Hey robot enjoyers,

Update jam packed with pictures for you today, along with many status updates! Folks who follow along on my Discord have already seen most of them, so as ever feel free to pop in over there to get the as-it-happens scoop on all things related to my artwork and merch.

The bulk order of Soft Circuit pins and reprints reached me safely at last, and I have begun the long process of grading them.

For anyone new to the enamel pin scene, this is the process of inspecting each pin for deviations from the "standard" - small scratches or bubbles, over or under fills of the enamel paint - that sort of thing. Pins close to the standard are given an "A" grade, used for campaign fulfillment, and any extras are sold later at full price. Pins with enough flaws to bug me receive a "B" and will be offered for later sale at a discount.

After grading, the pins are de-backed, poked onto cards themed to match, re-backed, and carefully stacked into bins to await shipment packing. Occasionally my wife or metamour will assist me in carding and order packing, but for the most part this is a one-creature operation, so it takes a spicy minute to blast through it all. 

Speaking of timing —

Our sticker order was placed in August! I am contracting with an amazing fellow small in-fandom business in the EU.

Their timeline might be a little longer than initially expected, which actually lines up nicely with the time grading and carding will take.

Now that I also have the plush prototypes in hand, I can estimate a more accurate weight and box packing requirement for them and can finally set up my shipping profiles for the campaign! More on the plushies in the next section, but I wanted to get these dates up higher in the post:

🐺 Orders will lock on OCTOBER 7, 2026 💚

You have until then to add-on any desired items. For those who did not back the initial campaign: the pre-order store will also close on this date, and pre-orders will lock as well.

This gives you a two week window to make any adjustments! If you need assistance with your order, please feel free to reach out at any time via email: [email protected]

🐉 Add-ons, pre-orders, and shipping will charge on OCTOBER 9, 2026💜

Once orders are locked, I will initiate the 48 hour card charge window. Please make sure your payment method on file is up to date!

If your payment fails for any reason, don't panic. You can correct your card details up until it's time to ship your order. There are however a lot of moving parts to fulfillment, so it helps me out immensely if your payments go through.

🐻 Orders WITHOUT plushies or plush-sized bandanas will begin shipping on OCTOBER 14, 2026 💛

This currently includes 179 folks. Shipping of these orders will begin on October 14 and should conclude by early November.

🙌 Orders WITH plushies or plush-sized bandanas are estimated to begin shipping by APRIL 7, 2027 🧡

Now that I have the prototypes in hand, I've ordered an updated round of samples to adjust the stuffing level in parts of both Byte and Python, along with a couple of other details. Aesthetically the current samples reflect what the final plush should look like. More on that in the sections to follow!

The process from beginning to sample Byte to receiving them in hand took a whooping 10 months - much longer than I originally expected - since this supplier seems to go about a month between implementing the edits I request. A quick breakdown of the remaining estimated timeline is:

• 2 months for adjusted samples
• 2-3 months safety testing and bulk production
• 1 month quality control
• 1 month plushies ship to me (by sea!)

All of that would put us in April rather than the original ETA of February. It could be earlier, or it could be later. Best timeline scenario, my manufacturer nails the remaining edits in one month and bulk production only takes two months, meaning we could still hit February. But I would rather guess April to help set expectations!

This initial foray into plush has been very educational. I have more in mind, but I'll be running exclusively pin-focused campaigns in late 2026 and throughout 2027, as in the future I'd like to start sampling for a plush one full year prior to its campaign. Expect to see more plush from me in 2028. c;

Onward to footage of the soft friends, and details of what I'd still like to adjust to make them perfect companions!

I'm delighted to finally meet these two in person, and I so look forward to perfecting them and getting them into your hands as well!!

To go back in time a moment, as this was shared in the Discord but not here: the second to last Python prototype was pretty much on point, other than needing a nose job (much love to big noses, but this was not the intention 😂)

Over a month later my supplier adjusted it, and I asked to have the buddies and their accessories sent my way!

