Archive
Journal, 2011–2012
These are the posts we wrote while trying to launch the Turntable Lights on Kickstarter, kept as they were written, oldest first. Expect some sales enthusiasm.
Oct 17, 2011
Company name & logo design
While Nanda and I have been creating art together for years, it wasn't until now that we required a marketable brand name. Fortunately, Nanda was struck with a brilliant idea while daydreaming last week, and the name "wood+light" was born. Attached are some logo designs we've been playing around with. I like the top one better, but Nanda likes the bottom one. She's always right, but I usually get my way. :-P
Soon enough you'll see the winning logo design proudly displayed at the top of this page. The fun begins!
Oct 17, 2011
Kickstarter, here we come!
Nanda and I met about 10 years ago at a night club in Hollywood, CA. Shortly thereafter we moved in together and began creating art, with one of the first pieces being a lighted turntable wall sculpture. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when, motivated by encouragement from Nanda and several friends, I decided to develop a Kickstarter project to raise funding for a large production run of these beauties. I registered this domain name and submitted our application at www.kickstarter.com the morning of October 10, 2011. After a long day of anticipation, Kickstarter accepted my project proposal late that evening:
-----------------------
from Kickstarter no-reply@kickstarter.com
to mwald@woodpluslight.com
date Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 9:06 PM
subject Your Kickstarter project has been accepted!
Hi Mark,
Congratulations -- you’re in!
[blah blah blah...]
Love,
Kickstarter
Oct 17, 2011
Prototypes
We're planning to sell a whole bunch of these things through Kickstarter, so we're working with two separate precision fabrication shops to mass produce the turntable sculptures for us. Attached below is a photo of the first prototype partially assembled. Very exciting!
Oct 17, 2011
Yeah, they're pretty impressive
Last night, Nanda whipped up this illustration to give folks an idea of how big these actually are:
Oct 18, 2011
Kickstarter video - soundtrack
Music is a big part of our life, and rarely an hour goes by at home without some kind of wonderful music either playing in the background or blasting full tilt. I'm especially partial to all sorts of electronic music, with trip hop and dub currently at the top of my list for everyday listening. So I recently contacted DJ Maggie, who I've been following for several years on MySpace and SoundCloud, to ask for her permission to use one of her mixes in our upcoming Kickstarter video. I'm thrilled to have her blessing for this, and I'm sharing the link to my favorite mix ("Cactupillar Kerfuffle") here for everyone to enjoy:
Cactupillar Kerfuffle by DJ Maggie
Oct 19, 2011
Second prototype is shipping!
We're very excited to be receiving the prototype pictured here early next week! The fabricator applied a Danish oil finish to this piece to seal the wood surface, which is different from the unfinished earlier versions we made ourselves but sounds like a good idea. From the photos, it looks like excellent quality workmanship. We're going to change the species of wood used for some of the buttons and the tone arm to something a little lighter in color, and we may beef up the tone arm shaft from 1/4" to 5/8" to achieve a "chunkier" look. More good news--the shipping cost for this package aligns well with our business model estimates, so we won't need to adjust the final product pricing for this. Yay!
Oct 31, 2011
lighted turntables featured on Trend Hunter
With 35,000,000 monthly views, TrendHunter.com is the world's largest, most popular trend community. Since 2006 Trend Hunter has been serving its audience with a daily dose of micro-trends, viral news and pop culture, and on October 26th they featured our lighted turntable sculpture on their Art & Design blog here!
Oct 31, 2011
Business cards on the way
I'll be installing a few prototype sculptures in strategic venues around Los Angeles over the next week, so Nanda just whipped up this sweet business card design to help folks find us online after they fall in love with the demo displays in person. The two of us make such a great team!
Nov 10, 2011
Wood+Light in the news!
Folks, check out our News page for a list of recent media coverage, together with screen shots and links to the online articles. And while you're there, please take a minute to like/tweet/share the article with your friends. Thanks!
Nov 10, 2011
Prototypes on display around LA!
Below is a quick cell phone pic of the first prototype that got installed a few weeks ago in a popular fraternity house at ULCA. Contact us if you're local and want to swing by to check it out! (more locations to be announced soon...)
Nov 16, 2011
Wood+Light contributing to Playing For Change Foundation fundraiser
Wood+Light has partnered with Peace & Love Thru Music to auction off one of our lighted turntable sculptures, with proceeds to benefit the Playing For Change Foundation, Guitars in the Classroom, Resounding Joy, and Kids for Peace.
Bidding opens 11/18 - preview the items and follow the awesome auction action here
The Playing For Change Foundation is a friend of Wood+Light. They're dedicated to connecting the world through music by providing resources to musicians and their communities around the world. We're thrilled to be able to support this wonderful program through the upcoming charity auction!
Nov 29, 2011
Turntable Lights featured on 52 North blog
Friend, art enthusiast, and time traveller* "Digs" publishes a blog, 52 North, about design, photography, fashion, and modern urban culture. We love his sense of style, humor, and ever-growing collection of eye candy - 52 North is your source for international inspiration & visual stimulation, offering momentary glimpses of the world as seen through the eyes, ears, and mind of Digs. Get your digs on by following 52 North!
*52 North recently relocated from Oregon to Amsterdam, which is 9 hours ahead of PST. Ha!
Dec 12, 2011
Last 2011 Production Run
Folks, here are some pics from the fabricator of the next production run of our turntable light sculptures. Finished products should start shipping between mid Dec and early Jan. Looking good!
Jan 17, 2012
1st production run ships tomorrow
The first live production run encountered some unexpected delay but is finally shipping to anxiously awaiting customers tomorrow. Photos below were taken right before packing a few sets into shipping boxes. If you missed out on this run, don't worry. Now's the perfect time tocontact us to place your order for the next batch!
Dec 11, 2012
2012 Holiday update!
Hey fans, we're looking forward to the arrival of another production run of lighted turntable sculptures just in time for the holidays! Better than a messy x-mas tree, our lighted wall sculptures are made by hand, glow with LED awesomeness, and last all year long. Get your festive on by ordering one for yourself today!
Dec 11, 2012
2013 sneak peek
Here are some stealth pics to give you a hint at the growing collection of artist collaborations we've been working on with some of the west coast's baddest artists. Hit us up for more info if you're interested!
