There is a lot to cover, so let's catch up. We will be including all Plushpanion followers in this update, because it covers a few closed chapters of Plushpanions, as well as some newly opened ones!
✍️ In this update...
We will finally be putting to rest the legal case with Joyus Toyus, our initial custom plush manufacturer (see this previous update, if you don't know about the headaches they caused us).
Monty's magic powers!
New bags for in-person shows and events!
Laisy's safety testing should be completed any day now — unfortunately two holidays fell within their testing time which is the main cause of their safety delay.
Dottie's progress details — chocolate bar sample images!
Major website update!!
L's personal health (don't worry, this is good news, but the main cause of such a long period without check-ins).
Laisy giveaway, in honor of L's grandmother — 3 winners, Backers only. 🩵
"Joyus Toyus Finale"
As you may or may not know, Plushpanions ran into trouble right off the rip when we first started to make plushies! We tried to work with another US-based business, thinking that by working with a party that claimed to be "experienced" and "have connections", we would be better suited to meet timelines for shows, have successful communications about complex designs, and the like. Little did we know that this would end up causing us major headaches along the way, instead! If you're unfamiliar with what happened, check out our previous article/update on the situation, here.
Summary At the End of The Article: "After launching the plush project (Kidd Krampus plush) in November 2023, everything went smoothly at first, but repeated delays, skipped edits, and communication issues began in March 2024. After months of frustration, I requested a refund in July 2024..."
⌛ Here's What Has Happened, Since...
When we initiated our refund request in July 2024, we gave a strict response date, due to breakdowns in communication in the past. Christopher Gann of Joyus Toyus did not respond well to our request, claiming "this is a substantial amount of money" ( yes, which is why we want it back ) and he did not work in good faith to reach an agreement, within a reasonable timeline, so we had to seek legal assistance.
While working through our legal team, Gann would often state that he would like to get the matter resolved as quickly as possible, and that he was open to a repayment plan, but when it came time to sign any paperwork in a necessary, timely manner, he would ghost us— then suddenly claim to have legal counsel. He claimed this twice, without any legal counsel ever reaching out to ours, or being able to name his counsel.
During this time, he would send $500 repayments at random, without any warning, reliability, or consistency. By the date of June 15th, 2025, he was still sending sporadic repayments. By that date, he had only sent 7 repayments, accounting for less than 15% of what was owed to us. Thankfully we sought legal help when we did, because it was a long and draining process, both fiscally and emotionally.
After months of red tape, we finally had a court hearing date scheduled for March, 2026. At this point, Joyus Toyus, having failed to work with us in good faith, had already defaulted on the judgement. We just needed to have the judge sign off on the final amount owed. When Gann caught wind of this ( because we finally found an address we could reach him at ) about a week before the hearing, suddenly he wanted to take care of everything in a quick manner. Initially he offered even less than the owed refund amount, always claiming to not know what was owed, even though receipts were sent after every repayment. We ignored this initial offer, as it was insulting. Then, a second offer was sent, which was more on par with what was owed, but did not cover legal. My counsel responded with the actual owed amount, and he complained that it was "much more than he anticipated".
In the end, we settledwith an amount that was more than our refund, while coming a little bit under the full costs put into the process, when you consider legal fees. He would have saved more in the long run, by simply refunding us initially, or even on a signed and consistent basis.
You might wonder, why not take him to court for triplicate, and it is a simple decision on our end: nothing is guaranteed. Even if you get a large owed amount, then you have to collect, which is just more sweat, tears, and costs. Our counsel's advice was, money in the hand is always best.
Our loved one's advice was fantastic as well: He could skip town tomorrow, and you would get nothing. This idea really struck a chord with us because, nothing could be more true. That is why we agreed to settle, put it behind us, and use that energy to work on growing Plushpanions.
The settlement agreement has no limits on discussing the case, so we would like to take some time to summarize other businesses' situations with Joyus Toyus — these are from signed affidavits, but we will not share business or personal specifics, because they are not necessary. What is necessary is sharing these stories, so that it can shed light on issues that can arise, when you work with anyone you've never met before:
Business A: Ordered plush toys that took well beyond their promised date to prototype and ship. There were constant delays and missed deadlines, that were promised by Joyus Toyus. Once the prototype was accepted, though still not in line with their original design or expectations, they were approved and shipped. These toys were originally ordered to be stuffed in the US, which is $1.00 USD per plush. Even though that was the order, the plush toys arrived stuffed from China, which should only cost $0.50 per plush. Additionally, only three boxes arrived! As of this date, that company has not been refunded the cost difference of the stuffing inconsistency.
