Kickstarter

Hi everyone,

I have said it before: thank you so much for helping me to reach my goal (and exceed it!) needed to publish the book about the kids of Sudden Flowers. I am ever grateful.

I am back in Ethiopia as I write, where I celebrated the Ethiopian new year with friends and where I have been visiting a lot of the kids over the past few days... who are no longer "kids" actually but recent graduates, new moms, and accomplished professionals.  It is so nice to be back here and I am getting new ideas to incorporate into the design.

I spoke to the folks at Umbrage Editions (my publisher) before I left the US and the book is now slated to be released next fall. I will, of course, keep you updated on that.

As I will be here until December working on various projects, I will not be able to get all the rewards out to backers until I return.  But know that I am working on it even while I am here. I picked up Polaroid film just before I left and am shooting as many Polaroid thank you notes here as I can. 

More soon... and thank you again.

Eric

Hi everyone, 

I am excited to report that we are at 130% today.  I am hoping we can reach 150%. Please continue to publicize this through all your networks. I'm packing up to head out to Ethiopia in a few days, to continue work with Sudden Flowers and other projects, and where I hope to be hanging out a lot in places like this:

(Debo Band just recently performed at my show with Sudden Flowers member Tinsae at Real Art Ways in Hartford, Connecticut and they got a great review in the NY Times)

Thanks for helping me keep this moving!

Eric

Dear friends,

First, as before, thank you so much for your support. Please continue your support by reposting the kickstarter campaign on your Facebook, twitter, etc: http://kck.st/nqHYxX. This will drive even more people to look at our site and, hopefully, consider supporting the project.

On Tuesday night, we surpassed our initial goal with still a month left to go. I never thought this would happen so quickly but I am thrilled it did; I never knew how many people this project touched outside of Ethiopia.

Last week, I met with curators, artists, publishers and bookbinders on the west coast and had some amazing conversations about what we can do with the book. The more I learn, the more I understand how creative it can get. For instance, if we raise a bit more money, we can put out a special edition of the book that I will design with Sudden Flowers in Addis Ababa when I am in Ethiopia later this year and that will include even more of the material. We will be distribute this special edition throughout Ethiopia using the funds we raise here. 

So that is the next goal. Let's keep the momentum moving! More updates to follow!

Thank you so so so much,

Eric

Dear friends, 

I've been traveling on the west coast, where the fog is thick, and still the donations are pouring in.  We are almost to the initial goal.  I am SO excited and I'm dreaming already of doubling or even tripling it.  I am so eager to get everything rolling.  With your help, I can do just that!  

One thing I learned in my meetings with people about the book: apparently, if I raised $20-$30,000 (2-3 times my original goal), I could get even more creative with the design and Ethiopian distribution of the book.  This is a big leap, but I am convinced we could come close to making it happen.  

Photo books rarely make a profit (because they are so costly to produce), but they persist as a form because they are so perfect for certain photographic projects.... like this one! The more we raise here, the more we can pour into making the final book look perfect. Thanks to you, it is likely going to happen.  Please continue to spread the word about the project by posting about this project that you are supporting to your friends.

Thank you thank you thank you,

Love,

Eric 

Dear Friends,

It is so exciting, and humbling, to see everyone's response to this campaign.  I know I keep saying it but thank you thank you thank you.  

We are just over the 2-week mark and almost to our initial goal.  I am already imagining that we can raise much more than the minimum we need by September 10.  I don't want to count our chickens before they hatch, BUT.... if we raise more money than our goal, we can have better production value on the book and much wider distribution of the book in Ethiopia.  If you have any ideas of how to reach more people, please send them along as I continue to reach out to potential partners.  Also, I've added a few more rewards and will be brainstorming what else to add ..... so if anyone has any requests, let me know.

More very soon,

Eric

PS. Here is a radio interview I did this week about the project and promoting our campaign on NPR.