Hey folks! Sorry for going quiet for a while; it's been a hair-raising two weeks featuring multiple emergency vet visits, missing medication, terrible sleep, dog drama, and more...
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DefilerWyrm
11 days ago
22: FIXED: No More Missing Countries! 😅
Have I mentioned how awesome the Backerkit team are? They literally got back to me with how to fix the missing-countries mess before I got my email for Update 21. Damn. These fo...
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DefilerWyrm
11 days ago
21: Missing Countries on Surveys
Hi again! As some of you may have noticed, it looks like something went wrong with the survey setup and a slew of countries are missing from the selection drop-down, including t...
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DefilerWyrm
11 days ago
20: Surveys Are Out!
Surveys are out! Please get your responses in ASAP!
As a reminder, you will have until JUNE 1, 2024 to complete your survey — if you don't get it submitted by then, you won't b...
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DefilerWyrm
13 days ago
19: Smoke Test, Failed Pledges, & More!
Hi folks! As a reminder, everyone who wasn't in the smoke test is going to receive their backer survey in 2 DAYS — Thursday of this week, May 2, 2024 (by US reckoning). I will t...
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DefilerWyrm
19 days ago
18: Surveys, Smoke Tests, & Pre-Orders
Hello again!
Smoke tests are out! This means that 5% of currently-imported backers should receive their backer surveys within the next few hours.
What do you mean, "currently-...
Hi folks! I know it's late in the game, but as we come ever closer to the final week, I'm excited to announce that a new add-on is now available: pin banners!
Here's a mockup: Now, obviously, this is not meant to be a literal representation of good husbandry. But I think it's cute!
These banners will be 9" wide x 13 x long. Each of the little terrarium & aquarium sections are about 2" x 2" - the perfect size for your CREEPY CUTIES pins and more!
Plus, backers get a discount!
After the campaign and surveys are both complete, the remainder of the banners I have made will go up on Etsy. They will be sold for $25 there, but if you get them as an add-on to your pledge, you can save $10 and snag them for only $15 each!
How do you add one to your pledge?
Step 1: Go to the campaign front page and click "Manage your pledge" in the banner up top: Step 2: On the "Thanks for your pledge" page, click "Edit pledge" in the left-center: Step 3: In the "Add-ons" box, click "Add additional items": Step 4: On the "Add additional items to your pledge" page, click the "Add to pledge" button for a pin banner: Step 5: On the same page, click the blue "Proceed to checkout" button. Step 6: Check out, and you're done!
What do you think? :D
This is going to be my first foray into having cloth items made, and I hope y'all like it!
About those charms...
While neither charm option won the timed poll, they are not out of the running — I just might make fewer of them is all. With that in mind, I think I'm going to make charm of 3 designs! Which ones? Well, to continue the theme of the campaign, YOU get to decide in a new poll!
The 3 with the most votes will get made into acrylic AND pillow keychains. This is also a timed poll that will only run for 2 days, so get your vote in while you can!
EXCITING NEWS! Or at least I hope it is, lol. We've unlocked a lot of stretch goals, so I have brought back a limited supply of Early Bird specials for anyone who wants to upgrade their pledge at a discount!
Let's take a look at what we've unlocked so far... All of these pin designs are officially going to be available to select as rewards, PLUS we're very close to unlocking the 9th pet, the Pacman Frog!
Don't miss out on this rare second chance at Early Bird pricing AND FREEBIES, because there's only so many of them to go around!
The final showdown continues...
Right now it's looking like the Orchid Mantis is going to sweep the Giant African Millipede for the second-to-last unlock slot of the original 11 designs...unless there's a surprise upset in the poll! Can the mantis fans secure a win for their fave, or are there enough millipede sleeper fans to steal the lead? You decide!
This poll will run until the campaign hits $2500 in pledges...and that's coming up pretty fast. Get your votes in while there's still time!
Banners, anyone? 👀
I have also opened up a new poll to gauge interest in some new add-on options:
Pin banner
Acrylic keychain
Plush keychain
If any of these sound like something that would interest you, or if you have another idea for an add-on that you'd like to see, let me know in the poll!