Business B: This business also experienced delay, after delay, and missed deadline after missed deadline. They also never received their original protype, and only ever received part of their order (380 received of 500), and additionally an approved embroidery feature was missing on the final product! At the time of writing this, they have not received nor been refunded for their missing and incorrect plushies.
Others: Other creators and small businesses have reached out to us, based on our previous BackerKit update post, which is why we want to emphasize and write about everything we can with regard to this company. Other businesses deserve access to the information that we didn't have. When we were researching Joyus Toyus originally, none of these articles existed and thus our business fell victim to this poorly run, middle-man plush "service" — at a time when our business was just getting off the ground. We would also like to highlight that Gann Memorials, which was a previous business run by Gann, that seemed to have caused similar headaches for customers. You can read some reviews here, at Revdex.
🤔 So What Do You Do, Instead?
If you're a small business reading this, and wondering what to do instead, we highly recommend working directly with factories. US and UK businesses will often be middle men for products that are mostly manufactured overseas, so why not just work directly with the businesses whose foundations are built on the process of plush making? It will take a mixture of research and time to find the right fit, but it is always worth it.
Look at their work, ensure their plush photos are not AI, shop around for estimates and search for reviews of each business to ensure there are no horror stories that follow. Review images are great, but sometimes they can be posted by the company, so unfortunately a lot of manufacturing is trial and error.
With all of that said, we are happy that this chapter has closed, and hope that no one else has to go through anything similar. However, if they find themselves in a similar situation, we wish them strength and patience.
"Monty's Magic Powers"
We would like to switch gears drastically now, and start sharing some cute news!
A few days ago, we received the sweetest message from a Plushpanion adopter that we met at AwesomeCon, this year. What she shared with us absolutely melted our hearts, and reminded us why we continue to pour our passion into this brand!
She gave us permission to share her photo and story, so here it is:
"Monty's Magic": A story of conquering the fear of the dark!
Accessibility Description of the photo: A screenshot from Instagram messaging shows a message received from a recent Plushpanion adoptee, that says,"Hi! I bought a krampus and moth from you at awesomecon a few months back. They were so cute and I fell in love instantly. Turns out my five year old daughter also fell in love with it when she saw it! She has been snuggling and sleeping with mothman and it's been helping her with her fear of the dark. Wanted to share how your plushies have been such a help to one of your youngest fans!". The photo shows a child in a teal outfit, snuggling a Monty Mothman plush, her face is covered with a green heart emoji.
"New Bags and Info Cards"
We are also excited to share that new bags are in! Our very first branded bags.
These 100% recycled cotton bags include handles and a new drawstring to help keep your Plushpanion extra safe and cozy! These bags come free with every Plushpanion purchase at in-person events and shows!
Plushpanions new 100% recycled cotton bag.
We looked at bags for weeks before we found one that had the exact features we were looking for. We wanted you to be able to show off your friend, even as a little backpack, but also have them fit inside to be able to travel securely! The drawstrings make it so that you never have to worry about the weather when you bring your companion along, and the handles on top make it easy to grab and go!
🛍️ Laisy loves it!
Laisy shown in the bag, with the drawstrings closed to show off their face.
The closed bag, with Laisy nestled inside.
"Laisy's Safety"
Speaking of Laisy, their safety testing should be completed any day now.
Unfortunately, their safety testing dates fell between two major holidays for our manufacturer, which is the cause for the delay. They also have a lot of accessory pieces to be checked! It'll all be worth it, and Laisy will be flying home to you soon. More updates to come!🩵
"Dottie's Progress"
🍫 Dottie is finally moving right along — embroidered wings and a chocolate bar, ahoy!
Dottie's embroidered wing details.
Dottie's "Hungry Trick-or-Treater" outfit, version 01.
Dottie's chocolate bar prop (magnetic)
The color of the jumpsuit outfit is fantastic, but you can see the collar on the outfit doesn't quite match the original image, or the inspired jumpsuit, so that edit has been sent back. The chocolate bar also looks great, but we have asked for some bits of the lined embroidery to be removed, since it cuts through what would be a bite of the chocolate bar.
Edits to chocolate bar embroidery.
🍬 They are still nailing down the yellow candy piece, and the mouth cover of the costume, but we are almost there.
