tl;dr: Asking for USDC188,150 to bridge Nouns into the luxury fine jewellery scene with State Property; to create contemporary 1/1 Nouns-themed pieces sold via auction, with 100% proceeds going back to the Nouns treasury.
Description:
State Property and Nouns presents NFJ, an exclusive collection of Nounish fine jewellery.
Drawing inspiration from the visual aesthetics of Nouns, the jewellery designs embody elements of meme culture and Nounish culture. Staying true to the Nouns style, the drop will be released via a daily auction, with 100% proceeds from the auctions going back to the NounsDAO treasury.
NFJ lies at the intersection of Nouns, non-fungible tokens (NFT), and fine jewellery. Using NFT to deliver this physical collection, it represents our shared enthusiasm towards this phenomenon where culture and technology converge.
The NFJ project is a strategic collaboration between three brands:
- Nouns, with its extensive network and NFT presence
- State Property, a fine jewellery label known for their contemporary designs, whose distribution network spreads globally, and the choice of many reknown celebrities
- HeyMint, smart contract and technical experts who have centered their mission around making Web3 accessible to everyone
Through this collaboration, we hope to achieve the following:
- Proliferate the brands of all three partners
- Introduce Nouns and fine jewellery to NFT collectors; introduce blockchain technology and NFTs to traditional fine jewellery audience
- Develop an exclusive line of fine jewellery that is worth collecting, and for full auction proceeds to go back to the Nouns treasury
- Create sustainable utility, where Nouns holders can tap onto HeyMint's Smart Contract Launchpad to launch their own NFT collections
Fine Jewellery, NFT, and Nouns
Fine jewellery is a specific class of jewellery that uses precious metals and gemstones, and is known for their exquisite craftsmanship. Because of their exceptional quality and high value, fine jewellery pieces are often passed down as family heirloom.
The emergence of NFTs has opened up many possibilities. With Nouns, a self-governing organisation that begets organic brand building has emerged. With fine jewellery, NFT presents a means to collect and authenticate fine jewellery with ease.
NFJ celebrates Nouns by incorporating Nounish elements everywhere. Designing around Nounish elements instead of a specific Noun gives the jewellery pieces broad appeal, and when collectors discover their backstory, it becomes extra meaningful. Our goal is to start with an exclusive first collection, with potential for wider releases as awareness and demand grow.
The NFJ Project
The NFJ Project comprises of a few key deliverables:
- Design and crafting of the 1/1 physical jewellery pieces
- NFJ exhibition
- Media event and online proliferation
- Daily timed-auctions
- Redemption for physical jewellery with NFT
- Post-event activations
1: Design And Crafting
The NFJ collection embodies the vibrancy of the Noun characters. Taking cue from iconic Noun traits, the collection is an artistic expression of meme culture and Nouns culture while retaining the quintessential luxe of fine jewellery.
All our physical jewellery will be made in 18-Karat gold and will contain gemstones ranging from white diamonds, coloured diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and tsavorites. Specific specifications as shown below:
There are a total of nine designs, each of which are bespoke and one-of-a-kind. This is similar to the concept of 1/1 NFTs where there is only ever one of that piece and its provenance is cemented on the blockchain.
The technical drawings above showcase State Property's creative vision and their artistry in adopting Nounish aesthetics. In giving this luxury spin to Nouns, State Property has designed for these pieces to appeal to the luxury fine jewellery audience that they are very familiar with, and are aware of clients who will be eager to get their hands on them.
Upon passing of the proposal and successive funding, the designs will be turned into 3D, moulded, and then crafted. Thereafter, we'll do a photoshoot of the physical pieces.
2: Jewellery Exhibition
The launch of NFJ kicks off with a fortnight-long exhibition for these nine jewellery pieces, hosted at State Property's Atelier. There will be daily online features during the campaign period on NounsinSG Twitter and State Property's socials, sharing the backstory and inspiration behind the collection and the designs.
