Behind the scenes, into the future of #BuildTheFlea

Our #BuildTheFlea Kickstarter campaign ends on Tuesday, May 12. We're 11 days, one Flea and 74% away from meeting our goal and taking the next big step in growing the Cleveland Flea.

Why does it take a village?

We invited the community to help fund the project because the Flea has always been powered by the hands, brains and sweat of Cleveland. It's an opportunity to invest in something you love, believe in and can watch flourish.

And we can't lie: we heart the accountability and expectations inherent in crowdfunding! What better reason to aim sky-high and deliver than creating AMAZING together?

So, why does it take $40,000?

The most common question we get: what's with the price tag? Indeed, it would be cheaper (at first) to bulk-buy from IKEA. But economic Scandinavian furniture was neither built in Cleveland nor designed to accommodate 30,000 butts a month!

So, we've kept the design and manufacturing of our furniture as close to home as possible. (Here's some backstory on our design and build partners.) Also included in the cost: a slushie machine for our bar build-out and the cost of Kickstarter perks and a sliver of campaign promotion. Want more details? Here's the full bill:

What's the timeline for #BuildTheFlea?

• The Cleveland Flea partnered with 2nd Shift Design Studio and Soulcraft Woodshop over winter break to talk design, goals, functionality, budgets and timelines. By the launch of the Kickstarter campaign, the DESIGN PHASE was DONE!
   
• Next milestone: achieve $40,000 in Kickstarter funding by Tuesday, May 12. We will only be able to move ahead with #BuildTheFlea with a successful Kickstarter campaign. (Have you chipped in?)
   
• Funding in hand, we send out marching orders! Soulcraft Woodshop will immediately spring into action, designing the small-batch manufacturing of our furniture collection. The lumber will be delivered in mid-May. 
   
• The 80 benches, 40 tables, nine bar counters will take a Soulcraft village to build, finish and assemble. Delivery estimate for the collection to Tyler Village is mid-June/early July. We have our fingers crossed for the June Flea, but have our sights set on July.
   
• And the slushie machine? Well, that baby's debuting in June!
   
• Perks for Kickstarter backers will begin rolling out in May (mostly small items, like stickers and buttons). Most rewards will be delivered or picked up in July. Most of our perks are being designed and created by vendors of the Cleveland Flea. We've worked with those makers to define a reasonable timeline.
   
• Next-step projects (not funded by Kickstarter), including the tiny house on wheels bar-build and long house, outlined at the bottom of the graphic above, will happen during July/August 2015. 

Want to learn more about #BuildTheFlea?

Visit our Kickstarter campaign to read about our #BuildTheFlea project, see photos and videos, keep up with updates and dig into our list of fab perks. The campaign ends Tuesday, May 12 at 11:59 p.m. The clock is ticking!

Already pitched in? We love you. If you want to know how else you can help, we've pulled together a campaign headquarters with tips for spreading the word. Thank you for your support. Let's build this thing!