The AntHill

The AntHill http://www.luckyant.com/blog/ Latest Blog Posts From Lucky Ant Â© 2012 www.rubensteintech.com Al Pacino http://www.luckyant.com/blog/al-pacino.html 229 Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400 DeNiro http://www.luckyant.com/blog/deniro.html 230 Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400 Vaute Couture http://www.luckyant.com/blog/vaute-couture.html The STORE IS BORN Collection: Exclusively on Lucky Ant for the Lucky 13 Days to raise money for our first flagship store & first Spring/Summer Designs <3 $5 Wish Or Raffle -- One wish in the WISH IT FORWARD PROJECT (buy 2 for international) (Video) -- One raffle ticket to win any Vaute Couture winter coat good for 1 year (if you want to grab one of the first fall winter coats!), that’s $398-$565 retail value $25 -- The “Free Two Birds with One Key” Necklace We are doing a limited edition 50 necklaces per color duo (strawberries & cream- pink & ivory, sunshine & clouds-yellow & gray, and beach days-blues). This sweet spring 100% vegan necklace is made of pastel mini rope and shows one bird carrying the key to free the other. While sometimes it seems so many may be focused on what they can exploit (or kill with one stone), we’d love to focus on how compassion for one, can be compassion for all. Kindness spreads, and our circle of empathy should extend to everyone regardless of species... as we focus on one element of injustice, it will in doing so extend to all those facing injustice. Compassion for all. Let’s free two birds with one key. -- the “Sheep Dreams” exclusive art print Printed on organic or salvaged cotton canvas, this print is from a photograph I took after waking up from a nap with the amazing Sparky the Sheep at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. This haven is a dream for all rescued farm animals, and only a bus ride away from NYC (Please go visit!) You can purchase this print, we’ll only be doing 100 total and they are numbered and signed by me, Vaute Couture founder, Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart. $50 -- the “Sheep Dreams” hand detailed tee This tee is handcut just for you- you can specify off the shoulder oversized- crop length (18” long from back of neck to bottom of tee, pictured) or normal length(25” long), and we’ll cut it just for you!  It also includes a handpainted heart with VC on it, and you can choose if you’d like the heart to be petal pink, white, or sky blue. We can also write your name inside, one word or first name up to 10 letters. So special... hand detailed in our Flagship Store for you. The print on this 100% organic cotton black handcut tee is from a photograph I took after waking up from a nap with the amazing Sparky the Sheep at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. This haven is a dream for all rescued farm animals, and only a bus ride away from NYC (Please go visit!) --OUR FIRST CLASS: Handpainted Fashion with VC This is our very first class, at our very first store! Come visit us in Williamsburg Brooklyn for an evening with a local vegan painter & artist, who will teach you a few different ways to paint on your own clothing, or on a piece from us! You can bring something you’d like to paint (a plain top, dress, tee or tote) or purchase one from us at a special introductory price of $12 for an off the shoulder organic cotton or bamboo top, $15 for an organic tote bag, or $60 for one of our organic cotton dresses.  We’ll have a schedule of weekday evening or weekend afternoon options, the class will be 1 session for 3 hours, and includes all art supplies needed. Class is at most 10 people per session, for lots of one on one attention. You’ll get to take home your handpainted fashion! Class schedule begins in late May.  Btw, if we don’t have a class schedule that works for you, we will refund you- no problem. $100 --Five Art Prints Package: the FRIENDS SERIES Art Print Collection (4 prints) plus the Sheep Dreams Exclusive Print Animals are our friends, not food, fashion, test subjects, or entertainment. Our Friends Series tops are nearly always soldout, here we are launching a print version on organic or salvaged cotton canvas, printed in silver or gold. Made in the US. Perfect for framing (please note, the frame and mats pictured are not included, just the prints.) You receive 5 prints total: A Gold Rabbit, a Gold Chick, a Silver Sheep, and a Silver Elephant, plus a Sheep Dreams print. All are numbered and signed by Vaute Couture founder, Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, and the collection comes wrapped with a bow. Limit 15 sets, after that sets will not include a free 5th print. $500 - the Custom Handpainted Vaute Couture Dress (Only 5 available) We had two vegan artists painting dresses live at our Launch Party... it was so much fun but even more, we were blown away by the one of a kind dresses created from it! You can now order your own custom handpainted dress handpainted by a local vegan artist... you can specify what kind of design, colors, etc. on your handpainted organic cotton dress. Sizes available are XS-XL, and we have a few artists depending on schedule and style to choose from, concepts range from animals, to watercolors, to constellations, and abstract designs (Please note: the specific artist is not guaranteed.) Coats Named After You: $1000 (Only 3 available) Purchase two of the $500 option, and you’ll get 1 custom painted dress or coat, AND we will be naming one of our new coats this fall after you! Every season, I name my newest styles after those that inspire me: my favorite teachers, neighborhoods, & vegan celebrities... now I’d love to name them after some of our biggest supporters. I’ll create a name for a coat derived from yours, and we’ll include a short bio on who you are & why you support Vaute.  