Welcome to the story of the Firefly.

Several years ago, while tailgating at a ball game in Chicago, I was cooking on a make shift grill: basically a beer bucket, some charcoal, and a flimsy grate for a grilling surface. But as people strolled by the comment of "what a simple idea" rang true and the concept took hold.

The grille needed to be light, portable, highly functional and efficient with minimal parts, extremely durable, and completely self contained, so that handling for cooking and clean up was possible for everyone, at anytime, anywhere.

After a prototype sketch and some design help from a high school CAD class, the idea was presented to a manufacturing firm for an initial prototype. Several versions were completed and tested along the way keeping in mind simplicity for ease of use and longevity...

Once a good purposeful prototype was chosen, we submitted the idea to the US patent office for a design patent. Two years later, the design patent was granted, we trademarked a name and logo for marketing needs, and then moved forward with some prototype samples to gain consumer and commerce reactions. The feedback was alarmingly high, mostly based on delivering on the original principles: simplicity for ease of use, efficiency, and longevity of life. And that came from a wide variety of sources, including consumers of all ages and backgrounds, licensing agents, retail outlets, eCommerce, and the list goes on.

We are now ready to address those various market opportunities, but that takes a large initial financial commitment. To support minimal production runs, logistics, insurance, marketing, and fulfillment expenses, we engaged this Kickstarter campaign. In fulfilling our goal, we should be able to turn the corner for repeated fulfillment and continue to supply the "Firefly" for generations to come.

A final note -

We will apply for a B Corp certification as soon as this item proves its strong acceptance. With that comes carbon offset and social responsibility partnerships. These provide the core to maintain a positive status within the requirements of B Corp status.

For more, please visit www.fireflygrille.com

Thanks for your support.