Crowdfunding London: August

Chris Lockie
By Chris Lockie Last edited 115 months ago
Crowdfunding London: August

Bubble Football

This month’s round-up looks at London’s best projects on Indiegogo and Kickstarter.

The London Bubble Football League

Following our article on where to play bubble football in London, a timely Kickstarter campaign has emerged looking to create a league around this remarkable sport. For those currently picturing people trying to kick washing-up liquid bubbles and complaining that they keep bursting, bubble football is in fact an indoor sport where players kick a regular football around while dressed in a massive protective bubble. The lunacy of it all is summed up superbly in the video on the Kickstarter page.

On the one hand it’s the death of contact sport as we know it; on the other, it’s bloody hilarious. Strong knees are recommended as you will need to right yourself a lot. And it deserves its own league, for which organisers need money to buy zorbs (the giant bubbles), pitch hire, pay referees and so on. Rewards include training sessions, spots in teams, places for whole teams in the league, all the way up to sponsorship opportunities.

The O-band 365 wrist Oyster

O-band

UPDATE: We're leaving this section here, but the veracity of such a device has been questioned by a few people. We've conducted a little investigation of our own, and you can find the results here.

Some people put their Oyster card in a purse or wallet and have to wrestle it from within, right at the mouth of the gate. Others have an Oyster card holder jammed at the bottom of a bag that they can never seem to find at the crucial moment. Some people seem bafflingly unable to prevent themselves holding up the smooth flow of passengers at just the moment when all anyone wants is to get home and away from the world.

In a bid to remove the stress from these tricky barrier tailbacks, the O-band 365 is a wristband that the company claims is paired with your Oyster card so you can touch in and out and top-up without having to scramble about for the card itself. You know, this could be a good idea — if it works. However, we're not sure TfL would allow an external company access to the back end of its technology — and therefore, if this could ever get off the ground, without physically removing the RFID chip in your Oyster card. TfL says it does not endorse this product and adds that anyone who removes the chip from their Oyster risks a penalty fare.

Original Gravity - The London Brew Scene

Original Gravity

As many of you may know, Londonist is a supporter of the London drinking scene and makes no excuses for that. We’re therefore delighted that a Londoner named Kevin Karaca has taken it upon himself to produce Original Gravity, a documentary on the city’s booming brewing culture, showing where brewers work, what they do and why they do it.

There are now countless microbrewers in the city and it’s a scene that definitely deserves a documentary celebrating it. Kevin and his WhiteStag Productions company are part-way through production but need help to finish it off. Pledge rewards include meeting brewers and tasting beers, as well as knowing you’ve helped preserve a fine part of London life on film forever.

A music studio for at-risk young adults

Music Studio

With its roots in a boxing gym in Lambeth, this project aims to raise funds to create a music studio in London for young, under-privileged children to learn to express their creativity, and to promote positive behaviour and learning. In many ways it’s the music version of a boxing gym, which aims to give structure to those who may otherwise fall between the cracks.

Currently the only pledge reward is the equivalent of some paid-for time in the proposed studio, and it may be worth prodding the people behind it to add a few lower-level categories to entice people unwilling to shell out £250. The project is the brainchild of one of the many recipients of help from the excellent Carney's Community, who mentor young people in the community to help them avoid a life on the wrong side of the tracks.

Interrobang?!

Interrobang

Described as “an immersive detective game racing through London”, Interrobang?! is another of those theatrical endeavours that requires its audience to work through the plot both physically and mentally rather than sit on their backsides and demand to be played to like emperors. It seems to us like it’s about time one of these took off. Work for your entertainment London, work for it!

‘Detectives’ will have one day to solve a perplexing murder case around the streets of east London. The daytime version of the game will be most suited to families and players aged 8 and above, while the evening version will have a more adult bent. You’ll be able to sign up together with friends or family, or individually to be allocated to a team of four on the day.

Funds are required for rehearsals and publicity materials, and pledge rewards include posters and production stills, the chance to meet the cast and crew and even become a character in the show. If you’re just interested in playing the game, a ticket link can be found on the Indiegogo page.

Last Updated 12 August 2014