Just posted my massive look back on the Kickstarter process:

http://craigmod.com/journal/kickstartup/

Hey there backers — it's been a while since I've posted an update.

Just wanted to let anyone who may be in Tokyo next Saturday know we're having a release party. Here's the info:

• 
  
• Date: Saturday. July 3rd
• 
  
• Time: 8pm - 10pm
• 
  
• Location: On Sundays (below Watari Museum in Gaienmae)
• 
  
• Map: http://cmod.me/9CLCRg
• 
  

It's a free event. Ashley Rawlings is flying in from New York — we'll be signing books. On Sundays is a beautiful venue — one of the best fine arts bookshops in the city, so we're very honored to be able to use the space.

We know many of you aren't Tokyo based but we hope to see those of you who are!

We're sending the final files to the printers for the hardcover reprint today or tomorrow. Meaning we're on track to have the books completed by the end of June.

If you missed your chance to grab the book through Kickstarter, we're now taking pre-orders on our homepage: http://artspacetokyo.com

Just use the Checkout With Amazon button at the top of the page to purchase. We'll ship the books as soon as they're off the presses. We estimate most international orders to arrive by the second week of July.

C

The $250 pledge option includes signed (Ashley, Takahashi and me) copies of the book + a 'traditional Japanese wrapping/utility cloth — or tenugui. That in itself doesn't sound particularly exciting. So I thought I'd explain in more detail, and show you some images of just what a tenugui is.

First, it's big. Approximately 90cm x 35cm.

Second, it's silk screened (black ink on a white cloth).

Third, it's composed of illustrations and lettering from Art Space Tokyo, drawn by Takahashi Nobumasa.

Fourth, we made less than 100 of these, so they're quite rare.

Wikipedia has this to say on Tenugui:

A Tenugui (手拭い) is a thin Japanese hand towel made of cotton.

It is typically about 35 by 90 centimeters in size, plain weaved and is almost always printed with some pattern.

It can be used for anything a towel could be used for - as a washcloth, dishcloth, headband, souvenir or decoration. Towels made from terry cloth have replaced many of its use in the household. However tenugui is still popular as a souvenir, decoration and as a head covering in Kendo

And here are some photos:

$16,000. In 16 days.

Through the combined support of 200 of you, the reprint is absolutely happening. Joining us on this project is no longer a bet — it’s a sure thing.

We are stunned by your generous support and enthusiasm and are eternally thankful to everybody who has pledged on our Kickstarter page. Truly, we did not expect such strong a response!

That said — there are still 16 days left in this pledging round. Meaning 16 days left to join us in seeing how far we can push this project. 16 days left to get your name in the book as a backer. 16 days left to pick up a limited edition Japanese cloth print or beautiful Takahashi Nobumasa original print.

All money raised goes towards expanding the hardcover print run and for funding the iPad edition.

If you are wondering about whether to join in or not, please do!

We managed to pull in $12,000 in 12 days. That is pretty astounding and far outpaces what we had projected!

As I write this the project is at $12,861. $15,000 seems well within reach so we're starting to meet with our printer, update InDesign files and figure out production logistics. Will update more frequently as we nail down schedules.

Only 19 days left to get your name in this new edition as a backer, a limited edition tenugui (which I'll be posting images of once I get home today), a Takahashi Nobumasa original print OR a whole day with me, blabbing into your ear about all the lovely things in Tokyo (how we haven't sold out of this pledge level yet is a mystery — only $2,500!).

Magically, an iPad appeared in my lap last week and I've been tearing through all the magazine and news apps. I have a lot of thoughts on iBooks and Kindle that I'm trying to organize in my head in order to get on paper. I think the real frontier is iPad (webkit) specific HTML/CSS designed with the iPad's screen in mind. I'm starting to explore that area this week.

For now though, a quick press roundup since the start of the project:

• 
  
• http://www.superfuture.com/supernews/...
• 
  
• http://www.notcot.org/post/29844/
• 
  
• http://viewerslikeu.squarespace.com/main/2010/4/5/art-space-tokyo.html
• 
  
• http://sugarmob.com/2010/04/09/art-space-tokyo/
• 
  
• http://showhype.com/story/kickstarter-art-space-tokyo-ipad-edition-hardcover/tweets/
• 
  
• http://www.hypursuit.com/tag/art-space-tokyo/
• 
  
• http://jeansnow.net/2010/04/01/reviving-art-space-tokyo/
• 
  
• http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2240-how-craig-mod-and-gina-trapani-decided-to-go-the-indie-publishing-route
• 
  
• http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2010/03/31/help-get-art-space-tokyo-republished/
• 
  
• http://twitter.com/kickstarter/statuses/11427273951
• 
  
• http://thehundreds.com/thefeed/wordpress/...
• 
  

Thanks to everyone who has tweeted, blogged or linked to us. We're close, but still not there. Help us push on through and beyond the finish line!

