UPDATE 7/23 2:00 p.m.: Well, it looks like if traditional print is dead, it's coming back in the form of literary tattoos. After just one day, Litographs exceeded its Kickstarter goal and raised over $30,000 from more than 5,000 backers, meaning the startup has successfully completed its 2,500-tattoo chain. The next step? Getting all those people to send in photos of their tattoos.
A classical novel printed on physical pages is great, but the same story printed in [temporary] ink on your bod is even better, right?
That’s in part the mindset fueling Somerville startup Litographs’ new Kickstarter for “temporary literary tattoos.” The Techstars winter 2014 alum seeks to crowdfund $7,500 to beat the record for World’s Largest Tattoo Chain by getting snippets of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland tattooed on 2,500 people around the the globe – "one enchanting sentence at a time.”
The startup, founded by two brothers and a fellow literature-loving friend, creates merchandise like T-shirts, posters and bags for bibliophiles, printed with the entire text from masterpieces like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
The temporary ink initiative folds neatly into Litographs’s overall mission: to help readers express their burning passion for books. And as the startup’s nearly 400 backers might suggest, one of the best ways to do so is by putting the written word on their skin – even if it's only a momentary gesture.
“Everyone at Litographs is a huge fan of literary tattoos, but none of us have permanent tattoos ourselves,” the company’s Co-founder Danny Fein told BostInno via email. “We're always exploring new ways to create tasteful art from books.”
As explained in the video above, Fein and the rest of the Litograph team whittled down Carroll’s fanciful 27,000-word masterpiece into unique and catchy five- to 15-word designs for the temporary tattoos. The goal: Get them on 2,500 bodies, and break the record for the World's Longest Tattoo chain.
Though the final price for the edgy new product has yet to be finalized, the Kickstarter clarifies a number of price points for the eager book lover. For a contribution of $1 on the crowdfunding site, backers will receive a singular tattoo from Alice in Wonderland. A donation of $3 is repaid with three tattoos, $15 for six, and $30 for all 15 designs, which will include the Alice in Wonderland tattoo, as well as other ink art from famous works like The Importance of Being Earnest, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Pride and Prejudice, among others.
Once backers receive their literary tattoos in the mail, Litograph urges them to snap a photo of their sentence-bearing body part and send it to the startup. Then, the company will assemble each tattoo image in order to re-create the text.
“The idea is that Litographs Tattoos should be realistic in more than one way – not only should they look great on your body, but the bar we've set for our artwork is that every design should be something we'd consider having permanently inked ourselves,” shared Fein.
Fein added that the company hopes to turn modern authors’ literary works into temporary tattoos as well. Since bootstrapping its way to $1 million in revenue at Techstars’ Demo Day last spring, Litographs is now working with over 30 bookstores, 15 of which are in New England, and aims to bring dozens more shops into its program this year.
Check out more pictures of Litograph's rad literary tattoos below:
Image via Kickstarter