Outside view of State Property Atelier's main showroom – decorated with Noggles.
Display showcase updated in Noggles and the collection theme.
Located in the civic district of Singapore, the State Property showroom at Armenian Street is the perfect venue for the exhibition and event. The area has been designated as an arts space and often draws in huge crowds during seasonal events. Utilising State Property's space is strategic and would also lower the ask of the proposal.
Based on our expected timeline, we plan for the exhibition to coincide with Token2049 (13–14 September 2023) and F1 Singapore (15–17 September 2023). While Token2049 attracts a Web3 audience, F1 draws in tourists from around the world.
State Property's central location and proximity to these events makes it really easy for interested visitors to hop over to check out the exhibition during the week. Our goal is to maximise attendance and reach of the exhibition, which will grow the attention and demand for the auction. Thereafter, the media event will happen the week after the F1 weekend so as to deconflict from the packed schedule of international visitors.
3: Media Event And Online Proliferation
The key highlight of the exhibition will be the media night. This will be held on the second week of the exhibition.
Expected Event Dates
Exhibition: 11 Sep, Monday – 24 Sep, Sunday
Media Night: 22 Sep, Friday
Daily Auctions: 25 Sep, Monday – 3 Oct, Tuesday
We'll be inviting the local media and influencers to cover the event. The NFJ collection will also be featured in Tatler Asia magazine (Luxury media brand in Asia with over 3M monthly online visitors), and will be covered by jewellery reviewer, Katerina Perez (Jewellery insider with over 13 years experience and over 400K Followers on Instagram).
We will also extend invitations to various NFT communities as well as State Property's clientele. And on the event day, we will have a Nouns booth by @NounsinSG to share more about Nouns, and also a NFT Workshop hosted by @Han (Beetle) to introduce NFTs to the non-Web3 fine jewellery audience.
4. Daily Timed-Auctions
At the end of the exhibition and event, we will kickstart the online auction for the 1/1 Jewellery NFTs in Nouns-style i.e. one NFT per day. Each time an auction is settled, the settlement transaction will also cause the next NFT to be released and a new 24H auction to begin. Full proceeds from the auctions will go to the Nouns treasury.
Winners of the auction will be able to receive the corresponding 1/1 Jewellery. This is done through a redemption process on the website, and they will receive the physical jewellery at no additional cost.
5.Redemption For Physical Jewellery With NFT
When all the daily auctions conclude, the website will be updated with a Redemption Page. Jewellery NFT owners will be able to redeem for the physical jewellery.
The redemption process requires NFT owners to enter their personal particulars and delivery details, and a confirmation email will be sent before the delivery is dispatched. During the process, NFT owners need to allow the website to read the wallet for the NFT and sign an on-chain transaction to update the NFT.
Once redeemed, the NFT will be updated with a 'Redeemed' status. Buyers and owners of a 'Redeemed' NFT will not be able to redeem for the physical jewellery. Redemption of the physical jewellery is optional.
6.Post-Event Activations
NFJ is more than a one-time activation. We want to ensure continuity with whatever we've been funded to build, which includes releasing a second collection and giving access to a NFT launchpad.
I: The Noggle Collection
You might notice that none of the designs in the first collection incorporated the Noggle. This was intentional so that the designs can have broad appeal while being Nounish. As fine jewellery is often an article that initiates conversation, we also want people to ask, "What about the Noggles?"
This brings us to the second collection, which will be released as demand scales up. These will be customisable and also redeemable for their physical counterparts.
II: Build With HeyMint
HeyMint has developed two tools – an allowlist manager, and a no-code NFT creator tool, HeyMint. While the basic smart contract launchpad is free to use, premium features like Staking, Burning, Soulbinding, Refunds, and Snapshots, are token-gated to partnered communities. With the NFJ collaboration, HeyMint will grant Nouns holders premium access, which means that builders within the Nouns ecosystem will get permanent access to these creator tools.
