- Chaz Daum and Clayton Cole are currently working with U.S.-based manufacturers for production. Above is a prototype of the stainless steel cuff which will be stamped with “KARMAFLOWS.ORG” on the front and a unique set of numbers on the back.
Imagine a society where people are rewarded by strangers every time they perform a random act of kindness — like opening a door for a person with one too many books, paying for someone’s coffee or covering a shift at work. That’s Chaz Daum’s vision for her project Karma Flows — helping people recognize when karma is truly at play.
The token for reward is a shiny stainless steel bracelet decorated in two simple ways: “KARMAFLOWS.ORG” written on the front and a unique set of numbers on the back.
But this isn’t an ordinary piece of jewelry. In fact, Daum said the bracelets aren’t for keeping.
“It’s a vehicle for a social movement; it’s not about people buying the bracelet,” Daum said. “It’s about encouraging positive acts.”
While the main point of the project is to pass along the bracelet to someone who does a good deed, the set of numbers on the back adds a larger meaning to the action. People who receive the bracelet can track where the bracelet has been online, why it was given and post their own story, thus creating an online community of positive thinking.
“(The bracelet) is supposed to be on a constant journey,” Daum said.
The June graduate started scheming two or three years ago when a speaker from Design Ignites Change program visited one of her entrepreneurial classes. The speaker discussed using graphic design to spur social movement, something that Daum said immediately appealed to her, especially while pursuing a double major in business administration and graphic communication.
“I thought, ‘God I would love to do something like that,’” she said.
Giving it a little thought, Daum said she tossed around the idea of giving away a bunch of bracelets to people just to see where they would go, mainly as an art project. But she said the project really took shape at the beginning of the year.
“I made a list at the beginning of this year of things I wanted to finish before I graduate,” Daum said.
Karma Flows, the name of the project today, was on that list.
Daum said she was able to start planning in Cal Poly associate professor Jon York’s Planning and Managing New Ventures course. Although the purpose of the class was for students to assist a local entrepreneur on his or her project as an intern, Daum did just the opposite — she used the class as an opportunity to be mentored and guided through Karma Flows.
York, who is the co-founder and director of Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) said the class had a mix of students working as interns and exploring their own projects.
York said Daum will be well connected to the CIE as an alumna because of the strong networking and contact ties.
“We have alumni who are connected from around the country with the idea to help each other as they proceed on any new ventures,” he said.
In York’s class, Daum was paired with local entrepreneur and founder of Simple Shoes, Eric Meyer, who said he liked Chaz’s idea more than his own.
“When you’re working on someone else’s projects you don’t really care that much to an extent, but when you’re working on your own you’re more interested,” Meyer said.
Meyer said he admires Daum’s goal of helping others, and that he’s noticed a common theme of social awareness among college students.
“Her idea of rewarding a good idea with social props is the new ego reward. You don’t get props for buying a new car; you get props from helping someone,” Meyer said.
Meyer said he also encouraged Daum to connect with friends with skill sets she lacked to reduce costs while building a network. Taking Meyer’s advice to heart, Daum has been working closely with biomedical engineering alumnus Clayton Cole, who graduated in June, on the design and manufacturing of the bracelets.
Cole said Daum decided on stainless steel as the material at hand for a number of reasons — it minimizes the chance of allergic reactions, can’t spread diseases and it’s easy to clean.
“Chaz wanted to use metal because it gives you more of a sense of worth than maybe silicon like the LIVESTRONG bracelets. If it’s metal, it feels like it’s worth something,” Cole said.
Cole said he’s been talking to a few U.S.-based manufacturers and is in the process of getting a quote. A challenge, however, is doing the job for $10 per bracelet which involves shaping, stamping and laser engraving. And after a Kickstarter campaign that fell through because of a change in policy, the two said finances have been a challenge.
Despite the upfront cost, Daum and Cole are both optimistic about the project and are hoping to release the bracelets to groups in San Luis Obispo by fall. Daum said the big vision in mind is, contrary to producing the bracelets, to make the movement self-obsolete.
“My vision for it, which sounds a little insane, is to turn into this viral global movement where people would appreciate random little things in their lives,” Daum said. “Eventually you wouldn’t need a bracelet to think about when a person does a good deed.”
For more information visit karmaflows.org.