Griffin Goodman is a painter and the visual artist behind the Dem Apples. You can check out some of my work here.
Chris: Dem Apples look fun! What was your concept behind developing these NFTS?
Griffin: Our inspiration behind Dem Apples is to create a fusion between the physical and metaverse. As NFTs and the metaverse have become more mainstream, we’ve noticed a huge disconnect between people who are super involved in the space and those that don’t understand it, don’t care for it, and don’t see the value in it.
There’s a massive gap that’s been created in society that we believe we can help bridge. Our goal is to make NFTs more digestible and understandable, so that everyone can see their value and participate. The utility behind our project extends both the digital, and physical, or “IRL”, space - but at the end of the day, our goal is to provide unique, real-world access and experiences to our community and holders.
In creating a metaverse apple-orchard, we also decided we wanted to give back as we find success in the space. We’ve pledged 5% of all minting/royalty profits to help combat world-hunger. At Ethereum’s current price (if we sell-out), this is more than $50,000 USD. Owners of Dem Apples NFTs will be able to nominate and vote for charities to receive this money.
Chris: How is each Dem Apple different in trait and rarity?
Griffin: Each Dem Apple is completely unique. We’ve got over 125 different, hand-drawn traits spread across 6 different layers. We’ve been working tirelessly to create the right combination of traits and layers to make sure that some apples are rarer than others. Each apple is randomly, algorithmically generated - and the full collection will have some traits that are super rare across all 5,500 apples.
Chris: Alright, so what are the benefits of buying a Dem Apple? Do I also get a physical copy of the NFT?
Griffin: We’ve got a lot of lofty plans for the utility we can provide to Dem Apples holders. As I alluded to above - our real goal is to provide physical utility to our holders and community that excites even non-NFT enthusiasts about joining the community.
As a part of our release - 25 lucky Dem Apples holders will receive either a physical print piece of art with their NFT, or a Dem Apples t-shirt with the NFT printed on it.
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But beyond that - we’ll be continually dropping limited edition artwork solely available to Dem Apples holders. Most of the art will come from me - but we’re also working with a handful of other artists that we’ll be getting our community access to.
On top of actual artwork - a big goal for us is to provide our community with access to unique, exclusive experiences across the art world. We’ll be getting holders access to galleries, shows, and other exclusive art events.
Chris: When is the Presale? How many NFTs would be up for the first sale? What would be the cost of each NFT?
Griffin: Pre-sale will be going live December 21st! We’ve got 5,500 Dem Apples being released, and any apples that aren’t sold after the pre-sale will be available to the public on December 22nd. The minting cost is .05 ETH. Our whitelist is still open and we’re giving a bunch of spots away through our Dem Apples twitter!
Chris: Moving along, what are the benefits associated with buying the Dem Apple? Do you also plan to redistribute profits among the holders?
Griffin: Yea forsure - on top of the utility mentioned above, we’re also going to have a community fund set up for our holders. 10% of all profits from the project will be allocated to the community fund, and the community will decide what those funds go towards. At least half of it will be donated to charities to help fight against world hunger - and the rest will be used however the community sees fit!
Chris: Ok, so what kind of perk is the Apple Orchard?
Griffin: Haha - we can’t spoil all the details about the Apple Orchard - but the general concept is closely tied to our mission of merging the physical and metaverse, and creating a space for both NFT beginners and enthusiasts to connect, form a community, and find physical value in the NFTs they hold.
Chris: Finally, please introduce your core team who is responsible for making this NFT super successful?
Griffin: We’re a team of 4 all based out of Chicago. I went to Grad school at the School of the Art Institute Chicago and have since been working full-time in my art studio. We’ve got a couple other key members of the team that have been critical in getting our project up and running. Zack and Mat my two partners both have a lot of experience working across some of the biggest startups & tech companies in Chicago.
We’ve all been into the crypto and NFT space for some time now, and came together to get Dem Apples launched. It’s been an awesome journey so far, and we’re just super excited to be getting more involved in the NFT space and community! Dem apples truthfully is us planting a seed, it’s a fruit, it will grow, it will change, and it will become more than any of us can even imagine!
