Designer Raises Over $400K For iPod Nano Watches
CHICAGO (CBS) - A Chicago designer had a goal to raise $15,000 in 30 days to get a new wristband on the market that converts an Apple iPod Nano into a watch.
As of Monday morning, designed Scott Wilson had a total of $444,416 pledged toward his product, with 17 days still to go before his campaign is over.
Wilson, the founder of the Chicago design firm MINIMAL, used the creative project funding platform Kickstarter to launch the campaign to get his products on the market.
There are two products. the TikTok features a simple snap-in design based on ski bonding, while the premium LunaTik features a case made from aerospace grade aluminum, into which the Nano can be secured with bolts.
There have been several attempts to turn the iPod Nano into a watch, but the tech news site Engadget calls Wilson's designs "definitely the best looking 'iWatch' accessories we've seen to date."
In a news release, Wilson said he was "blown away" by the response he had received by using a community-based funding platform rather than securing a traditional backer.
"The response we have gotten from people pledging to this project has been a truly empowering discovery. We are blown away by the support," Wilson said in the release. "There are other options out there but Kickstarter is by far the easiest and most well-architected experience at the moment. This type of funding platform is a game-changer and just the beginning in shifting more power back to the individual creative entrepreneur. "
In the video for the products, Wilson emphasizes that the iPod Nano is, in fact, a functional multi-touch watch, which also features a stopwatch, a timer, and a pedometer for runners.
Wilson, a former global creative director at Nike, founded MINIMAL as a multidisciplinary design studio. The headquarters for MINIMAL are located at 1032 W. Fulton Market in the Near West Side's Warehouse District, and the firm also has studios in Portland, Ore., and Milan, Italy.
Adam Harrington, cbschicago.com