We would also like to extend our sincerest thanks for your patience with Dottie. We were originally told that the prototypes for Laisy and Dottie would be worked on simultaneously, but that did not end up being the case. We are actively asking for updates and will always let you know, as soon as we know, when approvals are met and pivotal steps like safety testing and production are initiated.
"Website Update"
We have been taking a lot of time recently to freshen up our website!
If you haven't seen it yet, go check out www.plushpanions.eco — our biggest changes are the addition of our Wholesale Shop, and our added Roadmap page!
🛒 Wholesale Shop
Initially, our Wholesale Accounts consisted of memberships and custom generated coupons, but now it's as easy as applying for a membership to gain access to the Wholesale Shop! There, bundles of Plushpanions can be purchased at the reseller rate. Wholesale Accounts are available to brick-and-mortar retailers only. Our first ever Wholesale Account was Big Bear Coin and Collectibles, in Richmond VA, so if you're local to the Richmond Virginia area, be sure to check them out!
🗺️ Roadmap Page Our Roadmap showcases Plushpanions' Crowdfunding Campaigns, Programs, and Ideas, all in one perfect page! It's a great way to see where we are, and where we are going, in this wild and crazy adventure.
"Patient Program" Details, from the Roadmap page.
Accessibility Description of the photo: Illustration of chibi elephant in a doctor outfit, next to an axolotl with a bandage on it's arm. Next to text that reads: "Patient Program -- When Plushpanions travel from one place to another, whether by land, air, or sea, they can sometimes have accidents. Plushies can get scratches or tears, and rather than discarding them, we mend them. Each Patient is mended to the best of our ability, and their adoption fee is discounted, so they are still available to find their forever home. -- Soft Launch"
"Wellness Center" Details, from the Roadmap page.
Accessibility Description of the photo: Illustration of chibi capybara in a spa pool, cucumber slices on their eyes and a tengerine on their head. They have tea, and their head is resting on a rolled white towel. Next to text that reads: "Wellness Center -- Our Wellness Center is the perfect place to send your Plushpanion when they are in need of some rest & relaxation. Our center is a place that welcomes companions that need some extra care! This pampering program focuses on mending Plushpanions, rather than having them be discarded.. -- Idea Stage"
"Series 3: Fabled Friends" Details, from the Roadmap page.
Accessibility Description of the photo: Image of chibi green dragon plush design (Digby), with oak armor headband, shirt, shield, and sword. Next to text that reads: "Series 3: Fabled Friends -- Help save Plushpania by going on an adventure and making new friends! -- Bring to life our newest Plushpanion Digby Dragon, and unlock more friends, armor, outfits, and props along the way! -- Est. Launch, Summer 2026"
"Springtime Celebrations" Details, from the Roadmap page.
Accessibility Description of the photo: Illustration of chibi white rabbit plush design, with yellow/white striped shirt and blue overalls. Next to text that reads: "Springtime Celebrations! -- Hop into Spring by unlocking colorful Plushpanions and accessories! -- Plushpanions: Rabbit, Lop-Ear Rabbit, Jackalope, Duck and Chicken -- Clothing: Overalls, Striped Shirt, and more Spring-Colored Attire -- Accessories: Baskets and Painted Eggs -- Idea Stage"
🩵 Don't forget to subscribe on the website!
Scroll to the bottom of the page on desktop, and in the upper right "+" menu on mobile! Don't worry, you can always adjust your email settings in your "Notification Settings", within your account.
"L's Personal Health"
Thank you for taking the time to read this update in full, you and your support mean the world to us, which is why we feel we owe it to you to share why we had to take a break from updating, these past few weeks. Don't worry, again, this is really good news!
L is comfortable sharing that she struggled with pelvic health for 9 years, before she found anyone that would listen to her or take her seriously. Much like millions of other women in the world of women's health, she was disregarded and had to keep finding new doctor after new doctor after new doctor. It was defeating and exhausting.
Finally, she got up the courage again earlier this Spring, to find a new doctor. She went to Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine and finally, she felt seen and heard. The doctors there estimated, based on her symptoms, that she had Endometriosis — however the only true way to diagnose Endometriosis, currently, is by a Laparoscopic excision surgery. She opted for this surgery and was quickly scheduled for April. They did indeed find Endo. Thankfully, it was found early enough before causing any irreversible damage, and it definitely had her in a literal twist. It has been just about four weeks since the surgery and she is healing well!
"Tidewater Comicon -- Save the date! -- May 16-17 2026 -- Virginia Beach Convention Center"
"Laisy Giveaway"
This final section of the update comes with some sad news. One of Plushpanions' biggest supporters, L's grandmother, passed away earlier this month.
