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Black Sheep Granola

I am launching an amazing line of all natural granola including a gluten free version!

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Black Sheep Granola

Black Sheep Granola

Black Sheep Granola

Black Sheep Granola

Black Sheep Granola

I am launching an amazing line of all natural granola including a gluten free version!

I am launching an amazing line of all natural granola including a gluten free version!

I am launching an amazing line of all natural granola including a gluten free version!

I am launching an amazing line of all natural granola including a gluten free version!

Caryn West
Caryn West
Caryn West
Caryn West
1 Campaign |
Tahoe City, CA, United States
$335 USD 7 backers
1% of $20,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

My Story

At some point you wake up and just know that it's time. "Time for what?" you ask. Time to do it. Time to grab life by the horns or the sheep by it's wool and just DO IT! You look around at your options, discontent with the status quo and make a decision to do the unexpected...to make a change and define yourself or redefine yourself. You look in the mirror and if you are like me you say "I'm a black sheep and dammit I like myself and I'm going to change the world...with granola."

All kidding aside, I am and I'll tell you how. Let's start with the granola and Aunt Dot who met a dentist in Hawaii. They married and lived a life almost rigid in routines. Every morning Uncle Jim swam at the Outrigger Canoe Club while Aunt Dot meticulously removed stains from their laundry, covered the books they read on the beach in plastic wrap and tidied their house before serving Uncle Jim his bowl of granola at their dining room table. This wasn't just ANY granola. It was Aunt Dot's granola which was made with love and stored in coffee tins in the freezer. How good must a granola be for a man to eat it religiously every single morning for over 20 years? Damn good. How much trouble do you think you'd be in if you scarfed down all the granola one night leaving poor Uncle Jim with only freezer waffles and a banana for breakfast? Yep...that was me and I sheepishly admitted to it upon waking up to tension at the breakfast table. Uncle Jim looked bedraggled, discontent and defeated. Aunt Dot was flustered and her jaw was ticking while her mouth was frozen in a thin angry frown. This was the moment I knew that Aunt Dot was right in her early prediction that I would be the black sheep. It was also the day I understood just how good her granola really was.

So Aunt Dot and Uncle Jim have both passed on and are likely living out their beautiful but rigid routines somewhere in heaven. Besides all the wonderful memories our family has to keep them both in our hearts we still have Aunt Dot's granola and it is still THAT GOOD.

Fast forward to now. Not only am I a black sheep, I am a "bleating heart" black sheep. I obesses about injustices and how to right them. In 2008 I published The Trouble with the Alphabet. It is a coffee table book that combines art, poetry, essays and non-profits to give you a window into the conditions facing children in 25 different countries. Since then I've done over 150 speaking engagements and sold about 5,000 books. I've also created a chunky floor puzzle for kids called "Teach the Children, Change the World."

In spite of my accomplishments, money continues to be a factor in my quest to make a difference, so I've decided to use all the talent, creativity and determination I have within me to bring Aunt Dot's granola to the market. I believe that one day I will be able to afford to be the great humanitarian I dream of being. For now my dream is to produce and sell the best granola in the world and to have a sheepload of fun doing it. So to granola lovers everywhere, raise your spoons with me and shout "Shear Shear to Black Sheep Granola." 

More about the granola...

Every time I make a fresh batch, I find myself amazed once again by it’s simple perfection. Unlike most granolas that are clumpy and hard or sickening sweet, Black Sheep Granola is loose and crisp. The subtle flavor of each ingredient isn’t overpowered by sugar or honey. 

Only the best grains, seeds, nuts and dried fruit are used in every batch and it will always be made with love and commitment to taste and nutrition. Over the years the recipe has stayed almost exactly the same with a few modifications by my sisters and I to make it healthier (less oil and honey etc).Black Sheep Granola will always honor that original recipe that Aunt Dot left behind with “Simple but Unique” but will also offer variations on it to satisfy almost any granola preference. Variations like; “Crazy but not Nuts” for those who can’t have or don’t like nuts but love a variety of seeds and dried fruit; “The Baa-d Seed" for those who love the subtle flavors of a whole variety of seeds but aren't wild about raisins or other fruit and “Against the Grain” that doesn’t sacrifice one bit of flavor to be safe for the 100% gluten free diet and is also 100% Organic.

Black Sheep takes it’s granola seriously but will always be creative and fun in how those granola's are delivered to "ewe".

"Simple but Unique" 

A simple but perfect blend of ingredients light and fresh in flavor. 

"Crazy but NOT NUTS"

A bold mix of fruit (blueberries, cranberries, bing cherrries) and seeds (hemp, chia, flax, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower) but absolutely no nut products. 