Amazing — one week in and we're halfway to our goal.

Thank you so much to everyone who has shown support for the project thus far.

This is the first time I've ever engaged in drumming up pre-sales with a specific target in mind (and a somewhat lofty one at that). It's quite an overwhelming process. Ashley (Art Space Tokyo co-author and editor) and I have been writing and editing mails non-stop for our personal mailing lists as well as AST related groups (like our Facebook group).

The complexity of this project is somewhat difficult to quickly sum up. Do we focus the pitch on the physical artifact? Or do we emphasize the iPad edition? Or do we direct attention to the uniqueness of this as a publishing endeavor?

Not to forget the great opportunity to get an original piece from Nobumasa Takahashi (still no takers — maybe we need to lower the price on this? As I've said this is an experiment and we're open to suggestions!).

Despite all of us here on Kickstarter understanding and 'getting' Kickstarter, for a lot of folks this is a *brand new* concept. So conveying precisely why Kickstarter is such a great platform, and how it works is also a necessary task in reaching out for pledges.

There may have been dozens of books funded here on Kickstarter, but it's still a revolutionary and extremely avant garde way of generating capital for a book. We're really honored to be able to take part.

Half-way there is good, but 120% of the way there is better. We'll keep banging the drums on our end — please continue to spread the word on your end too! (You can use the short url: http://cmod.me/ast_kick for linking here).

From Tokyo at 2am,
Craig

Wow — Ashley and I send out a big thanks to everyone who has 'pre-ordered' and pledged to the project.

Three days and almost 30% of the way to our goal.

$15,000 is the base cost of making this reprint and iPad edition a reality. But every dollar beyond that goal goes towards growing the project and ensuring we can properly support it moving forward.

37 Signals has a blog with over 110,000 readers (!!). They posted something about our project yesterday. You can check it out here:
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2240-how-craig-mod-and-gina-trapani-decided-to-go-the-indie-publishing-route

It's framed as self publishing. But it's actually a little more nuanced than that, I think.

Sure, we're self-publishing it, but self-publishing with the intent to leverage some of the connections and channels we've built up over the last couple of years. I have connections with all the museum shops here in Tokyo, and am a supporter of boutique, select book shops (one of my favorite being On Sundays in the basement of Watari-um). We'll be using a Tokyo based boutique distributor to ensure the book is in local, highly targeted retail spaces.

All printing and production happens in Japan. Japanese book binders and paper mills have an incredibly high level of quality and craftsmanship (and pride). And the printer we work with here is engaging, energetic and a joy to collaborate with.

Since we're printing in Japan it makes all the sense to leverage these local retail connections. It means we don't have to spend money on shipping overseas to hit retail spaces. And arguably the biggest audience for such a niche book is here, in the city on which the book focuses. (Of course it would be great to have a Japanese edition!)

Again — thank you all for the support thus far. This is a complex project — we're trying to subvert many traditional publishing 'rules,' understand the iPad book space better, and build the foundation for a series of city guides based around the conversation of art.

Oh, and get a beautifully produced, one of a kind guide into the hands of appreciative book lovers and readers.

C

Day one — 10% there.

Thank you to everyone who's joined in!

Finally a sunny day here in Tokyo — cherry blossoms getting ready to burst over the weekend.

Here's the production schedule for the hardcover:
- April: input all edits and revisions
- May: print
- June: ship
- July: release party here in Tokyo

We're in discussion with a prominent brand in Tokyo who's interested in lending us their private penthouse for the release party. More details when they come.

Why $15,000? This is an expensive book to print in hardcover (with silkscreened case, etc). And we want to make sure we make enough books to ensure the returns will continue to fund more updates on this project. We don't want this to be a dead-end: that is, we don't want this to 'just' break-even.

I think it's important for the indie publishing world to focus on pricing for sustainability. So we're trying to do that here with your help. We think this book is easily worth $65.

This whole thing is a big experiment — worst case scenario is the world gets more copies of a book that's still in demand. And we all learn a bit about publishing on the iPad. But wouldn't it be nice if this Kickstarter project is the first 'domino push' for expanding on our bookmaking philosophy?

C