This poll closes at 12:00 PM Central on Saturday, April 6th, 2024 so get your votes in now!
Check out my Pintopia partner!
Oleander, my collaboration partner for Pintopia 2024, is THIS CLOSE to unlocking their 4th design! Could yours be the pledge that unlocks their delightfully macabre Hope Holds Us Together pin? Remember, if you back both my campaign and theirs for a physical reward, you'll get two FREE bonus pins! Go check them out by clicking the banner below!
So many thanks!
Finally, I'd like to take a moment to say, at the risk of repeating myself, how touched and pleased I am by the outpouring of support I've received for this campaign thus far. With two weeks left, I have high hopes that all 11 pets will get unlocked, and that I'll have the privilege of designing even more for your enjoyment!
Do you have a "creepy" pet of your own? Something more "mainstream"? Both? Tell me about your pets!*
I'll start! I have: - 3 moggie cats (Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Jimmy the Foster Monster); - 2 aquariums (50 gal & 10 gal) full of unnamed fish, shrimp, and snails; - a colony of brown anoles including some red morphs (the only named one is Big Red, the dominant male), - 7 corn snakes (Chalybeia, Zmei, Typhon, Balaur, Ocelot, Frumpkin, and Gelidon); - 7 Kenyan sand boas (Kismet, Anaïs, Musa, Omeiri, Galatea, Norway, Jack O'Neill, and Midas); - 15 ball pythons (Mokelé, Meringue, Aranea, Sèance, Malakbel, Magec, Raijū, Frappuccino, Banshee, Catillamen, Tatzelwurm, Pardicula, Ailuropoda, Enyo, and Sonoma); - 1 Cape house snake (Wikus); - 2 black African house snakes (Ding and Dong); - 2 San Isabel Island locality Solomon Island ground boas (not yet named); - 2 Plains hognose snakes (Midgard and Astarion); - 1 blue phase Japanese ratsnake (Seiryū); - 1 nano tank with pink dragon millipedes and cappuccino isopods; and - 1 nano tank with powder orange isopods.
*Don't name any pets whose name you use as a security question. I don't want that info, but the internet is a wild place, so let's stay safe!
Hey folks! Sorry for going quiet for a while; it's been a hair-raising two weeks featuring multiple emergency vet visits, missing medication, terrible sleep, dog drama, and more.
Some good news is that about half of the packing materials and inclusions are squared away, and the backer cards on on their way to me! Also, almost all surveys have been submitted already, with only 3 stragglers left — thank you all so much for your promptness! 💜
In less great news: I got the final number back from my regular pin manufacturer and was... let's say surprised to find it was almost $700 over the original quote. So with that in mind, I'm pursuing the option of "cheating on" my normal manufacturer and going with one who can guarantee the same high standard of quality with less twisting of my arm. I do not anticipate this affecting the timeline much.
Surveys are out! Please get your responses in ASAP!
As a reminder, you will have until JUNE 1, 2024 to complete your survey — if you don't get it submitted by then, you won't be able to get any rewards!
If your pledge level includes any automatic items, or if you're a returning backer, pledged in the first 48 hours, and/or pledged in the first 48 hours for 3+ pins, your items will automatically be added to your list of rewards. Please note: early bird perks for those who pledged to those levels during the second run do not include any extra items — just the discounted pricing.
If you did not receive your survey, first check your spam folder; I'm told these emails sometimes end up there.
If it's not there either, head to https://creepy-cuties.backerkit.com, enter the email address you used to make your pledge, and click "Get My Survey."
If you get an error saying that it hasn't been sent, you might not have been loaded into the Pledge Manager when I sent the surveys due to a late or outstanding charge; please check to make sure your pledge was collected, correct that if needs be, and then reach out via the contact form.
As far as I can tell, you will NOT be charged for shipping yet, but you WILL be charged for any additional items you select beyond what you pledged for.
Shipping charges will be collected later in the year, after I've received everything from my manufacturers and before I start shipping things out. As a reminder, my best estimate is September for fulfillment, but that's only an estimate and is subject to change. I'll keep y'all in the loop about any delays that may arise, or if there's better news and everything arrives early!
