Welcome to BackerKit’s High-Five Interview series where we ask creators 5 questions revolving around their projects, inspirations, and overall crowdfunding journey.
It’s a pretty safe bet to assume your desk space can get a little busy sometimes. I know mine is. Luckily, designer Jeff Sheldon has a great solution for us in the form of Gather, a minimal modular organizer that helps cut through the clutter. Gather adapts to your workspace making sure everything you need is within reach. We recently spoke with Jeff to learn a little more about this sleek and adaptive organizer.
Why Crowdfunding?
There are couple reasons why we chose to use crowdfunding for launching Gather. The first and primary reason was to validate the market. We wanted to see if the product appealed to enough people before we actually made it. We already had a substantial amount of money invested in the design and prototyping phase, but this allowed us to better gage the amount of money to invest in inventory. Launching Gather on Kickstarter also allowed us to reach many people outside of the Ugmonk community. As it picked up momentum, we were featured on many press outlets and blogs which gave us exposure to lots of people that had never seen any of our other products.
What’s the coolest crowdfunding project you’ve ever seen? (Besides your own of course)
There are so many great ones. The one that immediately comes to mind is Bibliotheca. I love the concept, execution, and detail that went into this project. As a fellow designer I appreciate how Adam (the creator) took time to get things exactly right, even though it took much longer than he anticipated.
How did BackerKit change your overall experience?
Backerkit has helped in a bunch of different ways and I’m definitely glad we used it. Since we had multiple color options and configurations, the survey process and ability to let backers purchase add-ons was a huge plus for us. This made the process easy for the backers and easy for us to manage.
Do you have any hobbies and/or collect anything?
Soccer, snowboarding, photography, drinking amazing coffee, hiking, and spending time with my wife and son (and soon to be daughter). I enjoy each of these for different reasons, but sometimes the simplest things in life bring the most joy.
What’s next? Any upcoming projects you want to share?
Lots of stuff in the works, but I can’t share any of the details just yet. Let’s just say if you like Gather, your going to like the other things I’m working on 🙂
BONUS ROUND!
What did your desk look like before you created Gather?
A cluttered mess 🙂
How do you decide what add-ons to create for Gather?
I wanted to create modules to fit my needs that also had a host of other versatile options to fit the needs of others. We purposefully didn’t incorporate any electronics or technology that would become outdated. Gather is something that people will use for many years to come.
What’s your personal favorite feature of Gather?
Hard to pick just one, but the phone holder is a game changer. Once you get used to having your phone propped up on your desk, it’s hard to go back to not having it.
Want to help support Jeff and get your very own Gather? Head over to his pre-order store before time runs out! And be sure to check out Ugmonk, it’s brimming with well-designed and high quality products.