The main reason we have opted to share this with you all is because that now means that we will have some Laisy Plushpanions without homes. Most of the Plushpanions that she ordered will be donated to her local hospital and community center, that she would regularly donate to — but we would also like to extend a few of them your way, in honor of her and also as a gigantic "Thank You" for being a Backer of this project.
🎁 The Giveaway
There are 3 Laisy Plushpanions that will be going out, for this giveaway.
You must be an original Backer of the Series 2: Monty Mothman campaign.
To Enter: Share a favorite fun memory of a loved one, short and sweet or long and descriptive, whatever feels right!
Commenting will be open to Backers only, so all comments to this update sharing a story, will count.
If you just want to share a story, but not enter the giveaway, please just include that you're not entering at the beginning or end of your comment.
Entries Open: Once this update has been posted Entries Close: May 24th, 2026, 11:59pm EST
Winners will be announced in the comments and will also be notified by email.
"as always... -- Thank You!"
If you ever need assistance with your order, or want to check in, send an email to [email protected] or reach out to BackerKit support — please don't leave comments on the community page, because we don't receive notifications about those!
That's everything for now, which is a LOT! Thank you for your support and for being you. Have a great weekend ahead, and see you in the next update!
Fulfillment has been completed for about 4 weeks now, so I'm looking to close this project next week. If you haven't filled out your survey or fixed your errored credit card, please do so and I'll ship out your rewards ASAP.
Once the project is closed I will no longer be shipping out rewards. At this point, multiple updates, emails and reminders have been sent to stragglers.
However, if there is a problem with your rewards or your package is damaged, or rejected by customs, please send me an email at [email protected] and I'll take care of the issue. You may also contact me on Instagram @kiranight_art.
I've wanted to set up the next Smut Lovers Club enamel pin campaign since the last one ended in February last year, but with it being my first pin campaign, I had a lot to learn before launching my second. Well, I have certainly learnt a lot over the last year. Definitely made some mistakes along the way, but I know what I'm doing now. I have two wonderful manufacturers that are ready and waiting to bring my designs to life, and a growing community of smutty pin lovers just waiting for the next batch to go live. Well, the wait is almost over.
This time it's all about the larger pins. I know how disappointed many of you were when the larger pins didn't unlock. I was just as disappointed because I love those designs as well and really wanted to see them come to life. I did manage to scrape enough money together to produce a small amount of Monster Smut pins (50 in total), so they won't be featuring in the next campaign, but they will be available as add-ons (probably in the survey because I only have a limited amount left in stock).
Each pin will be between 3.5 and 4 inches with 2 metal clutches on the back for stability. Some will have glow-in-the-dark features, some will have glitter, and at least one will have a new special feature I haven't used before. The Smut Lovers Club mini pin will also be returning as a free reward for early backers, but in a brand new colour combination (you'll be able to vote for your favourite colour in a poll when the campaign goes live).
The campaign is set to go live on April 2nd 2026 at 10am PST, but the teaser page is already up and running 😊
Follow the teaser page to be notified when the Smut Lovers Club 2 goes live!
Thank you everyone for supporting this project, I apologize again for it taking so long to fulfill due to life, production errors & tariffs getting in the way.
These are my very last enamel pins I'm making for the foreseeable future, so you all can enjoy your limited edition pins as they won't be re-made. A lot of you got my add-on pins (thank you so much) most which has sold out since the campaign has ended.
Tracking notifications should update by early next week, I just wanted to ship the packages as soon as the pins arrived on Friday so I spent the night packaging them and dropped them off at the Post Office this morning.
If you have any issues with your packages (damages, lost, etc) please be sure to reach out via email at [email protected], please include your name and email used for your backerkit pledge and we can sort out.
After this project is $1000~ over budget due to production issues and tariffs the last three designs are finally en route to me for January delivery. Address changes for the remaining packages will close January 9 as to give you all time post-holidays to start looking at emails again. I am grateful for everyone's patience and I hope you love these pins as these are the last enamel pins I am making for the foreseeable future.
If you are tired of waiting and want a refund - just reach out. You have until January 9th for address locking to request one.
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Long Version of Update:
Hello everyone, it's been awhile since we last touch based but this year has been a difficult one.
I am not asking for pity, I am most disappointed in myself because it was my choice to run this campaign, set it's budget, and proceed even with tariffs.