If all of you manage to get your surveys completed before June 1st, I might close surveys early and get a jump on manufacturing! If that's the case, I'll still give you at least 48 hours' notice before locking surveys and closing pre-orders.
Last but not least...my birthday snake arrived today! She's a white phase Solomon Island ground boa (Candoia paulsonii) born this past September, and her breeder has very generously been holding onto her for the past four months to make sure she's eating consistently before sending her to me (my birthday was in December). She's a delicate little thing now, but even when she's grown and chonky she'll still be a reasonably small snake, just how I like 'em. Fun fact: like sand boas, Solomon Island boas (both species, ground and tree) exhibit dramatic sexual dimorphism, in that the females grow to fully twice the size of the males! They also grow pretty slowly, so she'll probably be in her little baby enclosure for a good while before she's ready for an upgrade.
She doesn't have a name yet. What would YOU name this snake if she was yours?
Have I mentioned how awesome the Backerkit team are? They literally got back to me with how to fix the missing-countries mess before I got my email for Update 21. Damn. These folks are top-notch. Seriously, this is not a Sponsored Post™️, but if you ever put together a crowdfunder of your own, I can't recommend Backerkit highly enough. There are very few companies I've worked with whose support is as good as theirs. Like, damn, seriously. Special thanks to Anna for saving my bacon before it could burn!
That is to say...FIXED! You should all be able to select the correct country for your surveys now.
Sorry about the rapid-fire updates. 😅 I promise I'll make up for it during the manufacturing process by leaving y'all alone save for like weekly updates or so.
Pet tax: Cepheus here is making sure my iPad keyboard doesn't float away. Still Sheepishly Yours, Tom
Hi again! As some of you may have noticed, it looks like something went wrong with the survey setup and a slew of countries are missing from the selection drop-down, including the UK and a bunch of others. I know I didn't exclude any countries other than France and those countries on which the US has embargoes, so there should be a good many more on there. :/
I've sent an email to the Backerkit team requesting help in fixing this. If your country isn't on the list, comment which one if you want, and just hang tight; I'll get this corrected as soon as I can!
Hi folks! As a reminder, everyone who wasn't in the smoke test is going to receive their backer survey in 2 DAYS — Thursday of this week, May 2, 2024 (by US reckoning). I will try to send it early in the morning before I go to bed so it'll be there when you day-walkers wake up.
As of right now there are 3 failed pledges and 1 smoke test survey left outstanding.
If you did not get an email confirming your pledge has been collected, or if you got an email saying your pledge failed and you haven't corrected it yet, please do the following:
1. Make sure that you confirmed your backerkit.com account! Backerkit isn't charging people with unconfirmed accounts, since they might have used the wrong email address and won't get confirmation emails and such. However, BK does send emails to this group to encourage you to confirm, and once you do, BK will charge you on the next auto-charge run.
2. If you have confirmed your account, please click your avatar in the top right > Your Pledges & Surveys > locate Creepy Cuties on the list and click "View pledge" on the far right. If you see a green check, you're good! If not, go to step 3.
3. If you see a message that starts with "The attempt to charge your pledge did not succeed" in red, click "Edit payment method" under your card info, update your card if necessary, and then click the black "Confirm Your Pledge" button at the bottom. If this succeeds, you'll be taken to a Congratulations! page where you can share your backer status with others.
I understand intimately that sometimes money woes happen! However I can't guarantee that you'll receive a survey if you haven't completed your pledge by Thursday. The good news is that If you have to do so after that date, you can go to https://creepy-cuties.backerkit.com/faq#shipping-updates and click the "Missing your survey?" (might be worded differently) link that will appear on the left once surveys are sent.
With all that said, some good news!
I am proud to report to you that, with the exception of the cellophane wrappers my manufacturer puts the individual pins in, 100% of the shipping and packing materials for this campaign will be eco-friendly! That means that all mailers, boxes, wrapping material, packing stickers, even the shipping labels themselves will be either reusable, home compostable, and/or curbside recyclable, and the majority is made of 20-100% post-consumer recycled material.
