Hey everyone,

Everything arrived from the manufacturer a few days ago, and I wanted to share a production update. There’s good news and bad news, but I need to start with the bad news so the good news makes sense.

While unpacking the boxes, I noticed right away that there were quality issues across most, if not all, of the designs.

I’ve worked with this factory for a few years now and they’ve always been incredibly reliable, so this was really disappointing and unexpected. 

Recently, enamel and metal factories have been unusually busy, which has become a common topic among my pin maker friends. Artwork approvals are taking weeks instead of days, and production timelines have been longer than usual. This isn't something isolated to the factory that produced these designs—it's something creators have been seeing across manufacturers throughout the industry. My best guess is that the increased workload may have contributed to these issues.

The main problem I noticed was tarnishing on the metal. Unfortunately, this isn’t the kind of tarnish that can be buffed out with a jewelry cloth. It appears to be tarnishing or staining that happened during the manufacturing process, which leaves marks on the metal that can’t be removed. This type of issue is usually caused when moisture, oils, or other contaminants interfere with the plating process, preventing the finish from bonding and settling properly. Because of that, the affected pieces will need to be remade.

At first glance, I’d estimate that around 80% of the pieces I received have some kind of quality issue or defect.

The good news is that I ordered a lot (so many) of extras for each design. I ordered well beyond what was needed for backer orders so that I’d also have inventory for wholesale and the online shop after fulfillment was complete.

Because of that, I believe I may still have enough standard-grade pieces to begin fulfilling and shipping backer orders. I won’t know for certain until Sunday.

On Sunday, I’ll be sorting through hundreds of pieces, inspecting each one closely, photographing the quality issues, and counting exactly how many pieces need to be remade. It’s a time-consuming process, but once everything is sorted, I’ll be able to give the manufacturer accurate quantities for replacements and have a much clearer idea of how many orders can start shipping right away.

I know this is not the update anyone hopes for, and it’s definitely not the one I wanted to give. But I’m doing everything I can to keep fulfillment moving while also making sure no one receives a pin that doesn’t meet standard-grade quality. Waiting longer for to deliver this project is kind of worst case scenario for me right now, but I can't and would not, knowingly, give backers items with defects. 

In the meantime, check out the photos below for your first look at the finished grips! (ones without defects)