a people driven, multi-country, indie coffee-culture journey, using photography to create & curate content for web magazine, smdlr.com.
Coffeetography™ is new new (photo) journalism that is a visual response from connecting and communing with the people.
Coffeetography™, as I've named it, is new new (photo) journalism. coffeetography™ is photography that is often -but not always- complimented by text and inspired by the people within independent coffee culture. coffeetography™ is not just photos of people within or around a coffee shop. Rather, it aims to capture a moment of the spirit of the human experience through the visual image of a photograph - real time community.
How does coffeetography™ work with smdlr?
Coffeetography™ is a visual byproduct of the online magazine, smdlr (s-mid-ler), which I launched, one year ago. smdlr curates culture – art, music, film, fashion, literature and events –brewed within independent coffee shops. In addition, coffeetography™ is used to create content for the above mention sections of the online magazine. coffeetography™ is also used sometimes to photograph artists whose art work appears in coffee shops for the “art” section; musicians, whose music should be heard in coffee shops for the “music” section and for regular coffee-goers who read print books in coffee shops for its “lit” section.
You can see coffeetography™ on smdlr.com daily, through photo-essay like sliders, featuring everyday people from wherever my travels take me. You can also find a singular feed of more than 185 images on tumblr. By going on the road, coffeetography™ intends to be part of smdlr’s individual, yet, universal movement of being a cultural ode to the people.
Where, on the road, will coffeetography™ go?
Coffeetography™ wants to go on the road and celebrate the voice of the people in cities and countries that are cultural havens, ripe for moments of communing and connecting with people, within the independent movement of coffee. I’d like to spend nearly 90 days in total, although not consecutively, on the road, traveling to San Francisco, Seattle, Nashville, Paris, London, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.
If coffeetography™ meets and surpasses its goal - which this indie-journalist would LOVE- any of the following destinations are on my radar for communing with you and curating content for smdlr.com; Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Melbourne, Texas, Toronto, Tokyo, Atlanta, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Suriname - lets kickstart it!
Who am I?
I am Chérmelle D. Edwards. I am the voice of coffeetography™, via smdlr. As such, I wear many creative hats in addition to founder, writer and editor. I am also a culturalist, documentarian, photojournalist, creative storyteller and your chief coffeetographer™.
I am a Los Angeles transplant living in Brooklyn, NY. I moved here for the simple and complex goal to find my voice as a writer and I’m glad to say, I’ve found it!
More importantly, I feel I am the collective and universal “you.” The “you” who is culturally concerned with the society and humanity of people. I am inspired by life, people and the chance to tell and create stories. For my real, character biography, or, how I usually define myself, you can journey to smdlr's “about me” or, read it as its excerpted for you here.
“…I think that you should know my inspirations because then you can know me. Here’s the almost short-list; God, family, friends, flea markets, people, Henry Miller, Picasso, architecture, style-bloggers, print magazines, William Faulkner, random conversations, Alexandre Dumas, independent music, Miles Davis, neighborhoods, hostels, Toni Morrison, beaches, books, Brooklyn,Thomas Newman, travel bookstores, L.A., love, natural light, Africa (all of it), acoustic guitars, airports and airplanes, Picasso (yes I’ve listed him twice), graffiti, Gustav Klimt, Maxwell, caffeine, Bon Iver, Modigliani, Annie:the movie, yard sales, Van Gogh, ideas, and paper…yes, paper in all its tangible forms.”
Why does coffeetography™ need $37,777?
To get to the people, I need you, the people. I feel like this journey isn't just mine, but its ours. I can't do it on my own, nor do I want to. For the past year, I’ve funded all of my coffeetography™ travels for smdlr myself. Now, with a year under my belt, fresh coffee-culture-content updated daily on smdlr.com, and more than 200 photographed subjects, coffeetography™ needs help to connect and commune with you, the people, in the cities and countries, beyond my Brooklyn base. My budget is broken down into three sections.
1/3 - Hard body and hardware equipment including camera lenses, so that coffeetography™ can grow with tools that give it more creative range, can create high quality cinematic documentation and videos, with the technical capabilities to curate, edit and publish content from the road, now, and into the future.