Both will be printed in our Look Book for the upcoming fall/winter 2012 collection. 225 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400 Happy 3months Lucky Ant http://www.luckyant.com/blog/happy-3months-lucky-ant.html Lucky Ant is 3 months old today and it's been a hell of a ride. After a great January, a bumpy February and a better than expected March, we wanted to celebrate by sharing some info about how things have been going. Thanks for joining us for the ride. Much more to come!3 months of Data: Visits: 24,492 Unique Visits: 17,290 Projects Hosted: 5 (plus one April Fools) Successful Projects: 3 (Bari Studio, Grotto, Dessert Truck) Funds Raised: $16,110 Subscribers on the site: 1,011 Pledges: 245 (including unsuccessful) Likes on Facebook: 452 Followers on Twitter: 329 photo credit: treatsastastytaters.blogspot.com 209 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400 Crowd-Gov http://www.luckyant.com/blog/crowd-gov.html originall posted on <a href="http://dailycrowdsource.com/crowdsourcing/crowd-leaders/992-crowdsourcing-stepping-in-where-government-falls-short">The Daily Crowdsource</a> The crowdfunding world was abuzz in February. After an <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/02/13/on-kickstarter-two-projects-pass-the-1-million-mark-in-a-single-day/">amazing start</a> to their month, Kickstarter announced that they are on track to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/kickstarter-funding_n_1300275.html">distribute more funds</a> in 2012 than the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This is undeniably great news for the industry at large, but it got me thinking: What does this mean for the role of government in a future where crowdfunding has really taken off?Crowdfunding as an industry is growing rapidly. A process that was once reserved for charity is now being applied to everything from artistic projects, to small businesses, and even to <a href="http://loudsauce.com/">billboards</a>. As crowdfunding continues to expand into new industries, it is increasingly reaching into areas that were traditionally reserved to the government or high net worth individuals. Oftentimes, as is the case with Kickstarter, they are doing amazing work (dare I say better?). It isn’t just about the amount of money raised; Kickstarter allows for quicker turnaround and for more and smaller projects than the NEA could handle. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not suggesting that the NEA is outdated, nor do I think that the government should cease grants for art programs. The NEA does incredible work, and if anything there will never be enough funding for the arts. What I am suggesting though is that crowdfunding can and will step in where governments cannot. Be it because of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/10/us/move-to-end-federal-subsidy-for-arts-splits-house-republicans.html?n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fC%2fCulture">partisan politics</a>, corruption, or simple <a href="http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/sba-loans-easier-said-than-done-51457.aspx">inefficiencies</a>, we can’t always count on our elected officials to achieve everything that we’d hoped for. In these instances, crowdfunding can become a powerful complementary tool for government. It can be a workaround of our oftentimes dysfunctional system. It allows us to choose what it is that we care about and to see it through start to finish. In the near future, don’t be surprised to see controversial scientific advances like stem cell research forego government grants in favor of a crowdfunded approach or to see NYC residents band together block by block to finally remove the potholes in this city (some NYC residents are already <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-underground-park-on-nycs-lower-east-sid">crowdfunding a park</a>).  The possibilities for what we can crowdfund are only limited by the imagination of the people doing the funding and those proposing the projects. As the industry grows, the lines between what is “government’s responsibility” and what we can do ourselves will be increasingly blurred. In the same way the Internet made us citizens of world, it is now making us better citizens in our respective countries and communities. The result, I hope, is that we will no longer wait for elected officials to get their acts together and instead do it ourselves: one micro-pledge at a time. 196 Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400 Daily Crowd Source Crowd Leader http://www.luckyant.com/blog/daily-crowd-source-crowd-leader.html 186 Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400 L.E.S http://www.luckyant.com/blog/l-e-s.html Have you noticed something different about the neighborhood at the top of the page? That's right, Lucky Ant is growing by shrinking! We are now in the Lower East Side. Photo Credit: http://dianawu88.