Dry City Brew Works

Unique, small batch craft brewing located in downtown Wheaton, IL!

Dry City Brew Works will be a fun, friendly place to hang out and taste some great craft beer in Wheaton!  Rather than specializing in one style, our goal is to bring our quality and high standards to a variety of different ales to always keep things fresh, interesting, and delicious.

A few of our beers. Including "MiracAle", a collaboration with the Wheaton Grand Theater's 'Miracle On Hale Street' team to be served upon its opening, and "Providence Coffee Milk Stout", brewed with coffee from our neighbors at River City Roasters.

A Brewery In Wheaton?  When Dry City Brew Works opens this summer, it will truly be an historic event!  The City of Wheaton banned the sale of alcohol in 1887 and didn’t issue its first liquor license until 1985.  Together, with the incredible support of the city, we are very excited to be bringing craft beer to our hometown of Wheaton!

It is also our hope to work along with other local businesses to gain attention and increase attraction of downtown to visitors.  Our Coffee Milk Stout, which was brewed especially for the "In Good Taste Toast" to kick off Downtown Wheaton's restaurant week, featured coffee beans roasted by our neighbors at River City Roasters.  Dry City Brew Works will be centrally located, between Hale and Main Street, and a quick walk from the train station.  Our tasting room will allow you to sample all of our delicious beers, and take your favorite Dry City beers to go!

Before.

Risks and challengesLearn about accountability on Kickstarter

Over the past several years, we have researched, created, and brewed original recipes for nearly every core style of ale. Many of these have been rebrewed several times by request and have demonstrated both demand and consistency. This experience allows us the ability to play with traditional styles and incorporate techniques and ingredients that occasionally stretch the boundaries of craft brewing.

To make this vision a reality, there is much work that needs to be done. In addition to the necessary build-out, adding gas and water lines, stainless steel fermenting vessels, serving tanks, a walk-in cooler, and reinforced floors and drainage, we want this tasting room to be a unique and beautiful space for everyone to come together and share a pint or two. Please join us in making Dry City Brew Works a true destination, and one of the most enjoyable and entertaining places to visit in Wheaton!

Each of the four owners brings an individual expertise needed to support this vision. A lifelong engineer and former Chief Technology Officer to streamline efficiency and help in the brewing process, an entrepreneur with over 10 years of small business accounting experience to track day to day expenses, a designer experienced in customer service to manage the tasting room, and a pharmacist/musician who blends chemistry and creativity to produce consistently great beers!

Zulu Zion Trendy Socks

Socks designed to bring a combination of vivid colors and unexpected patterns to your feet.

Connect with us: Facebook   Twitter   Instagram

Inspired by african tribes, positive vibes and 90's street culture.

Zulu Zion presents you socks that are designed to bring a combination of vivid colors and unexpected patterns - stepping away from the traditional stripes and polka dots,away from the classic navy blue and the 'always safe' black. Zulu Zion is stepping into the world where people are not afraid of colors and patterns are their means of communication. Zulu Zion is stepping into Africa, where we find inspiration to create and design - for you, for us.

1. BOLD, VIBRANT COLORS

When designing the socks, vibrant colors were the only option we would consider for production. The whole Zulu Zion positive vibe can only be expressed with the use of such vivid colors – dullness and darkness just didn't fit the equation.

2. GRAPHIC PATTERN

This is what sets our socks apart from the rest. We sourced our inspiration in african tribes, 90's hip hop cultural  and fashion movement and reinterpreted these into our own designs. We wanted to step away from the stripes, squares and polka dots and create something different, unexpected  but still fashion forward.

3. PREMIUM QUALITY - 100% MADE IN EUROPE

All of our socks are made from quality materials – we use Italian thread which is a synonym for quality at its best.

4. DURABLE

Because they are made from quality and as-natural-as-possible materials, our socks will last you a long time and will not rip after just few wears.

