Arts on the Square Spotlight: Meet Lisa Glover of Kit Rex

At this year's Arts on the Square, be prepared to make friends with a 15 foot walking DINOSAUR!!! KitRex will be bringing this magical creature to the square to entertain the kiddos and adult alike.  You can also take home and assemble a 3 foot KitRex dinosaur of your very own! We can't wait!!

What exactly is a KitRex?

A KitRex is a flat-packed kit of paper board pieces that, when folded and tabbed together, becomes a 3ft long dinosaur. It's the first product line of my brand, Kit&Co, which will be making all sorts of imaginative cardboard and paperboard creations.

Have you always been a maker?  

I've definitely always been a maker- when I was 5, my mom and I would make baking soda volcanoes and paint pasta to make necklaces. In 3rd grade, I remember being super excited about creating 'simple machines' using cardboard, and made an elevator system for my Beanie Babies. I've made many Halloween costumes and would always go above and beyond on class assignments that involved creating something physical- I even made a functional cardboard Guillotine for French class in high school- though it didn't cause any heads to roll!

I saw that you had a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign.  Can you tell us about it and about your experience with crowdfunding in general?

I think the Kickstarter campaign's success was a random stroke of luck. While I believe my googly-eyed dinos are really awesome, there are a lot of people who have just as cool creations that don't get the love. I was lucky to have this sudden tidal wave of interest- a feature on the Kickstarter home page, a highlight in their weekly newsletter, and being the top post on reddit- all within about two days. Going viral helped me soar past my $8000 goal to a mind-boggling $110K.

Crowdfunding is a fantastic way to test your ideas, and it's the reason I was able to launch my business- but it can be fickle, too. My second campaign, I raised $30,000, despite doing a lot more ground work for publicity. Yet, I can't wait to do another campaign. They're a wild ride. 

Your gigantic dinosaurs are such a neat piece of public art.  How do people react to it?

People from all stages of life seem to be mesmerized by the giant dinos. From children to sharp-suited businessmen, everyone stops when they see it. It's so much fun, walking around in my costume- people want to take pictures of it and with it. I chase children around and they can't get over the fact that they're being chased by a 15ft long dinosaur. I think it opens up people's minds to what is possible with something as cheap and simple as cardboard. 

What type of work will you be featuring at Arts on the Square?

I'll be featuring my KitRex Velociraptor Kits as well as some partial costumes, for anyone interested in being a dino themselves. I'll also have some little crafts for kids, and of course, the big dino. You can be sure he'll be walking the square, making new friends!

Where else can our readers find you?

My work can be found at kit-rex.com, the Moravian Book Shop in Bethlehem, and in September and October at the NewYork Maker Faire and Scranton Mini Maker Faire.

Follow KitRex and the 15 foot Dino: 

Twitter @Kit_rex

Instagram @Kit_rex

Facebook: facebook.com/kitrexkits