Silverglass Kickstarter
Building Better Building Blocks
Children need toys they can touch. Construction toys are a way to help a child discover engineering concepts like stress and weight, and give a grounding in how structures work. Without understanding these in an intuitive way, future attempts to learn topics like physics will be an uphill battle.
My building blocks pick up where other sets leave off. Moving beyond the age old models of basic shapes, these blocks have carefully designed connecting pieces that allow much more elaborate buildings to be made. They are proportional to each other, so there's no problems with blocks not fitting where it seems like they should. They're made from quality, resilient woods that can take abuse for years without giving up the ghost, and the variety and scope of the pieces mean that as your child gets older, they offer more opportunities for building.
So why do I need your help? At the moment it takes me about 15 hours to make a full set of blocks. With better tools this time can be dramatically reduced, making it possible to make blocks in large numbers. Among other things, I need a way to transform rough lumber into the dimensioned pieces needed to make these precisely engineered blocks. I need a way to sand large quantities of pieces, and keep their edges safely rounded and splinter free.
With your help, we can overcome these financial barriers, and simultaneously provide our children with years of entertainment. I'm offering the first runs of these blocks at a steeply discounted price, in many reward levels, through the Kickstarter program. Pledging your support for when this program starts is a great way of helping make this dream a reality, and my family and I would be forever grateful. But that's not the only reason to help. Take a look at these reasons to support the Kickstarter:
With no finishes or chemicals used, these woods are safe for children of all ages and come from managed, renewable lumber sources in North America.
With ridges and recesses to take pegs and other pieces, these blocks have an unprecedented ability to interact, allowing freestanding additions and creative elaborations.
Made of soft maple and aromatic walnut, these building blocks are made of high-grade, superior lumber that is made both to last and to please the eye.
I believe in my projects, and I love making them. Supporting this project is supporting a local craftsman, using American materials and using traditional skills.
It's amazing what can be done with a little imagination. See the building blocks in action!
Building blocks is one step, but it's an important one.
There are three different sets of building blocks: the basic, the advanced, and the expert.
When I was a kid, building blocks were the best toys. With them, anything was possible: a cathedral, a rocket ship, an entire city for various other toys to destroy like Godzilla. The tactile sensation of stacking blocks is a primal joy children everywhere have long enjoyed. But in the push for immediate gratification, and ever increasing gender segretation of new toys the building block has for the most part fallen by the wayside. They have not gotten the attention they deserve. When I became a father, it also became quickly apparent that even now, blocks are still a lot of fun for children to play with.
But while a great deal of time and effort has been spent making flashy toys flashier, very little has been spent on making the building block better. Basic shapes are alright, but I longed for the day when my buildings looked real, when I could have flying buttresses and spiraling towers that strove for the sky. So when I made my children building blocks, I decided they needed to be at least as cool as the ones I wanted when I was a kid.
The reception from my friends and family was amazing. Everyone loved these blocks, from their steampunk inspired aesthetic to the amazingly diverse ways they could be put together. The quality craftsmanship I brought to the blocks made them so much more appealing to play with, and the hardwoods they were made from was a near guarantee of a family heirloom. I decided to bring the joy my children felt to as many people as possible, but in my little shop, with the tools that I had, it wasn't feasible. That's where you come in. With your help, I can purchase the materials and tools I need to make my building blocks for hundreds of children, and share the happiness that my own family already knows.
"My daughter has loved her blocks since the time she could stack one on top of another."
We build towers, knock them over, then build all over again. It's hours of fun, and she never gets bored. Sometimes she makes houses for her dolls, or pretend furniture. Best of all, we enjoy this time together, and can't wait to include her baby brother.
"There is something magic about these blocks."
No matter how they are arranged, they create something beautiful. And when formed into buildings, those buildings have such character that you can't help but imagine the fantastic worlds in which they exist.
We have many reward levels, but these three cover the heart and soul of what's offered in the kickstarter.
