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RACINE COUNTY On Tuesday, Sherry Lou Martin asked for $9,000 to help get her patented fireplace covers into production.

The Caledonia resident didnt ask a bank, credit union or rich uncle; she placed her hopes in cyberspace. Specifically, the website kickstarter.com.

Like many other dreamers in recent years, Martin turned to the public for financial help via crowd funding.

For seven years, Martin, an artist, has been working to turn her energy-saving, shattered-glass fireplace covers into a product that can be mass-produced.

So far shes made them one by one. Martin builds a wooden frame, insulated on the back side, and paints a painting on the front.

She covers the painting with clear, broken glass that window installers have discarded and normally must pay to dispose of. Martin applies grout to all glass edges, and a gasket on the frames edge helps the cover to fit snugly into an unused fireplace opening.

Martin said fireplace and mantle makers are enthusiastic about her invention.

Every single company I went to said, We need this in our market.

She has a local carpentry shop standing ready to build frames for her and a printer lined up to reproduce artwork. Martin plans to wholesale the fireplace covers which will start at $650 retail.

At this point, Martin plans to have her covers tested as legitimate energy-savers by a certified energy consulting company. She also wants to make an infomercial about her products benefits. Thus the need for about $9,000.

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Power of the people: Projects and startup firms seek crowd funding cash