Each backer's rewards will come with a card that contains a QR code to a web page that lists the composting and recycling instructions for each part of your packaging.
And one last bit of news:
Since this is the first pin campaign I've had where I actually get to pay myself a bit after all other costs are covered, I decided to celebrate and get myself a chimkin nuggie to live in my little planted terrarium (for now). Say hello to Brooklyn, who arrives tomorrow:
Brooklyn, you know, because...red gargoyle (gecko). [breeder's photo]
Smoke tests are out! This means that 5% of currently-imported backers should receive their backer surveys within the next few hours.
What do you mean, "currently-imported"? At this time, the majority of backers have been imported into Backerkit's Pledge Manager. The remainder won't be imported until May 2nd, 2024, at which point everyone else will receive their surveys.
When you receive your survey: Please fill it out as soon as you can! The Pledge Manager survey is where you'll do the following:
Choose your pin(s)
Confirm your add-ons, if any
Optionally, add more items to your rewards
Answer 3 little marketing questions for me, because I don't buy or sell personal data
Confirm your mailing address
You will NOT be charged for shipping until I lock addresses in a few months.
How long do I have to fill out the survey? Once the surveys go out on May 2nd, you will have 30 days to fill out your survey. That means that, unless surveys get delayed for some reason, you will have until June 1st, 2024 to complete your survey. Once surveys are locked, you will NOT be able to change your selection or receive a refund, but you WILL be able to change your address up until addresses get locked (projected to happen in September).
The pre-order store is open! If you know anyone who might like to get in on the CREEPY CUTIES items before the remainders get listed on Etsy, point them over here: https://creepy-cuties.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
You can also preview what additional add-ons will be available through the survey there if you're a backer!
In closing, here's a photo of Aurora from earlier this morning!
Those rainbows are far more intense in person, too!
Spookily Yours, Tom
The CREEPY CUTIES pin collection is becoming a reality, thanks to all of you! 🎉✨ Give yourselves a round of applause for supporting an independent artist live his dreams of making physical items of his digital art. I couldn't be more grateful to you all.
That's why I have a special announcement.
Even though we didn't hit the $3k goal, I am foregoing some of my own pay from this project to have the Giant African Millipede created too!! That means that all 11 of the original designs will get made, and will be available to choose in the Pledge Manager!
I hope this comes as welcome news. :3 I know millipedes aren't most people's jam, but I adore them dearly, so I look forward to finding these pins some good homes!
Next item of business...
Raffle Winner!
Thank you to everyone who participated in my last-minute social share raffle! Time to announce the winner... Congrats Corgi! 🎉✨ You've won 2 FREE regular-sized pins and 1 FREE mini pin! These will be selectable in your Pledge Manager.
If you played but didn't win, I still have something for you! You will each receive a FULL SET of 11 [edit: correction] 10 FREE mini stickers as a thank-you for playing!
Up next...
The pre-order store is OPEN!
If you missed the campaign but still want to get pins and/or add-ons, you can do so NOW until surveys lock at: https://creepy-cuties.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
You'll have a little over 30 days to get your orders in. I'll send out another update when the surveys and pre-order store are about to close.
Watch for surveys from Backerkit in 1-2 weeks
I don't have an exact date yet for when the surveys are going to go out, but I'll let y'all know ahead of time. I still have just a little bit of setup to do on them plus I'll be waiting for the funds to come in through Stripe.
If your card fails to run, not to worry, you can either update your card and it'll run again automatically, or if not, Backerkit will try again daily for about a week.
A million times thank you
This campaign has been an incredible journey. There've been highs and lows, stress and triumphs, and a LOT of things to learn along the way. I couldn't have done this without y'all (obviously), the Backerkit team, and my fellow Pintopians.
It is the dawn of the last day! We are officially in the home stretch of the CREEPY CUTIES campaign. To my previous backers, now is the time to get in your pledges before the campaign closes!
Granted, you WILL be able to use the pre-order store once it does, but this is your LAST CHANCE to save $$$ with early bird specials! Don't snooze and lose!