Who We Are
State Property
Established since 2015, State Property is a fine jewellery label whose minimalistic and modern designs have been worn by Michelle Obama, Nicole Kidman, Taylor Swift, and many other celebrities. Their jewellery have also been featured in magazines including Vogue, Tatler, Cosmopolitan, and WWD. Based in Singapore, their distribution network stretches across the Middle East, EU, UK, and US (including Net-A-Porter).
State Property's collections are often inspired by nature, architecture, and even the stars, and they have a knack to imbue storytelling into their designs. For example, they have a collection (Voyager) with pieces named after famous adventurers, while another collection (Unfold) reimagines the classic pearl in contemporary settings.
State Property's clientele are typically working professionals or high net worth individuals who can afford to spend on fine jewellery. They are attracted to State Property's unique and contemporary designs that can be worn casually or for more formal occasions.
Edgy designs, celebrity fanfare, and established distribution aside, State Property is uniquely positioned to step into the NFT scene. With their design-centric background and artistic interest, founders Ruiyin and Afzal recognises the advent of NFT as another platform for creative expression, just like jewellery. Their readiness to experiment and embrace new innovations also positions them to onboard the largely traditional industry and non-Web3 collectors into the space.
HeyMint
A team of creatives and developers who aims to build the best free tools available so as to help make Web3 mainstream. HeyMint are experienced technical builders and has helped major brands in the NFT space with their drops, including Zen Academy, World Of Women Galaxy, Kingship, and The Littles. Founders Mai Akiyoshi and Ben Yu are software engineers at heart and have grown their passion into a technical team who build tools for the Web3 economy.
With NFJ, HeyMint are the right fit as technical partners as they envision a similar future shaped by Web3 builders. NFJ is just the start that adds a single Auction function onto their Launchpad. Opening up their Launchpad to the many builders within the Nouns ecosystem also puts them in the best position to tap onto these creative minds, while they focus on being the technical experts. The potential projects that will come out of this collaboration is endless and will certainly contribute to the exponential growth and adoption of Web3 and NFTs.
Han (Beetle)
The one who ties it all together. Han is an active community lead in CloneX Singapore; he regularly coordinates local meet-ups and collaborates with other global CloneX community leads to spearhead initiatives for the community.
Han believes that the future of brand building is NFTs and brands will build in a ground-up manner alongside their communities. He runs regular NFT workshops for small groups and for corporates to introduce them to the concept of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The workshops include a hands-on NFT minting session that uses Nouns Playground to create the visuals and leads to a discussion on DAOs. See presentation materials.
Over the past three years, Han has worked closely with State Property with their digital marketing efforts. He was also one of the early evangelists with the HeyMint team. In bringing together all the contributing partners, Han will also be the main project lead coordinating on the physical jewellery and technical end, while working alongside Karl to engage with the NFT communities.
Karl (@Nounsinsg)
Karl is a Nouns evangelist who spearheaded @Nounsinsg, a proliferation pod focused on raising Nouns Presence in Singapore. His fascination with the organic growth of Nouns has led him to onboard many traditional brands, builders, and NFT collectors into Nouns.
It was through the Nounish Beach Clean Up when Karl and Han met, which led to the current NFJ proposal, where high-level creatives like State Property are onboarded. His enthusiasm is highly infectious and his Nounish contribution inspired many other builders in the NFT space.
Karl's main role in this project will be as a strategic advisor and gatekeeper to ensure the project stays aligned with the Nouns ethos. He'll also be working alongside Han to engage other NFT communities, and will be the Nouns ambassador running the Nouns booth during the exhibition and media event.
Funds Break Down
1. Exhibition And Event: US$36,300
Event Space: Free
- State Property Atelier at 36 Armenian Street
As mentioned above, using State Property's showroom is for its strategic location and also to lower the ask of the proposal.