1/3 - On the road expenses: a minimal editorial travel budget to get to my destinations. I'll be traveling by the most economical means necessary be it by plane, hopping on buses, taking sleeper trains, staying in hostels, donating to couch surfers and making modest contributions to those opening up their homes to me. These funds will go a long way to supporting coffeetography™ content, city by city and country by country.
1/3 - There are some technical needs to make coffeetography™ on smdlr.com, and via mobile platforms more accessible. This includes necessary site infrastructure to enable the coffeetography™ driven content I curate, to exist in an easy to navigate layout within smdlr.com. My visual designer has worked tirelessly in my behalf, and I want him to be able to get some compensation for the things he’s created and will create for the content published while I’m on the road. Additionally, funds are needed to create some of the rewards I’ll be bringing to you, and to cover Kickstarter fees.
REWARDS
Wowsers! There's nineteen of them. Why? Because, I want you to have as many opportunities as possible, to experience this journey with me.
click.connect.commune.
You can connect with coffeetography™ and I, most directly on these social platforms.
I also welcome you to meet me here, at my project page - introduce yourself, wave a virtual hello, share an experience, a photo, or a story from coffee culture that inspires you. I'd love to hear from you.
THANK YOU.
Did I mention, no matter the amount of reward, or your interaction, everyone gets a thank you from me, on smdlr.com? That's right, all of our names are going to be published online! Yes, you get a thank you, you get a thank you, and you get a thank you!
Lastly, for now, special thanks to brilliance personified, Mr. Chrome Sparks for allowing me to use his music. The song is called All There Is featuring Steffaloo. To Shawn Pritchard for all the colors, and amazing design graphics, to the coffeetography™ subjects for allowing me to photograph you, to my friends for their belief and to my family -especially my parents- for giving birth to me.
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FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
15
Backers
$824
pledged of $37,777 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Unsuccessful This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on August 31, 2012.
Funding period
Aug 6, 2012 -
Aug 31, 2012
(25 days)
- First created · 17 backed
- Has not connected Facebook
- Website: pinterest.com
Pledge $5 or more
1 backer
small kick: It’s nice to open up email and receive a beautiful e-photo, don’t you think? Receive an e-coffeetography™ postcard from a destination of your choice featuring coffee culture. In the month your destination is traveled to, an e-postcard will be emailed to you from that destination.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $13 or more
3 backers
small kick: Who still writes and sends real postcards? I do. Receive a handwritten post card from me about a coffeetography™ adventure from my journey on the road, mailed to you from a city or country of your choice. Postcard mailed to you in the month your destination is visited.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $25 or more
4 backers Limited (196 of 200 left)
small kick: There’s nothing like a handmade postcard, rustic and full of creative charm. Receive a personally shot, handmade postcard in the mail with a coffeetography™ image shot by me featuring coffee culture (to appear on the front of your postcard) including a note about my adventure on the road, (on the back of your postcard) from a city or country of your choice. Mailed to you from the road, based upon when your destination is visited.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $55 or more
2 backers Limited (98 of 100 left)
small kick: The sounds of a destination are equally important as seeing one, wouldn’t you agree? Receive an e-coffeetography™ postcard featuring coffee from a city or country of your choice (e-mailed to you in the month your destination is visited.) As well, experience and discover actual music played in coffee shops from a city or a country of your choice -curated in a cd mixtape.
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013Pledge $75 or more
0 backers Limited (50 of 50 left)
small kick: Sometimes “one” of a good thing is not enough, but a set feels just right. Receive a set of four handmade coffeetography™ postcards featuring coffee culture from the cities or countries of your choice. Postcards mailed to you from the road as destinations are visited.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $85 or more
0 backers Limited (25 of 25 left)
small kick: If music is your sonic fancy, receive a set of four cd mixtapes, curated from music actually played in coffee shops from four different destinations of your choosing.
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013Pledge $100 or more
2 backers Limited (198 of 200 left)
medium kick: Receive a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote (delivered in October). Be among the first to experience coffee culture in another country through my first ever produced video- coffeetography™ -montage from a country of your choice. Exclusive video delivered to your personal email. Video emailed about a month after your city or country of choice is visited. International backers please add $10 shipping for shipping fees.
