Present, LLC.
Sending the Backerkit survey too early can cause confusion for me and you the backer. Therefore it is highly recommended to wait until everything is settled before sending the survey.
Are you waiting before moving forward on production?
Not really. While I do have to wait for the capital to cover the big ticket items like 50% down on the movements, glass, steel and the requisite tooling I have not stopped the process of production. Some minor alterations had to happen with the cork layout and I am currently waiting on samples for final approval. I am also getting samples from a different, smaller family owned company in Portugal. I'm thinking of it as a "second opinion" and may go with them depending on the quality of their work.
What's the story on the small clocks?
Good news! I have a prototype I am happy to share a few pictures of at the moment. I only have the face for The Present Year ready for photography, even though all three times are available for pre-order now.
Should I pre-order now or wait to add The Little Present to my existing order?
That's your call. You will be able to add The Little Present to your pledge via Backerkit as an add-on between October 1st - 15th. That said it will not be a problem for me to consolidate your order if you decide to purchase between now and October 1st, when you receive you survey.
The Present as a solution to the work/life balance problem.
I would like to close by articulating something that is becoming more and more clear to me. Last night before I fell asleep I was thinking of the following sentence, The Present is the gift of life time. You see, we already have a way of measuring work time, what we don't have is a consistent method of time to help us measure life time.
In fact, we use work time to measure our life time.
Is it any wonder that a solution to the work/life problem escapes us? As long as we measure our life time with work time, we may never the find balance that feels so necessary.
The Present offers us a way to begin measuring life time. I will leave you with that joyful thought to ponder until you hear from me again on the Full Moon. Thank you again for making The Present possible.
Instagram is a flashy place so I developed a way to honor the stillness of The Present.
Each day I post three images.
Slide One is one (nearly imperceptible) degree of difference in color and a playful color name.
Slide Two is a photo of The Present Year for that day.
Slide Three is a wildcard to bring some welcome variety to the otherwise absurdly simple stream.
Here is what it looks like so far! I started on June 21.
One of my favorite graphics from the project.
Time this update was being worked on - The Present Day - taken at 14:15ish
Final note: I utilized a marketing service for a few days during the campaign called Jellop. I was happy with them and would recommend them to other creators. Part of my contract asked me to post a link to their newsletter which I am doing now.
In this video we uncover the mystery of what happens during a New Moon and learn about one of the most poetic elements that The Present Moon and The Present Yearshare.
Sharing The Present
We are about to pass 600 backers! Help me share The Present with the world so that we become 1000 backers strong by 09:00 September 18th, 2020. To share The Present please post or send this link along to anyone you think might appreciate a new point of view on the nature of time.
