The story behind the pages

When our daughter was first learning to talk she started with just a few words. One of those was “eyes”. And not only was she able to say it she would point them out in every book we read and would all but poke our eyes showing us she knew where ours were. Over the course of a few weeks I began to notice this fascination and wanted to create something around it.

I noticed that various animal eyes were unique and beautiful. This book is my attempt to create a physical artifact of the exploration into animal eyes. It’s been over a year in the making but I’m happy to say our daughter still loves eyes – and most importantly, she loves this book!

This has turned into so much more than a book

Throughout the course of the last year this project had turned into so much more than just creating a book. Personally it has taught me about setting goals and overachieving them. I’ve learned how to better simplify shapes and images. My illustration skills have improved. But most importantly I’ve learned to see through the eyes of my daughter.

What started as a book has broadened into a small flight of products around these illustrations. My family, friends, and professional contacts have all pushed me to dream bigger and accomplish more than I thought was possible with this project!

Now the book has morphed into a book, a memory game, and t-shirts (and those are just the rewards for this kickstarter). Post launch I want to also create art prints, pillows, and other merchandise to go along with the eyes theme.

Now that the project is complete I need your help to bring it to life.

In the last few months I have received prototypes of the pieces and everything looks amazing. I’ve read the book to my daughter many times and she picks it from the shelf on her own (that in and of itself is success). This is where you can make a difference and also experience the fin with your kids (nieces & nephews, grandkids, god children, or any other child you know).

The book will be produced as a 6in x 6in board book on a matte stock. This format is age appropriate and will withstand chewing and other mishaps that toddlers are great at. Inside there are 10 illustrations with the potential to add more if we exceed the initial goal! (Update 12/28: The project fully funded and you can order all the products at the link below!).

Order Today

Other gifts to thank you for your support

The memory game comes with 28 pieces (14 matches). Each tile is 2.5in square on rigid cardboard. The 4 additional illustrations in this set are variations on animals from the book. Each game comes in a linen travel pouch which makes it easy to clean up and pack away.

The t-shirts are American Apparel shirts available in all sizes and printed using water-based inks through a digital process. If you select a reward level that includes a t-shirt, you will select the size and which of the 8 available options you want after the campaign is over.