They look SO dang cute, and the pieces of art that they are certainly makes the long process so far worth it. Before I get into my final picky requests — some more footage of THE GOODS.

Byte and Python were sent with the small bandana samples, which look every bit as vibrant as their large counterparts.

You can technically even wear them if your neck is on the smaller side, though I'd still recommend the large circuit board bandanas for that.

There were requests to see Byte with the various bandanas, so I snapped quick shots of her in each:

It's satisfying to see the vision of these plush integrated with their bot boards come true at long last. <3

A couple customers also expressed interest in seeing scale, and I know a lot of folks who collect indie plushies are connoisseurs of plush in general, so I photographed a bunch of that as well. Check out the Development feed over on the Discord for pictures of Byte and Python alongside many other friends.

The Snughoul and lurking Wyrm on a String above are both available from Tiny Teeth, designed by the same artist who did our Byte Bytes keychain guest art, and you should absolutely check out that site if you aren't already familiar! I love shouting about the cool things other artists design, so if you ever see a plush, pin, print, patch, sticker, or so on in a photo I take and want to know who made it? Please always feel free to ask!!

Overall I'm so happy with the results. So what's changing?

Most of the differences between these prototypes and the desired final result will be in the physical experience of holding them rather than anything particularly visible from a photo. The only aesthetic change will be small embroidery color adjustments to the eyes.

Byte will have Python's eye thread colors and Python will have Byte's eyebrow materials, for visual cohesion. The contrast of the dark eyes also pops better on Byte!

Well, that and an oopsie I caught for the first time when seeing these guys in person - of course the purple joints are all intended to be the same.

Beyond that, it's all about the flop and construction particulars. I want you to be able to stuff Byte into more poses, use Python as a scarf, and flail them both around like those balloon creatures in front of car dealerships if so desired.

Enjoyers of weighted pellets in plush will be pleased to hear that the beans on and in the toes were insufficient to my tastes. MORE BEANS, MORE BETTER. And of course, the floppier, the more poseable and fun to hold!

And then, the detail I am going to be the biggest pain in my supplier's side about—

I don't enjoy glued on parts in plush construction, and I know a number of you feel the same! Meeting Python in person, I discovered that my supplier had glued on the nose tip and all the yellow antenna balls. While this isn't wildly surprising, it's not at all what I want, and I promise that this will NOT be the case in the final plushies.

I'm going to push my manu to sew them on, and I don't mind if that increases the unit cost on my end. If they won't for whatever reason, I will try to get them to send me the nose and ball parts separate with the final plush and I will sew them on my dang self. Hopefully it won't come to that, but to me glue really just isn't workable.

Lastly, I noticed that the bandana material is slightly see-through in some lighting, so I'd prefer to double side them. We're almost to a green light! Nailing the last few details is worth a bit of extra prototyping time.

Phew, this was a long post! If you made it all the way down to this section with me, thank you extra for your interest in the process. :D If you have any questions, requests of photos or videos you'd like taken of Byte and Python, or anything else - let me know!

As I've been gently hollering about here and there, I have two pin campaigns coming up in later October and November: Spectral Circuit as part of the annual Pintober event, and Gears of GAIA as part of TRIBUTES.

The next installment to Short Circuit is Spectral Circuit, which will introduce a seventh Unit Line: Blood. Quite a number of my supporters expressed that I ought to add more reptiles to my line up, and I am happy to oblige. :3

Gears features robots and themes inspired by a story that quite literally changed my life in unexpected ways, reinterpreted in a style that borrows elements from my own Circuit series. It's a crossover homage for the love of the game - both the video game in question and the pin game, since it's also serving as an opportunity for me to play around with the medium.

I'll shift both campaigns into Launch Party mode soon, to enable updates on their respective pages. Be sure to follow along with both if you're interested in seeing more artwork, and of course to snag the pins when they go live!

As ever, thank you so so much for being here, your support of independent artists in this complex world means everything to us. <3