How about another stretch goal? 👀
I've teased this a few times before, and it is finally time to reveal the first colorway stretch goals: INTRODUCING: Blue Fancy Rat
1.5" wide
black nickel plating
screenprinted details
Bumblebee Millipede
1.5" wide
black nickel plating
screenprinted details
I think it looks like a long wasp, don't you? :D
Aberrant California Kingsnake
1.5" wide
black nickel plating
screenprinted details
All 3 of these colorways will unlock if we reach $3300 before the campaign closes!
Hey backers, keep reading to learn about a RAFFLE CONTEST!
We have entered the final stretch of Pintopia 2024! Of our writing this, there are just two stretch goals left to unlock:
Yeah, it got re-locked. T_T
As a special incentive to get these last two unlocked, I have added a new special community achievement: Unlock the Complete Menagerie!
What happens when we accomplish that? Glad you asked!
If the campaign hits the ultimate $3k goal to unlock every standard pet and stays there through the end of the campaign, ALL BACKERS will get 3 SECRET BONUS STICKERS FREE!
These stickers will not be available to purchase as add-ons or in the pre-order store, but if we hit this achievement, you WILL be able to select up to 3 designs in the Pledge Manager for your free secret bonus stickers!
Speaking of the Pledge Manager...
Expect your survey!
I believe it will take about 14 days for Backerkit to release funds to me after the campaign, and at that point I'll send out a smoke test of surveys to a small percentage of backers, and then about 24 hours later, everyone else will get theirs, too. I will also post an update when I do this so you'll know to look for the email.
Once the surveys go out, you will have 30 (thirty) days to complete them — so please try to fill them out as soon as you can! Don't worry, you can change your mind about which rewards you get at any time up until I lock orders for shipping — and I'll post a 48-hour warning when that's going to happen. The same goes for your shipping address.
It is my great pleasure to announce that pet #10 is now unlocked: the Orchid Mantis! This means that we're less than $250 away from the campaign being FULLY FUNDED with all stretch goals unlocked! We're in the third and final week, so social sharing matters more now than ever before — millipede fans, time to get the word out!
As a reminder, 11 pets doesn't have to be the end: if/when we hit the $3k goal and unlock the Giant African Millipede, there will be EVEN MORE stretch goal options announced!
This has been my most ambitious pin campaign to date, and also far and away the most successful thanks to your support. From my first campaign for just two pins and a sticker version of each, to CREEPY CUTIES' total of 12 (so far!) pins, stickers, sticker sheets, charms, and my first-ever pin banner, this has been a much-needed boost to my confidence as the creator of little pieces of art that others want to own.
Thanks to Pintopia 2024, it's also my first time feeling like I'm part of a community instead of just one little speck of an island on the ocean of the crowdfunding world with no other land on the horizon. Being able to learn from other artists and having the support of the Backerkit team has been immeasurably helpful. Quite honestly I don't think I'll go back to Kickstarter as a creator.
With this campaign going as well as it has so far, I'm already fomenting thoughts for my next campaign...but CREEPY CUTIES comes first, so they're just thoughts for now. There'll be plenty to keep me busy in the coming months, between getting everything manufactured, to figuring out shipping supplies, to Pledge Manager work, to pin grading, to fulfillment...not to mention a week-long trip to New York City and my day job and Etsy! All of which is to say, yes I'm looking to the future, but not at the expense of what's happening (and still needs to happen) now.
Kinda rambling. Anyway!
Did you see the new add-ons? 👀
'Cause there are new add-ons!
Pin banners!
Acrylic charms!
Pin banners are available now for $15 each, and acrylic charms in 6 designs for $10 each, in the add-on section! If you want to get your hands on some of these, here's how:
Go to the campaign front page and click "Manage your pledge" in the banner up top.
On the "Thanks for your pledge" page,click "Edit pledge" in the left-center.
In the "Add-ons" box, click "Add additional items."
On the "Add additional items to your pledge" page, click the "Add to pledge" button for an acrylic charm.
If you want to grab more than one, click "Add to pledge" again to add more!
On the same page, click the blue "Proceed to checkout" button.
