LIVSN Designs to release all-natural jacket via Kickstarter
by April 20, 2023 2:40 pm 1,246 views
Bentonville-based LIVSN Designs will use Kickstarter this month to release its new Century Jacket, which the mannequin is wearing. From left are CEO Andrew Gibbs-Dabney, sales and support manager Andrew Bounds, director of operations Jacob Kowalewski, marketing manager Kelsey Ferguson, retail associate Wyatt Rice and product designer Abby Hollis.
Bentonville-based outdoor apparel company LIVSN Designs will launch a new jacket via Kickstarter starting April 25.
The 30-day crowdfunding campaign will feature the company’s Century Jacket, which comprises all-natural materials, including Ventile cotton, wool and silk.
According to LIVSN, Ventile cotton was developed by British Intelligence and worn by pilots flying over the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. Scientists created Ventile to be cool and comfortable in the cockpit, and warm and impenetrable if it encountered water.
Ventile also was worn in the first summit of Mount Everest in 1953.
Andrew Gibbs-Dabney, founder and CEO of LIVSN Designs, said the Kickstarter campaign goal is at least $30,000.
“Historically, we set our goals of just the bottom barrel of what we need to get going on something,” Gibbs-Dabney said. “We intend to fully blow past that.”
In the company’s previous Kickstarter campaign in 2021, it achieved the biggest single crowdfunding raise in Arkansas. That year the company raised $514,624 when it launched its EcoTrek Trail pants.
Gibbs-Dabney explained using Kickstarter to launch its feature-rich products, including the Century Jacket.
“It’s a higher price point, so it’s harder to finance on our own,” he said. “It’s a new product category, so our current audience may not be as ready to buy a jacket from us as they are pants. So Kickstarter brings us a new audience that way.”
The jacket’s retail price is $600, but the average price on Kickstarter will be about $400. Shipping ranges from $15 to $40.
The goal is to ship the jackets by Christmas. Those purchasing the jacket through Kickstarter will receive free lifetime repairs.
“With proper repair over the years, this jacket can last 100 years,” he said.
Last year, the company completed a Wefunder campaign and raised $419,631 from 474 investors. The equity crowdfunding campaign allowed the investors to receive company shares and perks.
In 2022, the company’s revenue rose to nearly $1.2 million from more than $1 million in 2021. The equity raise is excluded from revenue.
LIVSN offers men’s and women’s pants and shorts and has eight employees. It has multiple above-the-waist items in the works, including a flannel shirt.