A tattooed 1,000 foot pier. A series of T-shirts paying homage to classic video games. An interactive film, website, and app to encourage people to explore nature. High-energy, gluten- and soy-free snacks. A computer game that prompts players to write stories about the world they’re exploring. They seem to have little in common, but received funding this month via the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Kickstarters in Boston were on fire this October, with projects ranging from creative to philanthropic to just plain fun.

October’s a busy month, what with Halloween preparations and apple picking, so it’s OK if you weren’t paying attention. We kept track of all the projects for you and told you about the especially interesting ones. And now that October’s officially over, we’re looking at Boston’s successfully funded Kickstarter projects in review.

Nineteen local projects were successfully funded this month. Out of these, the most popular category was Music, with six projects funded, closely followed by Games with five. The average amount raised was $23,053, with totals ranging from $482 to $104,101.

Here are a few of our favorites. And don’t miss the interactive table below with information on all of them.

 

The Dock Tattoo Project

We wrote about this one back when it first launched on Sept. 4, and now it’s among our favorites! The Dock Tattoo Project (video above) is an installation at Harbor Arts’ pier, and features large, tattoo-like designs stained into the wood. The artist, Liz LaManche, created a 1,000-f0ot, connected design with pieces reflecting the art motifs of 18 different cultures, including New England Native American, Irish, West African, and Indian. According to the Kickstarter page:

These various cultures will be represented by their art motifs from the period of the last 400 years, the time of our connection. Tattoo motifs from some of the peoples who lived, sailed, or landed here, ceramic and fabric motifs from the cultures who sent us wares and ideas over the sea as part of our trade history… with some words of description and compass arrows to show the general direction of their land.

All the designs are painted on the pier in black and resemble tattoos, a quintessential aspect of seafaring life. (After all, where would a pirate or a sailor be without a tattoo?) The original goal of $4,373 was for supplies, tools, and to pay collaborating artists. This was met on Sept. 22, and LaManche set another goal of an additional $2,000 to add a seal coat to the designs, finish the Dock Tattoo website, and add directions and backgrounds to the designs to educate the exhibition’s audience. This goal was met on Oct. 5, with a total of $6,576 raised from 142 backers.

Since then, the pier installation has been completed, sealing has finished, and LaManche has updated her website with images of the designs and explanations of their inspirations. Check it out; it’s really interesting. Not to mention chock-full of body art inspiration and gorgeous designs!

 

Dapper Pixel 

Apparently the gamers among Bostonians are both nostalgic for the past and ready to revitalize their wardrobes – or at least 48 of them are. That’s how many backed Christopher “Gonzo” Gonzalez’s T-shirt design brand, Dapper Pixel. The Kickstarter specifically funded the creation of three T-shirts featuring three new designs. Although Gonzalez has produced apparel before, the Kickstarter allowed him to produce higher-quality, more varied products in men’s and women’s cuts in a variety of sizes on 100 percent cotton T-shirts.

The three designs pay homage to three of Gonzalez’s favorite childhood video games: Pokemon, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda. Says Gonzalez on the Kickstarter page:

The new range of t-shirts I’ve created are based off games that had the biggest influences on me growing up as a kid. Whether it was discovering an alien planet, training my own pet monsters, or becoming a legendary knight, these were the experiences that changed my view on games forever.

The Kickstarter ended on Oct. 12, with $2,220 donated of the $2,000 goal. According to an Oct. 22 update, Gonzalez is now in the process of finalizing the details of production, and T-shirts should be completed and ready to ship in December. If you can’t wait that long for gaming-inspired duds, head over to Dapper Pixel’s website, where there are currently five other designs on sale. 

 

EnerChi Bites

The inspiration for EnerChi Bites began when local twin sisters, Annie and Marla Feldman, yoga instructors and fitness enthusiasts, decided to make their own homemade raw chocolate truffles for the first time. The results were so good that they began developing them, adding other ingredients and trying to make them as healthy as possible. The result? Gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free snacks with enough nutrients to energize the snacker. Currently the truffles come in three flavors: apple cinnamon, coconut oatmeal raisin, and cocoa date. After they’d perfected the recipes, the sisters decided to market them, and in order to market them, they started a Kickstarter on Aug. 20.

They also started a website, which introduces their product. According to the introduction page, the Feldman sisters

had trouble finding the ideal healthy snack to hold them over for the bike ride home, but not enough to ruin dinner. They understand the active lifestyle is filled with long hours, short breaks, and time on the road and at the desk, leaving people little time to snack healthy. So they went into their kitchen and created enerchi bites– a healthy, tasty snack that comes in bite–sized portions. Eat just what you want or–save–and share the rest!

The Kickstarter, which ended on Oct. 4, had a $10,000 goal to transition to a new kitchen facility, develop new packaging, develop a new flavor, and apply for specific food certifications. The sisters raised $10,184 via 159 backers. On Nov. 1, the pair will be holding a Kickstarter Supporters’ dinner for those who donated more than $425 (or those willing to pay for tickets). The menu looks delicious, but EnerChi bites seem to be strangely absent from the options.

 

Interest piqued? Check out the rest of the funded Kickstarters below. And stay tuned for a roundup of every successful Boston Kickstarter campaign from all of 2014.