About this project
Panda Coat
$19,880
181
Missed our Kickstarter campaign?
No worries. Panda Coats can now be found at GrizCoat.com
Griz Coat is back. This time with a Panda Coat.
A Brief History of the World
- Something happened and the world was created. We won't go into more detail.
- Animals and humans started living. But humans couldn't wear actual animals, because that's pretty mean.
- Apr. 2012: Buffoonery Factory LLC came along to create a humane solution to this problem: the Griz Coat was born on Kickstarter (so was the Polar Bear Coat)
- Jan. 2013: Griz Coat is selected to Kickstarter's Best of 2012 list with this great animated gif: http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#griz_coat
- May 2013: the Wolf Coat was born
- Oct. 2013: we're back on Kickstarter launching a Panda Coat
- Future destiny of the world: a lot more hugs
History lesson is over, and now you're confused. So what's actually happening here?
[putting on serious face]
First of all, we love Kickstarter. It's an amazing tool with amazing employees, and most importantly, an amazing community of backers. (That's the last time we'll use the term "amazing" in this project). A lot of our backers and other people said they liked the grizzly bear coat, but they would love a panda coat. So we've come back to the Kickstarter community again, this time with our latest and greatest creation. Now, all we want to know is: WHO WANTS A PANDA COAT? (sorry about the yelling)
So what's new about this coat?
- Satin-y soft faux-fur - It was described to us as "straight butter!"
- A completely re-designed head - We used a soft fill head. It's more collapsible and takes up a lot less room when packed into a bag. We also built a removable pillow into the hood. It adds both structural support and comfort. Plus, it can be removed and washed separately from the rest of the coat.
- Two sizes - That's right, you now get to choose from two different sizes! A "Bigger" size that fits similarly to our original Griz Coat (best for people 5'6" to 6'3"), and now we're introducing a second, "Smaller" size (best for people 5'0" to 5'8"). If you're borderline height-wise and slender, go with the Smaller size. If you're borderline height-wise and broader, go with the Bigger size.
- A totally-custom panda nose - We've got a panda-nose guy, and the custom mold he built for us is unbelievably accurate.
- It's cheaper - So we're learning that as your operation gets bigger, people sell you stuff for less money. So that allows us to sell our stuff for less money. Ahhh...economics!
What's the same?
- Made in the USA - In a tiny hamlet called California, to be exact.
- The head-hood is detachable - Three buttons hidden behind the neck allow the wearer to attach/detach the hood at their option. And yes, you can let the hood dangle behind your back just like a hoodie.
- Plastic claws with an interior handle - The handle allows for superior claw control.
- Two-batch delivery of rewards - We have a cheaper, limited first batch. We'll deliver that batch, solicit lots of feedback, make improvements to the design, and then deliver the second batch of rewards.
What's a Grizulator?
Available in our mid-range reward tier, a Grizulator is the world's finest faux-fur drinking buddy. Since lofty marketing claims are not all that helpful, we'll be more specific. It's essentially the bottom part of the Panda Coat's sleeve, but we modified the sleeve to feature a clip that holds a can koozie. It's lined in luxurious red-and-black lumberjack flannel (sorry, no hat to match). We'll allow a picture to speak the next thousand words:
Who do we love?
You, for reading this far down.
Griz Coat gently reminds you: It's not a costume. It's a lifestyle.
all photography by the genius Joyce Pedersen
music in video: "Driver" by Jahzzar (http://betterwithmusic.com)
Risks and challenges
A year and a half ago when we launched our Griz Coat project on Kickstarter, we were very enthusiastic but naive apparel people. We're still enthusiastic, but now we like to think of ourselves as masters of faux-fur, animal-hide-inspired apparel. We've got a talented team of people helping us now, and they're really good at all of the things they do.
That being the case, this is a new product, and all new products are subject to defects. We're on prototype version #4 of the panda coat, and we think we've nailed the design and production plan, so that should help us deliver a great product. We also have a solid track record when it comes to delivering defect-free product, since we individually test every unit we produce. That's definitely a rare feat in the apparel world. But sometimes mistakes occasionally slip through the cracks, and we pride ourselves on correcting those errors quickly and conveniently for the customer.
As far as potential delays go, we are operating on a tight timetable for delivery of our Early Bird rewards. We've identified a source for all of the required materials, and our manufacturing partner is ready to build on a moment's notice, as soon as the materials are secured. We think we can do it (if we didn't, we definitely would not have instituted a short timeline), but the potential for late delivery is certainly there.
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Funding period
- (21 days)