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Hey all - I'd mentioned in stories/social updates that I'd get this out before AX, but I got a little eaten alive by the event and only managed the update for Purrtagonists, since that was also on the docket. I greatly apologize that I'm just posting this - I was delaying on my end because it always felt like a firm update that I'd wanted (the silver design) was just about to arrive which is what I'd promised, so I kept waiting for it... and here we are, far later than intended.
There is firm progress and we're into screenprinting, but it's nowhere near where I wanted to be (which was months ago, with completed samples).
I wanted to let you all know my newest enamel pin crowdfunding project FANTASY has ONLY 1 WEEK LEFT! It's a collection of enamel pins celebrating some of my favorite fantasy genre odds 'n ends. Just another super niche passion project like Movie Moths. I would love some support if you are a Fantasy nerd like me!
If you pledge to FANTASY, you can add-on all my previous Movie Moths and/or Pizza Pinz designs as well 🍕
Wanted to give a quick update. While got started, manufacturing did get delayed due to Chinese New Year. It is now nearing completion and should soon be on it's way. I asked that they send along a few pictures for us to see how they look!
They turned out good!
They are wrapping up some of the final stages now and will share shipping timelines soon - and from there I will be able to estimate when they should be shipped out to you!
To prep for that I will soon be sending out a last call for shipping address changes by email, for anyone that has moved. Look for that in the next few weeks!
More soon,
**** "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." -Helen Keller
I wanted to pop in real quick and let you know that the manufacturing is almost complete and I had them take a few pictures for us so we can see how they look! I think they came out so nice!! So excited for you all to have them in your hands.
People-Succ
ppl-succ-grow-plants_heart
While Chinese New Year did mean that things were delayed after we finalized the order, so it took longer than they promised, it does sound like they are wrapping up some of the final stages now and we should have some shipping timelines from them soon.
To be clear, we don't have hard dates for when they will arrive for you yet, but so excited to have them arrive so we can pack them and get them into your hands!!
We will soon be sending out a final shipping address check by email, in the coming few weeks, for those of you who've moved, so keep an eye out for that.
Hey! Thank you all for your support and patience for this project. I'm happy to announce the surveys are out and I'm getting these cuties out to y'all! I'm throwing in a lil something extra for you too!
Hey friends! Thanks for hanging in there with me on this project! I have some Chinese New Year updates to bring to everyone. This, finally, is a mostly positive update on how things are progressing. Phew.
As outlined in the last updates, there was issues with the first manufacturer and the pin had to be moved between manufacturers (but was delayed since we were having severe issues with fund holds due to the issues with Purrtagonists, which caused for an almost $20,000 hold between the two projects), so I had to wait until the first manufacturer refunded me (minus the first sample set) to restart with the second. I do, again, apologize for that and for my silence as we figured it out - we’ve had some individual problems occur with single pins before, but not entire sections fail that badly (or as dramatically) as with the Purrtagonists campaign. It was very poor timing to have two projects concurrently with large issues, and we were strung along for long periods to hopefully get an answer “soon” and funds being effectively hold hostage.
Of course, in the last update for this campaign, things were already moved over and started again from the point of art. The big issues I was concerned about from the initial manufacturer as noted in the last updates were as follows:
The cuts in the pin molds not being as exact as I wanted;
Some alterations in the art that made it problematic to sit side by side (which obviously is fairly critical with this design);
The colors being pretty off in the initial, but ultimately when the mold was having issues it didn't matter (since the mold was the bigger issue);
And some general concerns with flaw rates (with the old manufacturer) as they were becoming more popular and thus more inconsistent (it happens).
Moving with the new (one of my other main) manufacturer, we’ve already worked to complete the mold… but as you notice below, there’s a second mold now present! I did actually have to adjust one of the molds purely, this time, because I was an idiot (entirely me, I forgot one of the triangles in the edits somehow and it got translated into the art):
As a quick note: I know this probably doesn’t look like they fit initially, but they were designed to fit a tiny bit displaced apart, and the center on both images is sitting a bit higher than the left and right panels. This was a big concern in the first manufacturer because the lyre ends did not fit and it just looked… well, not wonderful. These are a lot better in that respect!
Why two molds? The second mold will have a silver sandblasted background (which resembles a more glittery background) versus the stained glass gold-plated pin. I know that this is something that sometimes feels different once you see it in sample form, especially with a non-white metal plate, so the silver will offer an alternative option for those that find that they prefer sandblasting more. The last manufacturer was also struggling with the stained glass color theory, so I wanted to potentially get ahead of the issue for those people who many not like the final look and offer something tried and true. (I don't believe it'll be an issue with the new manufacturer, but I'm choosing to be wary.)
I will be working to send the surveys in the coming week now that I have the photos above to show you for the initials, but I will allow for you to swap between the gold plated stained and the silver plated sandblasting in the survey. I won’t have a fixed deadline for this yet to get those surveys in, so if you want to wait for the samples themselves to decide which you'd like, that’s no issue. I know I said last month for the survey, but I was waiting to see the revised adjustments so you guys would have an informed update. I figured it would be easier if you all saw both options being worked on, over wanting changes later.
