General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

8

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Polyester and cotton shell with polyester fill and polyamide synthetic lining with synthetic snap covers and zippers and metal zipper pulls

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

121.0 cm

Width

87.5 cm

Height

9.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Domestic Technology

Category

N/A

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

Tested in March-April, 2017

Canada

This artifact was acquired by the Canada Science and Technology Museum as part of the Crowdfunded in Canada project (2015-2019). The project was developed to capture the process of crowdfunding, by acquiring objects through live pledges to Canadian-based crowdfunding campaigns on the Kickstarter platform. The museum pledged $345 (including $10 for shipping) for this artifact on March 21, 2016 (pre-production). During the survey for style selection, the museum chose the women’s “Expedition” style in a medium size. The artifact was received at the museum in December 2016. North Aware Inc. is a Toronto-based company that was founded in 2015. It is headed by CEO Jamil Khan, a software engineer who immigrated to Canada from Pakistan five years prior to creating the concept for the coat. North Aware created the Smart Parka and launched a Kickstarter campaign for the parka on January 26, 2016. It was announced the following day that the initial goal of $30,000 CAD had already been reached, and by February 4, they had raised $100,000. Thirty-six days after the campaign launch, on March 4, they crossed the $1,000,000 mark. The campaign closed on March 25, 2016 with 8,805 backers who pledged a total of $3,257,695; North Aware shared the consequent news that their Smart Parka campaign broke a record by becoming the #1 most funded campaign in Canadian funds of all time and across all categories on Kickstarter – a record they still hold at this time of writing. (From the Worksheet, see Ref. 1)

Function

To keep the wearer warm and dry during the winter months. (From the Worksheet, see Ref. 1)

Technical

The Smart Parka is a water-resistant winter coat that was created to help wearers to be prepared for sudden inclement weather by offering built-in accessories. It was intended to be a more affordable and practical alternative to the well-known Canada Goose parkas. North Aware says that the development of the coat began as a series of tests to incorporate gloves into a parka sleeve. The company claims that in the process of creating a compact glove solution that would fit into the coat sleeves without excess bulk, they invented new gloves that are thin, soft, lightweight, made of leather, water-resistant, and touch-screen capable. The hood has a built-in scarf that can be securely wrapped around the wearer’s face and a hat pocket for storing a toque. The coat interior features a keys pocket, a smartphone pocket, a pocket for eyewear, and a large tablet pocket that can be used to hold a standard tablet, a notebook, or a wallet among other things. For wearers who want to add an RFID tracker for extra security, the coat design includes a tracker tag pocket. For harsher temperatures, they offer a removable lining that is made with duplicate pockets to provide extra warmth without compromising storage function. There is also a zip-on extension to make the coat longer, thereby providing more coverage. The company says that the coat is designed to withstand temperatures as low as -10℃ without the lining and temperatures as low as -25℃ with the lining. The Smart Parka was offered in 4 different women’s styles and 3 different men’s styles during the campaign. There are Classic, Vogue, and Bomber styles for both men and women, and the fourth women’s style was called Expedition. Each style was offered in four different colours as well. However, the bomber style excludes a removable extension, and the women’s Vogue style features an integrated inner layer and thus excludes a removable lining. (From the Worksheet, see Ref. 1)

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

On the patch on the inside of the proper back just under the hood: "[logo]/ NORTH AWARE/ MOVE FORWARD/ www.northaware.com/ WOMEN'S/ MEDIUM"/ On one of the white tags on the inside of the proper left: "Not to be removed until/ delivered to the consumer/ This label is affixed in compliance with Provincial law/ This article contains/ NEW MATERIAL/ ONLY/ Made by Reg. No./ Ne pas enlever avant la livraison/ au consommateur/ Cette étiquette est apposée/ conformément à la loi/ de la province/ Cet article contient des/ MATÉRIAUX NEUFS/ SEULEMENT/ Fabriqué par No. de permis/ 08T-02347516"/ On the proper front of the second tag inside the proper left: "[logo]/ NORTH AWARE/ SHELL FABRIC/TISSU EXTÉRIEUR: 85%POLYESTER/POLYESTER/ 15%COTTON/COTON/ LINING/DOUBLURE: 100%POLYAMIDE/POLYAMIDE/ WADDING/OUATAGE: 100%POLYESTER/POLYESTER/ EXCLUSIVE OF EMBROIDERY/EXCLUSIVE DE LA BRODERIE/ EXCLUSIVE OF TRIM/EXCLUSIVE DE GARNITURE/ DRY CLEAN ONLY/LAVAGE À SEC,/ DO NOT WASH/NE PAS LAVER,/ DO NOT BLEACH/NE PAS CHLORER,/ DO NOT TUMBLE DRY/NE PAS SÉCHER EN MACHINE,/ DO NOT IRON/NE PAS REPASSER"/ On the proper back of the tag: "[washing symbols]/ MADE IN CHINA/ CA 60895/ PRODUCED BY: NORTH AWARE INC./ SIZE: MEDIUM"

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

The exterior is predominantly red with black snaps, zipper and drawstring and a dark grey or black logo on the proper left sleeve. The interior is predominantly black with red accents and white tags.

Decoration

N/A