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013Pledge $225 or more
0 backers Limited (25 of 25 left)
medium kick: Perhaps you want it all, a photo set and a music set. Receive a set of four handmade coffeetography™ postcards featuring four different destinations of your choice (mailed to you from the road.) Receive a set of four curated cd mixtapes of music actually played in coffee shops from a country of your choice. As well, receive an coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote (mailed to you in October.)
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013Pledge $300 or more
0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)
medium kick: Seattle, you’re a mother of indie spaces, so lets coffee crawl them together. We’ll spend up to a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping Seattle’s culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com, a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote (mailed to you in October.)
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $300 or more
0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)
medium kick: Nashville, a mother of music, historic railroad center and modern incubator of culture, I want to meet you. Let's spend up to a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping Nashville’s culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com, an original handmade coffeetography™ photo postcard and a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote (mailed in October.)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012Pledge $350 or more
0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)
medium kick: San Francisco, yes you are beautiful, you wireless, plastic-less, city you. So let’s walk your 7x7 grid and coffee crawl one of your districts. We’ll spend up to a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping San Francisco’s culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com, a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote (mailed in October.)
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $400 or more
0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)
medium kick: London, not only are you the world’s most visited city, you are one of the most exciting centers of current coffee culture. I can't wait to spend up to a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping British culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com and a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee is included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote on tour day.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $400 or more
0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)
medium kick: Paris, your rues, museums, patisseries and boulangeries woo me. Now, it's time to fall in love with your current coffee culture. Let's spend up to a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping French culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com and a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee is included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote on tour day.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $450 or more
0 backers
medium kick: Stockholm, Sweden, I’ve heard about you, read about you and dreamed about you. Friends I know tell me that upon meeting you it would be like love at first sight. Your light roasted coffee, your cultural practice of fika and social engagement around coffee is the communal interchange I want to document. Let's spend a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping Swedish culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com and a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee is included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote on tour day.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $450 or more
0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)
medium kick: Copenhagen, Denmark, there’s a lot to feel and experience about your social atmosphere of coffee and culture. I want to unite and celebrate with you. Let's spend up to a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping Danish culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com and a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee is included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote on tour day.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $450 or more
0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)
medium kick: Oslo, Norway, yes, you are a high coffee consuming country and I want to taste why, while drinking as many cups a day as you do, while visiting your astutely designed spaces. Let's spend up to a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping Norwegian culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com and a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote on tour day.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $500 or more
0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)
medium kick: Helsinki, Finland as of this Kickstarter, Finland is the highest consuming nation of coffee drinkers. Coffee breaks at work are mandatory and coffee plays an integral role in your social culture. For these reasons and many more, I want to bask in your culture, while drinking all forms of your light roasted coffee, in mug and cup. Let's spend a day coffee crawling a neighborhood, communing over coffee and sipping Finnish culture. In addition, you’ll receive your own coffeetography™ session with a feature to appear on smdlr.com, and a curated cd mixtape inspired by our adventure together. Coffee included and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote on tour day.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $1,207 or more
0 backers Limited (10 of 10 left)
large kick: An original handmade coffeetography™ photo postcard from each country that I visit. A curated mixtape from each country that I visit. Exclusive video-coffeetography™ - montage from each country that I visit. A personal gift from me, from one of the countries while I'm on the road. And, a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote. Note: some parts of this reward will occur earlier than January, while I'm on the road.
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013Pledge $5,000 or more
0 backers Limited (3 of 3 left)
large kick: Do you think I should specifically experience the coffee and culture of a country other than the United States? Pick anywhere in the world you think that I should go and be the sole sponsor of the trip. This means that I will spend one week in the country that you pick (whether its your country or not). If it is your country, we'll spend two days coffee culture crawling your city. If you are in the United States -it includes me flying to your city and doing a coffeetography™ session with you, to appear on smdlr.com. You'll have a feature on smdlr.com. You will receive an exclusive cd mixtape curated from the coffee shops visited in the country you've chosen. You'll receive a personalized coffee culture guide created, by me, based upon the country you choose. An exclusive video- coffeetography™ -montage from each country on my road trip list, including an uber-exclusive coffeetography™ video montage of the country you choose. Additionally, I love giving gifts, receive a personal gift from me, from any country on the road trip and a coffeetography™ eco-reusable grocery tote. (Actual month of trip to be determined based upon destination and backer.)
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013