5. FASHION FORWARD

Zulu Zion sock wear is created for people that feel confident in their style and give attention to details when choosing their outfit. For those that appreciate a quality design and don't mind setting themselves apart from the crowd. We want you to show off our socks - roll up your jeans and let the world see that style start's from the feet up.

Are you ready to see the awesomeness you will be getting in your mail, just weeks after your pledge? Here goes…

The radest of them all, you will get to choose your favorite pair from the collection.

In collaboration with an illustrator Meta Wraber we created an exclusive Kickstarter design T-shirt. The design is silk screen printed on 100% cotton T-shirts.

In collaboration with the multi-talented Ada Hamza, we created custom leather backpacks in Zulu Zion color scheme and used the patterns as the lining.

In collaboration with MURKSLI Customboards, we created a long board that not only cruzes smoothly, but looks damn good too. Made of high quality local wood it features a custom Zulu Zion design.

Looks great and can't wait to hit the PLEDGE button, but what can I get for my money, right? Let's sum it up for you.

As two creative people with a lot of ideas on their minds, we knew we would one day start something that will move us one step away from being just an idea we had in our head. After working for several years on commercial graphic design and various projects, Miha finally decided it was time to stop doing what he was doing at that moment, and start working on fulfilling his creative needs. We talked about making socks several times before, but it always stayed at the idea stage, never really moving any further than that. 

See, we are both fans of colors and graphic prints – but when it comes to socks, we were both buying something that was either colorful or had an interesting pattern – but rarely was the case that we found a sock that offered both. And quite frankly, we were sick of choosing between stripes or polka dots. So we decided to create socks that we wanted to wear. Socks that we envisioned and wanted to make reality. Having moved to the country side, we immediately jumped in action.

We were lucky to have found a family-owned factory that produced socks for over two generations, just minutes away from our new flat. How destined was that, right?

We quickly started sketching and searching for inspiration. We found out we listened to a whole lot of african music, and so we searched for african tribes and immediately got immersed in their culture of clothing and paternity.

We are both also huge fans of the early 90's street culture and listen to a lot of old school hip hop, jazz and african music - all of this served as an inspiration when designing the Zulu Zion sock wear line and forming the brand identity you see in our campaign.

Miha & Dijana with Toni - the guy that makes the magic happen

We love the community Kickstarter has built and have a great respect for all backers. We feel every much psyched about your pledges as you do and we can't wait to deliver some awesome socks to your feet. Because the world of apparel works on bulk quantities, the money raised with this campaign will be mainly used for two reasons:

1. to cover the costs of production of the 9 designs presented in the campaign and if the funding exceeds the initial goal, 

2. we will be able to offer these designs in other color combinations, as currently we are limited in that matter. But just imagine what we could do if we would have threads in colors we really, really wanted? A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

But of course, we are not looking at this as a one-hit wonder. We have great plans for Zulu Zion in the near future. And with your help, we will be able to expand the sock wear line and offer a wide range of accessories along with it. 

Pickup Guitar Club - A new way to learn Guitar

Hi all,

Although I barely get to lay my musical fingers on the keyboard these days, my passion for music runs in my blood and will always stay boiling hot with creation overflowing, so when I came across this project I was zapped into it and contributed towards the successful completion of this work.

I wish the group my best compliments , to complete and take this ahead with pace.

http://kck.st/1q5E1BV

Learn faster and more enjoyably! Play songs you know, guided by note-recognition software. Guitar Hero for REAL guitar!

Finally, Learning Guitar is as Fun as Listening to Your Favorite Songs

What Songs Will I Learn? Here are a few:

Level Two, Song List

Our co-founder, Brian, never took a traditional lesson. He learned through songs instead. 10 years later, after playing many shows and working as a lead guitarist, he is bringing that method to you! Songs like Closing Time, Wagon Wheel, Ho Hey, Eye of the Tiger, The A-Team, Dani California, and more! Learning guitar is now easier and more enjoyable than ever!

