Nouns DAO

TLDR

Retrofund $75,000 USDC + Noun 881 to Klim for his tireless contributions and dedication to Nouns, often at his own expense, over the last 3 years.

Overview

Meet Klim—if you don’t know him yet, you’ve likely seen his work. Klim is widely recognized as the creator of the iconic physical OG Noggles that have become a symbol across the Nouns community. Even Vitalik has worn them.

With over 25 years of experience as a designer in the entertainment industry, Klim identified a need for quality physical goods to represent and elevate Nouns IRL. For more than three years, he has been fully immersed in the Nouns ecosystem, contributing, collaborating, and creating physical artifacts that bring Nouns to life.

This proposal seeks $75K USDC + Noun 881 in retroactive funding for Klim’s extensive work with Nounworks, his dedicated project focused on building and proliferating the Nouns brand through physical goods and community engagement which has been largely self-funded.

Nounish Impact

Klim’s contributions to the Nouns community go beyond making Noggles. He has been instrumental in building brand identity, connecting creatives, and executing global activations. He has not only created iconic physical goods but also fostered emotional connections between Nouners and the broader public by representing Nouns across key events worldwide. He has produced and distributed over 100K Nounish products including toys, lofi noggles, stickers, pins and NFTs and has achieved over 500K impressions to date with Nouns AR filters.

Klim’s support has often been self-funded, demonstrating his personal commitment to Nouns proliferation.

Key Contributions:

• Foundation of Fun: Pass the Noggles game, AR filters, and Nounish character sketch coasters.
• Nounish Friends Character Building: Developed and launched the Nounish Friends brand, from ideation to finished product.
• Global Nounworks Activations: Represented Nouns at over 20 major global events, including NFTNYC, DesignerCon, SDCC, Edcon and Licensing Show. He activated in key regions like Japan, the UK, South America, and Australia. Community Support:
• Distributed over 10,000 pairs of Lo-Fi Paper Noggles across five continents, giving attendees a tangible sense of belonging in the Nouns ecosystem.
• Created AR filters and Nounish merchandise for activations at various events, helping amplify the Nouns brand in both physical and digital spaces.
• Nouns Sofubi Figure: Developed a collectible figure in collaboration with David Horvath and Punk 4156, showcasing Nouns characters in a new medium.
• AO Tennis Ball Activation: Created popular NFT skins and Decentraland activations for the Australian Open.
• Supported numerous builders in the Nouns ecosystem by sharing his expertise in design, physical product development, and logistical execution for IRL activations. He has helped other creators navigate the complexities of physical Nounish goods and collaborative projects.

This list doesn’t fully capture all of his contributions which also includes PFP Pins, Nounsworks Plush, Jumbo Nounish Friends, Nounish Tiles, Art Objects, Apocalpyse Nouns Game and Beans, Beats and Books.

Klim has self-funded a vast majority of his work including many activations in the U.S. such as DesignerCon and the Licensing Expo that others typically fund through proposals. Klim continues to push forward, demonstrating his deep commitment to growing the Nouns brand through physical products and activations.

The Ask: Retro Funding Nounworks

This proposal is for $75,000 USDC which includes $60,000 USDC in accrued design, manufacturing, marketing and travel expenses and $15,000 USDC in warehousing expenses over the last 3 years.

It also includes Noun 881 to recognizes his tireless and outsized contributions to Nouns over the last 3 years. Klim calls Noun 881 the Joy Factory Noun and its the one that represents his work best.

Klim’s Vision & Looking Ahead: The “Sesame Street” of Web3

Klim envisions using the Nounish characters as a vehicle for public good, creating educational and entertaining content that bridges the gap between Web3 culture and the broader world, much like Sesame Street has done for generations.

Klim’s vision for Nounworks is to further proliferate the Nouns brand through expanded collaborations, innovative new physical goods, and continued IRL engagements. With retroactive funding, he will be able to scale Nounish products, attend more global events, and continue creating memorable, physical experiences that bring Nouns to life.

Supporting Klim’s previous efforts will ensure that Nounworks remains a powerful force in proliferating Nouns both online and in the physical world.

Testimonials:

“I met Klim when I was first learning about the Nouns community and he spent hours teaching me about the history and culture of Nouns and Noggles. Klim has also helped onboard any new member I’ve introduced him to this year and even shared his network from logistics to artists whenever asked. Klim is wacky, wonderful, and a prime example of what proliferating Nouns means to me.” - Pat Yiu

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“Klim is hands down one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. After looking at his current work I wasn’t even surprised at the massive back log of insane projects he’s worked on from every big brand in the world. I’ve got no doubts that it won’t be long before his work becomes a household name just based on the lens through which he sees the world and the work he’s willing to put into seeing it come to fruition” - Azeem Khan

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“Interacting with Bigshot Klim online was a pleasure, he is always willing to provide his expertise. Many had enjoyed his wearable noggles, myself included, so a big thank you for developing these fun wearable big noggles for the community.” - Wide Eye Karl

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“I’ve had the chance to work with Klim a few times since joining the Nouniverse, and he’s always been incredibly collaborative. He sent a ton of Lo-Fi ⌐◨-◨ for our crew and, more recently, a bunch of nounish friends toys. Every time I gift someone or hand out Klim’s work, people always comment on how well made everything is. I’m super grateful to Klim for keeping our crew in Brazil stocked with nounish merch, and I really hope he keeps spreading nounishness everywhere!” - JP

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"Noggles in South Africa. Klim has created in my opinion the most functional & successful IRL onboarding path for anyone to use and get excited about. Without these paper and plastic Noggles it would be a lot harder to gain traction in a new local community that has never heard about Nouns. Making the process tangible is very important." - Pierre ~ Nouns Whisky & Nouns Farm

A personal note from the author

Hi! It’s me ccarella.eth. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Klim in Tokyo earlier this year. Klim is Nounish and way to humble! I don’t think most of us realize that he is a FAMOUS toy designer, who has made toys for some of the top artists and creative brands in the world. He’s truly a Nounish gem. I first came in contact with Klim’s work way before Ethereum. As a participant in NYC street art, I encountered his All City Style trains all of the time. As graffiti and street art was moving into galleries and the galleries were trying to figure out how to display the work, the All City Trains became a go to way to present it. Only many many years later did we meet and he mentioned that he made those legendary trains! Voters may be aware of the project we had together at Edcon to gift Vitalik a pair of Noggles. When I handed the Noggles to Vitalik, I was just the last mile on what had been planned and coordinated by Klim. It was very cool to collaborate so many years after being taken by his trains.