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/178/In order to accomodate more neighborhoods, Lucky Ant has shifted focus from the general area of downtown Manhattan to just the Lower East Side. That means you can be on the lookout soon for expansion to the East Village, SOHO, West Village, Chelsea, etc.  187 Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400 Lucky Ant is Back http://www.luckyant.com/blog/lucky-ant-is-back.html  Did you miss us? Of course you did. After a 6-week hiatus, Lucky Ant is back and we are hosting our next project. Here are a few things you need to know. Why were we gone?            Like all <a href="http://www.luckyant.com/images/content/3/7/374.jpg">startups</a>, at Lucky Ant we did our best to have a smooth launch. We’d been planning for so long, and we thought we had all our bases covered. Unfortunately like every startup (and small business) there were <a href="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2009/11/22/129034051302562376.jpg">a few hiccups</a> that we just could not plan for. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-STVvhnVQrHk/TcshyHWi_QI/AAAAAAAAA1w/OWPxlKQiX6g/s1600/bureaucracy+cartoon.gif">Unexpected bureaucracy</a> kept us from moving forward and we’ve been stuck in paperwork ever since. We promised our good friends at <a href="/content/structured-data/blog_post_list/streetfightmag.com">Street Fight Magazine</a> that we would write a guest post about our troubles, so check them out to find out more soon. Who’s up now?             The good folks at <a href="http://victorygardennyc.com/">Victory Garden</a> have been oh so good to us. Despite all the delays, Sophia and her team have stuck by us and they will be our next project. Victory Garden is raising $2,800 to pay for a grab n’ go fridge. Check out her video on <a href="http://www.luckyant.com/nyc/downtown/index.html">the project page</a>. What’s next?            If you’ve been following our Tweets and Facebook updates, you know that we recently hired. Nate Echeverria is now heading up outreach with our small business clients. He’s been at it for only a few days, but is already <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3RAssUMDiAs/SYwf2EORMvI/AAAAAAAAAKc/V3SKvw23_ic/s400/funny-wallpapers-rabbit-at-work.jpg">hard at work</a> and getting ready to open our next neighborhood(s). <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Brooklyn-believehype-hbm.jpg">Brooklyn</a>: ready or not here we come! More from Nate in a guest blog post coming up this week. Anything else? <ul> <li>Check out Crowdfunding Month at <a href="http://dailycrowdsource.com/">The Daily Crowdsource</a></li> <li>We have a new Twitter account for our merchants. Follow us <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/forluckyants">@ForLuckyAnts</a></li> <li>The race is on to reach 500 Likes on Facebook. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/theluckyant">Help us get there</a>.</li> </ul>   <ul> </ul> 166 Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Crowdfunding Month http://www.luckyant.com/blog/crowdfunding-month.html Our good friends at <a href="http://dailycrowdsource.com/">The Daily Crowdsource</a> are spearheading March as crowdfunding month. Hey, everyone else seems to get a month it only seems natural that crowdfunding should to. Go check out their lineup: <a href="http://dailycrowdsource.com/crowdsourcing/news/981-the-celebration-of-crowdfunding-month-begins">here</a> to see what they have in store. Lucky Ant will be participating with a guest post about Crowdfunding and the Government (coming soon). 163 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Startups http://www.luckyant.com/blog/startups.html 160 Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Guessing game http://www.luckyant.com/blog/guessing-game.html Hint 1: There are goats involved (yes in New York City). Photo Credit: Flickr User <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdickert/">ilovebutter</a> 158 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 New Projects http://www.luckyant.com/blog/new-projects.html As you know, Lucky Ant brings you one project every week. We succesfully funded Bari Studio in our first week, and we unfortunately could not muster enough support for the Food and Finance High School. Those of you who have been to the website regularly in the past few weeks have noticed that we haven't had any new projects up since the Food and Finance High School. So, what gives? (read more below)At Lucky Ant we are learning the hard way that no matter how many times you do your due dilligence, all startups are subject to "hiccups" especially in the first few weeks. After the Food and Finance High School project, Lucky Ant discovered a minor technical issue. As it turns out, there is no such thing as a minor technical issue for a startup. Long story short, we are almost done getting everything back on track and we hope to have a new project up for you guys soon. 157 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Wall Street Brain Drain http://www.luckyant.com/blog/wall-street-brain-drain.html The <a class="target-blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dinesh-moorjani/wall-street-loss-new-york_b_1205345.html">Huffington Post</a> has a great op-ed by Dinesh Moorjani (founder of Hatch Labs). It is definitely worth a read.  154 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Guest Post: Why I am involved with Food and Finance High http://www.luckyant.com/blog/guest-post-why-i-am-involved.html I am so happy to have discovered this New York city public school. We are so used to hearing about how the educational system is failing and we forget to give proper merit to the exemplary schools. Food and Finance High School is a public school that offers an exceptional program in the culinary, hospitality fields and in the sciences in partnership with Cornell University; all in addition to the regular curriculum. <div>How many schools can boast a hydroponic lab, and an aquaponic fish lab in their school with which the students are learning and working with the technologies of the future? Oh by the way these same students ran "Entre Nous" a pop up restaurant hosted by the Food Network in the spring of 2011.