How Will I Learn? 

Software In Development

This isn't rocket-science, guitar should be easy to learn. That's why we spent months designing the software. It's designed to operate as close to a game as possible. A really fun game. No more music frustration. Our software guides you through each song and corrects you when you slip up. It's just like playing Guitar Hero, but with a real guitar, Acoustic or Electric. Best of all it works on any Mac, PC, or Tablet!

Song Feedback, notifying you of areas of improvement and excellence

An important part of learning anything is highlighting areas of improvement. We do that better than ever. After every song, a detailed screen displays your progress. Our software finds specific areas of improvement and notifies you. You earn achievements the better you play.

Learn any guitar 

Specific hardware not necessary

I already had a guitar, and requiring a specific guitar for a game that wouldn't work in real life was not what I wanted. That's why we made our software work with real guitars, and any guitars. Acoustic and electric guitars are both fun to play, but each has their own sound. Which ever you prefer, we guarantee it'll work with our site.

 Not only does the game work with any guitar, acoustic or electric, the songs are chosen for every guitar. Country, Alternative, Pop, Rock, Soft Rock, and more. Whatever style you love, you can learn.

Powered By Polyphonic Note Recognition

Running in the background, listening to your guitar

Listening to your guitar, to ensure you sound as good as can be. And notifying you of missed notes. This is the heart of our software. This is your personal, private instructor always helping you get better. Patent-pending.

The Life of Jack, Brian, and PickupGuitarClub

Rewards!

$5 - Say hi! Receive some love

Become a part of PickupGuitarClub.com You'll be a member of the club, and have a direct line to the founders and musicians. Plus we'll keep you entertained with great music.

$25 - Merchandiser

Your choice of a t-shirt or phone case. Whichever you like more. Let others know you love music and support starting businesses! Receive a limited edition official PickupGuitarClub Kickstarter Founder Member momento.

T-Shirt or Phone Case

$40 - *Early Bird* Lifetime Membership

$219 - I'm Ready to Learn

Your Choice of your favorite guitar

About Us

These teenagers are not your ordinary high school students. Jack is a self-taught developer who built his own tablet at 12 years old, published his first iPhone app at 15 earning half a million downloads, and owned his own app company by 16. Brian is a multi-talented musician, self-taught in guitar, drums, bass guitar, piano, and has performed in front of audiences at some of the top music clubs. The two met freshman year and have been playing music ever since. Now, their passion has become the best way to learn guitar. Join them today!

Your Role

We've come as far as we can on our own. Now, we are turning to you to make this project a reality. With the funds we earn from this campaign, we will finish the development of the software, film the video lessons, record the songs, and bring you the best product possible.

Risks and challengesLearn about accountability on Kickstarter

There are always unforeseen challenges when launching a product, but we have done our best to outline and tackle all the obstacles ahead of time. Filming and recording every lesson will take time and skill, but Brian Abod is a qualified and talented musician with experience recording. The finalization of the web site and debugging of the software/note recognition will consume most of Jack's time, but he has successfully run an Internet Software company for 4 years reaching half a million people. The site itself should be up shortly following the conclusion of this Kickstarter campaign. We will continue to work tirelessly to bring the best product to you. Our projected delivery has been carefully calculated, and we fully expect for everything to run according to schedule and products to be delivered timely.

FAQ

DSI Comedy on Franklin Street

I support this project out of pure interest and hope that someday I'll be there watching or perhaps being a part of the crew there. I wish the people all the very best. Keep up the good work.

http://kck.st/1dOCDUw

Created by Zack Ward,  Chappell Hill, NC 

Help DSI Comedy open new comedy theater on Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

DSI was recently uprooted after 8 1/2 years in its first dedicated space in Carrboro. Our theater was offered the opportunity to be replanted just 1/2 mile away (across the Chapel Hill border) in record time. But with the lease signed, building permits processed and our move happening so quickly, we need your help.