We have begun the back and forth for the color samples! There are obviously some errors below in the colors below since they aren't matching the art, but that’s why we sample things and adjust. The manufacturer is on break for CNY, but has noted all my edits/requests for checks for when they return in a week or so. They just didn't have enough time to adjust before they went on holiday.
Ignore the fact that this is currently gold - this specific variant is silver. The test sample was just misplated (another reason why you sample).
Obviously, after the pantone edits to the base enamels, we'll have adjustments to the transparent enamels, then we'll have the screenprints. I know it's a bit like saying "trust the process," but this manufacturer has done some complex screens for us in the past - of which the biggest point for a pin like this is a very smooth non-bulky screen. A good example is the one we've been working on alongside this one, just so you can see how the screens lay in a different pin:
Sample manufacturer, reference for the screen effects.
That all said, I've been happy with how their screenprints look in the past, so I'm fairly confident that it shouldn't be an issue here.
The minute I've approved the final sample for production on either variant, I will let everyone know and show those off! I appreciate you trusting the process for now, since highly complex pins are a bit bonkers without their screenprints. And thank you again for your patience.
I know my lack of response has left some wondering and has been frustrating. We had some severe health concerns in my family that took rapt attention which has proven to be quite a hardship and challenge for me and my family.
Despite these many setbacks - things are getting more stable and we're coming through it now. I wanted to pop in and give an update and some good news. In the past few weeks, I've been able to get things back on track and files have been submitted along with the deposit, to the new and more trusted manufacturer, and things are looking good.
I should soon know a firm timeline of what to expect to get the pins finalized and on their way once I get the report back from the manufacturer. There is an expected annual delay for the Chinese New Year - so they will be back in touch with me soon.
Also, as a side note, all backer surveys have been completed and tallied - so we are set there. I will be doing a last call for shipping address changes, if any, via that survey tool, in the weeks before I begin the shipping process. We are still probably around 4-6 weeks away in my current guesstimate, pending the time it takes to complete manufacturing and shipping - but it is at last moving.
Thanks again for your patience and confidence.
⚔️ Standing strong, undeterred by challenges, we rise.
Happy New Year ✰ I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, with friends and family!
I know that it has been many months since I've given an update. I am sorry that things are so behind and that I've not done well at keeping you all updated.
I have been struggling for well over a year with some health concerns and unfortunately, over the last couple of months, my health and life circumstances have taken a turn for the worse making it difficult for me to put the focus and attention to finish getting the pins created at the pace that I was hoping. I want to get these awesome pins to you all - and won't give up.
That said, because of my health and where I am at with things, I have decided to work with a fellow pin collaborator - to help make sure that these pins can be completed and sent out to everyone! He will be taking on the role of helping me make sure these pins get completed and sent out to everyone. We are getting things started back up here and by the look of it, our current estimate is to have things fulfilled to you over the next few months as we do get manufacturing underway. Future updates from him might have some pictures from the manufacturer and should be more regular, to help keep you up to date.
Thank you everyone for your patience and understanding! I hope to continue to focus on my health for the next while and hope to be back making fun creations for you all in the future!
Hey friends! I really apologize that this update has taken so long - things have been messy (but cleaner now) in the last few months, both personally and professionally, and I’ll admit that I’ve been a bit underwater trying to get things sorted as it was a lot of things all at once, and I’m a single human that’s been trying to dig myself out of it.
If you’ve been following along with our other campaign Purrtagonists, it was just an unfortunate mess with one of the major manufacturers of Venetia’s pins where some of the pins they returned had a 90%+ error rate. It created a lot of initial hangups with its multitude of designs; it has been effectively locked for months getting back funds and struggling to make headway, and we were set back a substantial amount (about $14,000 plus the remake costs). Normally this wouldn’t impact anything but itself, but it was far past the normal line and impacted a large amount of things since I was covering the costs of remakes (and the overage that the campaign incurred). We’ve started to see small resolutions there (plus having an end of year sale where some of those costs were recouped) so things are looking better.
Initially the other campaign wasn’t an issue that impacted this one, but the manufacturer I’d originally chosen for this campaign was having issues with the cutouts with the Venti pins. Normally we could work around this, but in a pin where it’s relatively prevalent, it was an issue we had to work on and try to fix. After a long back and forth, it was clear it wasn’t happening and the altered art that kept happening wasn’t going to cut it. As such, I ended up needing to cut my losses on the sample, refund the remaining costs, and go to one of my other manufacturers that has been more reliable in the last year (one that has actively shown good and normal progress in the past half year) - normally I’d start on this process while asking for a refund, but due to the issue with Purrtagonists and how far into the red that had dragged me during that time period, I had to wait until some of the funds were returned. This part of the migration is already done, and I’m hoping to have a new sample to show very soon. I’m sorry for not touching base sooner, but there were weeks I thought it might work, then others I was fighting to get funds back, and going around in circles about it. I’ll update here the same day I have the new sample. The art hasn’t changed!
My goal is to have the surveys for addresses out in the beginning of the coming month; I’ll honor initial requests for add-ons (to complete the set or get additional sets), but anything through the separated preorder store will be adjusted for the additional sampling costs that were lost. (TL;DR - That won’t impact you, but people outside of the campaign.)