</div>   <div>Jean Pierre is the founder and owner of Touche de Finesse Catering a catering company based in New York City. He is also a member of the Food and Finance High School Advisory Board. </div> 142 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Congratulations to Bari! http://www.luckyant.com/blog/congratulations-to-bari.html At 2:15pm Bari received a $100 pledge, which put them over their fundraising goal! Congrats to Alexandra and the Bari team! We are so happy to have participated. As was promised in our agreement: The Lucky Ant Team will come in to take one Bari class. Yikes! 128 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Lucky Ant Pantless http://www.luckyant.com/blog/lucky-ant-pantless.html I don't see how you could need more incentive to chip in for Bari Studio, but just in case... Here is my pledge: If Bari Studio is funded by Sunday Morning, I (Jonathan Moyal, Founder of Lucky Ant) will participate in the pantless subway ride. The ball is in your court New Yorkers. <a class="target-blank" title="RAVN: No Pants Subway Ride" href="http://ravn.com/new-york-ny/events/the-no-pants-subway-ride-in-new-york">More info here</a> 126 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Bari Socks and Ball http://www.luckyant.com/blog/bari-socks-and-ball.html Many of you have reached out asking what the Bari socks and Bari Ball actually look like.  Here they are! Aren't they awesome? 121 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Don't forget to sign up! http://www.luckyant.com/blog/signing-up.html We're so happy to have so much traffic on only our second day.  If you like Lucky Ant don't forget to sign up! We'll be featuring a new project every week so even if this week's project isn't for you, the next one might be! If you want to sign up, but you're not in New York City, try our newsletter below - you'll be the first to know when we start expanding nationwide (worldwide?). 120 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Lucky Ant is Good http://www.luckyant.com/blog/lucky-ant-is-good.html We know we've been bombarding you with Lucky Ant being in the press these past two days, but cut us some slack we're new. We promise just a few more days of press stuff and we'll get back to blogging about real things. About an hour ago we got picked up by GOOD.is you know as in Good Magazine.  Zak Stone did an awesome writeup, which <a class="target-blank" title="Good.Is: Lucky Ant" href="http://www.good.is/post/new-startup-gives-local-businesses-the-kickstarter-treatment/">you can read here</a>. 122 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Lucky Ant on PSFK http://www.luckyant.com/blog/lucky-ant-on-psfk.html Looks like Lucky Ant is spreading. PSFK picked up our launch this morning. We've seen a lot of traffic throughout the day thanks to this blog post, so thanks guys! PS: we love the image :) <a class="target-blank" href="http://www.psfk.com/2012/01/kickstarter-like-crowdfunding-platform-for-local-merchants-launches.html">Link here</a> 119 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Lucky Ant in the Daily News http://www.luckyant.com/blog/lucky-ant-in-the-daily-news.html Just a quick blurb in the New York Daily News on Sunday to announce our upcoming project for the Food and Finance High School We are helping them raise money to open a pop-up restaurant run by their students. Sign up and check back next week to chip in.  118 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Facebook Event http://www.luckyant.com/blog/facebook-event.html Don't forget to join and share the <a class="target-blank" title="Lucky Ant Launch" href="http://www.facebook.com/events/247186052015822/">Lucky Ant Launch Event</a> on Facebook! 116 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Lucky Ant is on StreetFight http://www.luckyant.com/blog/lucky-ant-is-on-streetfight.html StreetFight is an awesome blog that covers the hyperlocal industry. We were at their conference back in October in NYC and met up with David. Today Lucky Ant is on StreetFight.  This kicks off the official Lucky Ant launch! <a class="target-blank" title="Lucky Ant Launches" href="http://streetfightmag.com/2012/01/02/lucky-ant-launches-extending-kickstarter-style-crowdfunding-to-local-merchants/">Check out the article here.</a> 111 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Bari Studio is on Shatterbox! http://www.luckyant.com/blog/bari-studio-is-on-shatterbox.html Our current project of the week is being featured on Shatterbox this week! Check out more about Alexandra and Bari Studio above. 103 Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500 Focus on the User http://www.luckyant.com/blog/focus-on-the-user.html 39 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400 a little long but oh so true http://www.luckyant.com/blog/a-little-long-but-oh-so-true.html 38 Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400