Amy Farquhar of Des Moines is trying to ‘kickstart’ fundraising and raise $12,000 to purchase and outfit an ‘ice cream truck’ for her company Sugars Gelato.
“Sugars Gelato is all natural, hand-packed artisan ice cream made in the Seattle area,” Farquhar said. “Our vision is to create an artisans’ network. And it needs a way to get directly from us to you that doesn’t make you start searching through your purse for that protective whistle you were given in self-defense class. Speaking of class, how about a truck with a little class? Nothing fancy, just something that runs well and isn’t creepy. Maybe a few explanatory decals slapped on would be nice, too.” Who knows? Maybe if Amy raises enough, we’ll see her truck at the upcoming Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market? Here’s her Kickstarter video (you can donate online here): [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpMeCgEKIH8[/youtube] Here’s more from her campaign:You can help a small business buy an ice cream truck just by having gelato delivered to your office (take THAT, donuts-guy!). Or by ordering a pair of tickets to a holiday party in Seattle with live music, complimentary gelato, and more local artisans. Much More Than an Ice Cream Truck! Once I complete two successful seasons with Sugars Gelato, I will use this business model to create a network of “mobile vendors” utilizing joint marketing and live maps showing where the trucks are whenever they’re running. These trucks can carry baked goods, art, jewelry, fresh produce, vintage finds, ect. It will be a mobile market made just for artisans and consumers who support small and local. This will be an affordable way for small businesses to sell their products when a shopfront is not financially feasible. It will also be an effective way for small businesses to direct traffic to their website. The novelty of travel has worn off and it’s time to go home. Nearly six years as an international flight attendant did that to me. A self-proclaimed chef, I spent my childhood “performing experiments” in the kitchen as my mother put it. “AMY!!! What are you doing?!” she would yell from her home office upstairs whenever I was being too quiet. She knew the silence was me sneaking around because I didn’t want to get caught using the stove. “NOTHING!!!” I would consistently reply. Meanwhile, I would be mixing a disastrous combination of formerly edible items into something incredibly inedible. My childhood full of kitchen science experiments was the training necessary for my self-proclamation of chefhood. Some fully agree with my proclamation, others might not. I like to think that those who don’t like my food creation skills simply have palates too unrefined to fully appreciate good food. Alas, the pretentiousness wanes when it comes to my gelato. I create gelato to be inclusive of all palates. I’ve mastered the basic vanillas, chocolates, and strawberries, as well as the complex, surprising flavors for foodies and non-foodies alike. Through extensive former experience in the beginnings of retail endeavors, I learned that operating a storefront is often not as profitable as necessary for the avoidance of escalating debt. With that knowledge, I decided to aim for an alternative outlet for my gelato. I decided on the style of the (now rare) ice cream truck of yore. This ice cream truck won’t sell the frozen video game characters and patriotic ice rockets; this ice cream truck will sell all-natural, hand-packed tubs of locally-made, artisan gelato. My commitment to local artisanship does not end with my gelato. I would like to eventually support the community by creating a network of trucks that spread other people’s work around the cities, as well. I want to create affordable outlets for my neighbors’ jewelry and my friends’ clothes, and your re-purposed vintage finds. All in trucks that form an alliance so they can market in ways formerly reserved only for Big Business. Now that I have been cured of the travel bug, I can focus on achieving my lifelong dream to positively impact my community and feed people delicious things. -Amy]]>