Decor: $16,900
- Event Management – $7,800
- Decoration – $3,800
- Display showcase – $1,500
- Refreshments For Media Event - $3,800
Media and PR: $19,400
- Influencers – $7,500
- PR Agency and Media Invites – $11,400
- Event photographer - $500
2. Jewellery Design And Manufacture:US$78,850
Jewellery Manufacture For 9 Pieces: $51,750
- Includes cost of all raw materials and craftsmanship
- 18-Karat gold, white diamonds (7.25ct total weight), coloured diamonds (2.36ct total weight), sapphires (7.14ct total weight), rubies (1.50ct total weight), tsavorite (15.66ct total weight), coloured enamel
Prices quoted are on cost basis and negotiated as an industry insider with direct-to-craftsmen working relationship; the suggested retail price will usually be two times or more of the cost price. With State Property's established network and clientele, we expect the auction to close in profit. Should the bids stay below the estimated retail value, the auction presents a bargain for bidders, which then incentivises bidding.
Design And Campaign: $27,100
- Bespoke Design Fee – $18,000
- Product and Campaign Photography – $9,100
The bespoke design fee is typically quoted as part of the professional design process to conceptualise the physical designs and models. The fee also marks an exclusive contract that these particular designs WILL NOT be produced anywhere else.
3. Operations & Tech: US$73,000 + 0.69ETH
Tech & Smart Contract: $34,000
- Smart Contract, Audit, and HeyMint integration – $24,000
- Front-end website – $10,000
Operation/Manpower: $39,000 + 0.69ETH
- Han – $27,000 (Full-Time Project Lead, Main Coordinator, Marketing)
- Prior to the exhibition and event, Han's main task is to coordinate all activities internally (jewellery, technical) as well as external communication on the progress of the project. This includes setting up and maintaining an active Twitter for NFJ, and expanding outreach of the project on a whole.
- State Property Staff - $12,000 (Part-Time Branding and Marketing, Jewellery Industry Outreach)
- Additional assistance from State Property to establish the branding and marketing of NFJ, which includes planning of creatives for the photoshoot and exhibition, developing of collaterals, and outreach with the jewellery industry.
- Karl (Coordination & Prop Advisor) – 0.69ETH
- Karl's strategic role is not only to ensure that all efforts are aligned with the Nouns ethos but also to spread awareness of the project and of Nouns with NFT communities.
With the exhibition and event, it will be an all-hands-on-deck period, which will involve the State Property team to help with the physical space. During the event day, Nounsinsg will also be running the Nouns booth while Han will be running the NFT Workshop for traditional fine jewellery audience.
The timeline assumes the exhibition and event to be held in September 2023. The NFJ project is expected to stretch till end 2023, including the auction, post-auction redemption, and subsequent post-event activations.
Total Ask: USDC $188,150 + 0.69ETH
Expected Returns From Auction:US$103,500
Benefits to NounsDAO
- Proliferation of the Nouns brand through NFJ, the exhibition, and the event
- Positioning Nouns in the luxury sector
- Auction proceeds
- Immortalising Nouns in physical pieces that can be collected by Nouns lovers and/or fine jewellery collectors
- Access for builders in the Nouns ecosystem to tap onto HeyMint's Launchpad
Estimated Timeline
Feb 2023:
- Feedback and iterate with Noun holders
Mar to May 2023:
- On-chain proposal: Submission, voting delay, voting period, and execution
- 3D CAD designs and send for crafting (3 months)
- Smart contract + Website building
- Initiate community outreach
Jun 2023:
Jul – Aug 2023:
- Media campaign and invites
- Online Web2 campaign
Sep 2023:
- Fortnight-long exhibition
- Media event
- Post-event coverage
- Auction begins end September, stretching to October
Oct 2023:
- Redemption and delivery of physical jewellery
- Evaluation of NFJ drop
Nov 2023:
- Holders to receive physical jewellery
- Post-campaign report and next steps