DSI Comedy entertains audiences in North Carolina with a unique and energetic approach to the comedy scene and its critically acclaimed performance of improv, sketch and standup comedy as an artform. With regularly scheduled classes, master-level workshops and summer camps, we work to educate the next generation of comedy voices. We strive to be creative, collaborative and community focused.

We have actively supported Kidzu Children's Museum, Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate, Sacrifical Poets, Beat Making Lab, YMCA Chapel Hill, Orange County Rape Crisis Center, Compass Center, UNC Dance Marathon, Avon Walk for Cancer, UNC Relay for Life, Community Nutrition Partnership, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and countless other local organizations over the last decade. (Note: Funds raised during this Kickstarter campaign will be used for construction and business expenses, not for charitable contributions.)

With over 90 current company members and hundreds of alumni, both in North Carolina and pursuing comedy around the country, DSI is home to an active and creative company with a range of backgrounds. We boast actors and hydrologists, graphic designers and nuclear scientists, students, 20-30 somethings, and what some of our more senior cast members prefer we call, simply, tax-paying citizens. 

During our yearly summer camps, DSI invites kids ages 6-17 to learn the art of improv comedy, and our instructors have proudly watched these young performers grow up to both join our company locally and represent our local scene as artistic leaders in comedy on college campuses across the country.

DSI Players (by Kevin Patrick Robbins: kevinpatrickrobbins.com/)

Our new location at 462 W Franklin St will offer new opportunities for community engagement and programming for organizations including Sacrificial Poets and Beat Making Lab and events co-presented with everyone from Muslim Life at Duke to the Triangle Air Awareness Coalition.

Each year, we also host the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival, an internationally recognized comedy event that celebrates the best in the discipline with the help of the more than 400 improv comedians, standups and sketch writers that make the annual trek to Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC. This coming February will mark 15 years that the festival has brought comedians from across the country (and Canada) to the Triangle, making an economic impact to the region in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and a cultural impact that cannot be measured.

To ready our new space, a theater that we will call home for the next 25 years, for maximum YES AND, we need to convert the building from an open-concept event space with a dark basement to a proper fully functional theater and comedy school.

DSI Comedy on Franklin — Draft Layout

Even @ZWJr (our youngest DSICo member) knows #Comedy #Hustle cannot do this alone.

      

Contributed funds will help:

• Engage architects and professional builder and electrical contractors
• Renovate the basement to create three separate spaces
• Build out a functional box office and separate lobby space
• Modify existing electrical systems and create new grid for house and stage lights
• Modify existing space and systems to meet fire code for new construction
• Purchase new hardware and design spaces to be fully accessible and compliant with current ADA standards
• Enclose the performance space by building a sound-proof wall, entry-way and hanging theater-grade curtains for maximum sound dampening during shows
• Design and build a functional Tech Booth and A/V control for shows
• Mount and design setup for a camera (so that we can both capture and live stream performances), projector and screen
• Install a stage wall with functional door and window for performer use and prop storage for sketch comedy shows
• Subsidize purchase of new chairs, supplies, new signage, etc.

Del Close Art Print by comedian and graphic designer Shane Smith

Risks and challengesLearn about accountability on Kickstarter

New commercial construction can be delayed by permits and inspections. Regarding the timeline challenge, DSI staff are in regular communication with the Town inspector, Economic Development Officer and staff of the Downtown Partnership for Chapel Hill. The building-owner is another local business owner that has shown a significant amount of support in overcoming permit and development obstacles.

DSI expects to celebrate a Chapel Hill grand opening May 2014, with a soft opening during late April. If major delays come up, we will make every effort to communicate directly with donors and will then work to resolve the issues we've run into.

Afterlife Inc

A comic book series compiling a collection of 3 books.










http://kck.st/1e73F3X

PopApocalpse Issue 1

A comic book with an interesting tale. I back this one, would be interesting to learn.