"The Baa-d Seed"

No fruit just all the seeds for the person who loves omega rich foods and almonds to give it that nutty texture. This is my personal favorite...so good it makes you baa-d!!!

"Against the Grain"

The original recipe only in a 100% gluten free and organic blend. This one was inspired by my friend Jacqueline, of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, for her beautiful son Nicholas who is dealing with Autism. It is absolutely as good as the original and I will be coming out with more gluten free blends as Black Sheep expands.

What I need and how I will do it

I believe I can do a small but efficient launch with $20,000. I want to stock my shelves with enough ingredients to keep my loyal granola lovers happy and fueled, launch an amazing website where my products can be ordered, expand my packaging options to include a single serving container that I can get into coffee franchises like Starbucks and get Black Sheep Granola ready to attend the big trade shows in order to get into stores like Whole Foods. I'm excited to expand not just the variety of granolas I make available, but to create the merchandise that will make Black Sheep Granola an icon in the market.

There are many who want to remind me how hard it is to launch a food product and some even want to tell me I'll never do it. I know how hard it is to launch a product period and I'm not afaid. I have done only hard things in my life...things that challenge me to navigate through obstacles and hurdles and teach me to be more creative and more determined. I also know that in addition to my "shear" determination and infinite creative resources, I have an absolutely amazing product that people love. I'll never forget dear uncle Jim that fateful morning when there was no granola and I officially accepted that I was a black sheep.

Why help me?

As for crowd funding and any trepidation you might have, I think if you take a look at the web site for my book as well as my YouTube videos, you will get a strong sense of who I am and what I can do. I have the ability to bring an idea to fuition against all odds and I will do it with Black Sheep Granola.

My book The Trouble with the Alphabet.

www.ttwta.com

A YouTube music video about my human rights project called Enough is Enough. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIysyvuJAgA

And another YouTube video of excerpts of a speech I gave to 500 young people at a R.Y.L.A. Conference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRVP30ngWwk

They say "Money makes you more of what you already are." My becoming successful will only allow me to do more of what I really love and that's to raise awareness and help children across the globe. 

The Perks!

If you can contribute to the launching of Black Sheep Granola, I have all sorts of good incentives.

Granola...of course!

Limited Edition T-Shirts!

Signed Copies of my book!

Floor Puzzles (created by me)!

Artwork. Prints on Canvas of work from my book!

Or even an original piece of art by me!

If You Can't Contribute

It's OK, I understand. Please just be a good black sheep and spread the word and do so with a bit of passion and conviction whether you are merely a granola freak or a "bleating heart" like me.

 

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Choose your Perk

A Humble Shepherd

$20 USD
A sincere thank you and two 12 oz. bags of Black Sheep Granola (free shipping) which you will surely become addicted to.
Estimated Shipping
August 2013
0 claimed

A "wooly" Good Deal

$25 USD
A Limited Edition Black Sheep Granola Launch Shirt and a 12 oz. bag of Black Sheep Granola (shipping included)
Estimated Shipping
August 2013
0 claimed

Three Bags Full

$30 USD
Three 12 oz. bags (your choice of blends) of Black Sheep Granola! (Free delivery included)
Estimated Shipping
August 2013
3 claimed

A baa-d Ass Contribution

$100 USD
Two limited Edition Black Sheep Granola launch shirts, four 12 oz. bags of Black Sheep Granola (your choice of blends) and a Teach the Children, Change the World floor puzzle! (Free shipping included)
Estimated Shipping
August 2013
0 out of 400 of claimed

A Bleating Heart

$500 USD
You will get a 24 x 24 inch print on canvas of one of the portraits from my book (your choice) signed by me (can be viewed in campaign gallery-$350.00 value), a signed copy of my book ($64.95 value), a "Teach the Children, Change the World" floor puzzle ($20.00 value), a Limited Edition Black Sheep Granola launch T-shirt ($25.00 value) and a whole "sheepload" of granola (ten 12 oz. bags of your choice). Free shipping included!
Estimated Shipping
August 2013
0 out of 200 of claimed

Leader of the Flock

$1,000 USD
You will get a brand new painting of mine called "Create" It is a 48 x 32 (I'll check to make sure and edit this if I have to) acrylic on hardboard painting of a paintbrush. Super cool, super bold ( can view in campaign gallery-$1000.00 value). You will also get a Limited Edition Black Sheep Granola launch T-Shirt ($25.00 value), a signed copy of my book ($64.00 value) and a sheep load of granola (ten 12 oz. bags of your choice). Free shipping included! Painting can be shipped immediately!
Estimated Shipping
August 2013
0 out of 1 of claimed

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