While my manufacturer did offer duties pre-paid, it did increase the cost of the pins much more for me than I was expecting. Cost of shipping also rose higher than expected for international shipments. The tariff rates going up and down this year did not help as the rates fluctuated on what was paid.
While my original plan was to have everything shipped by end of Summer, life had other plans. I had car issues & house issues. When your roof is leaking and your only transportation to make a living have issues you have to redirect focus.
These are all just excuses to you, I know you don't care you just want your pins. But with this project already being over budget at that point, and things happening in my life I didn't want to make a summer update of "I have no idea when the next part of production will happen" to just disappoint you further so I just kept pushing to make it happen no matter what. I was determined to finish the project.
So I just started re-saving up. I had a string of good luck in the Fall and was able to put them in production but there was a lot of back and forth on printing errors but they're FINALLY ON THE WAY and the pins are en route for a January delivery.
Address changes for the remaining packages will close January 9 as to give you all time post-holidays to start looking at emails again.
If you are tired of waiting and want a refund - just reach out. You have until January 9th for address locking to request one.
Lastly, I am exceptionally grateful for everyone's patience. I hope you love these pins as these are the last enamel pins I am making for the foreseeable future. I am done making pins unfortunately.
You helped us produce our FIRST set of LUMPIA Enamel Pins. Now we're following that up with a NEW set! This new collection of enamel pins will be designed by artist Gerald Pilare inspired by the award-winning film LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE; fun and delicious pins for LUMPIA lovers, Deep Fried Universe supporters, and fans of the Filipino spring roll! The set will come attached to a comic book designed backing card. Help us get inspired by answering the attached poll on your favorite pin design from the previous campaign.
PRE-LAUNCH EARLY FOLLOWER INCENTIVE FOLLOW US now and get a FREE digital LUMPIA comic book of your choice when you pledge.
We are excited to share that everything has been shipped out a few weeks ago! Thank you all for being part of this project, your support and patience mean the world to us.
If your package hasn’t arrived yet, or if anything looks off, please reach out at [email protected] and we’ll be sure to help you out.
There are still a few backers who haven’t completed their surveys. If that’s you, please fill out your survey before January 1, 2026. After that point, unclaimed rewards will be treated as a donation to the project.
We’re so excited to share that we will be joining Pintopia 2026! If you love camping or animal crossing (or both), you’ll love our animal crossing themed project! You can follow our project and get updates here.
*Designs are subject to small changes due to manufacturer limits
Returning backers will receive a free hard enamel mini pin as a thank you for sticking with us.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting this project and for your patience throughout the entire journey. We couldn’t have done this without you!
Wishing you all a warm and joyful holiday season!🎄✨
This is an update for those who haven't filled in their surveys or completed their payments yet. If you've done so already, then please ignore this update.
I'm still waiting on 4 people from each group (4 to complete payments and 4 to fill in their surveys and complete their payments). I have sent out numerous reminders and updates over the last 9 months, but this is the final update/reminder I will be sending for this campaign. If you haven't completed the final steps by the end of the week, your order will be cancelled and the money received so far will be seen as a donation. THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING. If you do not fill in your survey and complete your payment, your pledge will be forfeit.
Thank you again to everyone for supporting my first enamel pin campaign. I can't wait to show you the next lot of designs I've been working on, which will hopefully be launching early next year. I hope you have a wonderful festive season and a Happy New Year 😊
Hello everyone ! I've now finished up the last of the kickstarter orders ! They're all on their way to their homes now and the extras are up on my shop ! Thank you so much for all your patience and support and sticking with me through the delays in this project :) I hope everyone is happy with their pins and if you have any issues don't hesitate to email me and I'll get things sorted !
Additionally I'd like to announce next years pintopia project which is titled Love, Death, and Monster girls ! For this upcoming campaign expect a fun mix of monster girl pins to continue my monster girl series from last year ! Along with lovely monster girl pins I'll also be launching my first ita bag ! The first ita option will be a lovely black coffin shaped ita with a chain decoration and swappable colored bows ! This ita bag is perfect for not only holding your lovely pins but also doubles as a plush or doll carrying bag ! The bag has two sections to it so no matter what you want to display in the front you'll have space for your stuff too ! When displaying pins you can use both back and front openings as bag sections and when displaying a plush or doll you still have the back to use for your things :) No need to sacrifice !
Follow the project HERE to get ready for launch at the end of January ! Here are some preview pictures for the upcoming bag ! These bags are still prototypes and elements are subject to change before the campaign launches.
Comment down below any monster girls you'd be happy to see in the next campaign and maybe some will show up ;)
