Let’s Kickstart This!
Originally published during our 2024 Kickstarter campaign.
Have you ever backed a Kickstarter campaign? It’s not the same as Go Fund Me, which helps you give money to people or nonprofit organizations in need.
Instead, Kickstarter helps bring creative projects to life by inviting you to back projects you feel are important. Your contribution is matched by a reward, a gift back to you: in our case, you will receive either the kit itself or another item of value, depending on the level you choose.
We see making personal sand mandalas as a way to help address the growing mental health crisis across the country. A tactile, soothing experience that can combat stress, it can also aid in the practice of mindfulness, increase understanding through cultural enrichment, and help combat isolation through a shared experience.
Watch our official Kickstarter video.
Why we’re doing it this way
Kickstarter will help us gauge the interest of a wider audience: you and the friends you tell about it, and also those who find us on social media. Although we’ve spent many hours developing the most beautiful and engaging way to make sand mandalas, and have tested it with friends and family, the most important thing we need to know is whether you and others want it.
If the answer is yes—and we’ll know through your pledges—we will go ahead with our first production run. Success means that we will be building a foundation for a long term business that will go on to further meet the needs of our communities by making sand mandalas available to community groups and to organizations that serve at-risk teens and adults.
You can be part of bringing this vision to life. The more people who know about it, the greater our chance of success. We need your help to get the word out because we will only get access to the funding if the project is successful (i.e. to get the funding we need to meet our financial goal; if we don’t, we will not get any contributions).
Our mission is to make this widely available so that everyone gains a beautiful tool for help to destress as well as a way to build community.
But first, we have to make it happen.
Something else exciting is happening soon – the solar eclipse! Below is a link to a fun app to help you track the eclipse, as well as a fascinating look at sand dunes moving and forming.
Additional links
Keep going
More from Creative Thinking
Ideas on mindfulness, mandalas and making things with sand.
Learn more: why we paint with sand, how sand art works, video tutorials and our materials.