I hope this update finds you well and that your inboxes have recovered from Pintopia! XD
I want to thank all of your for your support of this project. It means the world to me to be able to create art, my art, and have it so well received. <3 This update will outline next steps and a possible - but very loose - timeline for production and fulfillment. I'm also highlighting my next project that will be launching soon!
Project End
Stretch Goals: Funding ended over 13k! This means that the beaver pin will have pearlescent enamel added to his fur. These stretch goal upgrades will be the default in pins for retail, but backers will have the option to include these upgrades or not.
Failed pledges: Almost 1k of funds were unsuccessfully charged. If this includes your payment, please fix that as soon as you're able. If you cannot fix it now, please know there will be another opportunity to fix your payment in the pledge manager. (I'm not too worried about it. Banks hate events like Pintopia with all those charges coming out. Just fix things when you can. <3) Pledge Manager: If you're a returning backer, you know I like to take two weeks off after a crowdfunder. These campaigns are a lot of work! (It also takes a little time for things to port from the campaign to the pledge manager.) So we're going to vibe for two weeks while I recover from this sprint, and you should anticipate seeing your pledge manager in March.
Timeline
As I said, you should see your pledge manager go live in March. There's no rush with this since Chinese factories are closed for the Lunar New year anyway. Haha.
Once the pledge manager is live, it will be open for 30 days or until 80% completion - whichever is sooner. Once I have a solid accounting of how many pins I need, I'll place the order with my manu. Designs are complete and ready to go - the images on the campaign page are mock ups from my manu, so I just need funds in hand in order to pull the trigger on orders.
Production and shipping to me is usually another 30 days.
If you're following a long, I should have pins in-hand this May. Then we'll take some time to grade and pack and ship all the pins. I'm budgeting two months to have this done. It normally doesn't take that long, but this timeline puts us into Pride season, and we do a lot of in-person events for Pride. I ask for your patience as we take a little longer just to be kind to ourselves.
Current estimated fulfillment date ~July 2026
What's Next
As a fulltime artist, my work is never done, and there is always another project on the horizon. XD
Next month I'm launching Not a Phase | Lunar Pride Pins These pins are sold in sets and are completely customizable. They're available in solid colors, or the design can hold up to two pride flags distributed throughout the phases of the moon. I'm going to have an extremely limited supply available after the campaign, so if you're looking for some subtle pride options (or just really nifty moon pins), make sure you follow the prelaunch page below.
Taking your feedback into consideration, here's where our current stretch goals sit.
The Coral upgrade was the clear winner, so that was unlocked at 10k. At the time of my writing this, we've already passed 12k (crazy!), and the Owl and Salmon were tied. So I placed those at these already attained benchmarks. :) The Beaver upgrade will unlock at 13k.
I also added a note to this section: The upgraded designs will be optional selections for folks. Even if these are my intended design choices from the start, I do understand that there are backers who may not favor the upgraded designs. So the owl, for instance, will be available with and without glow in the dark enamel. Some important notes concerning this:
All-in backers - You will get an option of which variation of these pins you want included in your pledge. You will not receive one of each.
Existing pins with special effects - example: Glitter Raccoon - will be the only options for these pins. These are the base designs, and options without special effects will not be made available.
For ease, there will be no cost difference between base goal pins and the upgraded versions.
If 15k is reached, the glitter magpie will be the default option. As this is a free reward, I will not be making a 'base' version of this pin.
Phew! I think that's all the house keeping needed there. :D
Thank you for your continued support! There's still plenty of time to reach these goals, so please consider sharing the campaign with others. I was almost able to gift free pins last Pintopia, but we fell a little short. We're on track to do it this year, so let's keep the momentum going!
By the time I got to see the results of the poll, we, uh, kinda unlocked all the designs I had planned. Haha! So here's what I've got planned for the rest of the campaign!
I had plans for special effects on each of the designs, but opted not to include those in the base goals to try and keep the goals lower. Silly me. The options are listed in the poll attached to this update. We're, of course, hoping to unlock all the upgrades, but just in case, make sure to vote for your favorites to they take priority!
At 14k, I'll have another poll letting backers decide which special effects we want added to the ray pins. I've also decided that these pins will be available as add-ons in the pledge manager. So even if you don't qualify for a free set of rays, you can collect them post campaign.
For the very final goal - if we double Spirits in the Woods - I'll come up with an all-new pin design which will be added to everyone's pledge for free. Right now, I'm playing with ideas for kelp, a shark, or (possibly hermit) crab. If you missed Spirits in the Woods and want to help push those stretch goals, previous designs will be available in the pledge manager - and I just activated a new add-on for those designs to be added at a discount ($15, retails at $20).
Before you go!
I want to end this update by giving my sister a shoutout. This is her first Pintopia (her first pin campaign, really), and she funded on day one. I'm so proud of this kid (kid, she's like 30), and I'd love to see her stretch goals be met. Give her campaign a gander.
We'll be fulfilling our campaigns together, so we're also discounting shipping if you back both campaigns. :)
Thank you, all of you, for the strong launch! We're funded and smashing through stretch goals~
I put a poll up to determine which pin should be unlocked next. We're very close to unlocking that, so the poll ends tomorrow - allowing us to vote again over the weekend. Haha.
While you're out browsing Pintopia,
I want to make sure you check out my collab partner, Max! We designed some coordinating (full sized!) pins that are free if you back both projects.
We're officially one week away from Pintopia launch! I'm busy getting the last bits and bobs in order. But before I get into that, let's celebrate our latest winning design!
He's really cool, right? This might be my personal favorite from this series. (I'm actually very terrified of invertebrates. Like, where the hell are your bones, sir?) I'm particularly excited about the half-raised metal under the transparent enamel. I've seen this in a couple of pins, but it's not something I've done myself. So I'm very hype. This will also be a 4" pin, so all those details will have plenty of space to breathe. :D
By now you've seen most of the designs planned for this campaign. I've still got a few secrets. And we'll need somewhere to put all these new pins. So, without further ado, here's this year's pin board!
And my mother thought I wasn't listening when she said she needed a new pin board.
These pin boards are handmade, measuring approximately 11"x12" (the sample is being shipped to me right now, I'll give it a proper measure once my hands are on it!) and will be available as an add-on and as part of the all-in tier. Thanks to the amazing Wayward Enigma for supplying them!
I heard y'all's feedback from last year - the bear paw was really heckin cool but fitting all the pins on it was like playing hardcore Tetris. So this year, I went with a more open design to accommodate more pins in different configurations.
Please do note that this is a production sample, and these pin boards are handmade/hand-assembled. If there are any major changes, those will be communicated via updates. But you should anticipate slight variations from sample photo to finished product.
But that's enough rambling from me! I want to hear from you.
What's your favorite revealed design thus far? What animals are you terrified of? How have you been brave this year?
