I have a quick update for you today with a first look at the Zine and the slightly revamped Vulpecula and Canis Major notepads, as well as a shipping update.
I have to make a small detour though, because I finally got to see My Chemical Romance after 20 years of obsessions. It was such an amazing, empowering and affirming concert experience and I am STILL not over it (and probably never will be).
I’ve also gone a bit insane about the lore since the show, more so than before. I am fully in red string and thumbtacks territory now.
So, after taking some time off to spend it with family, finally see my favourite band and recover from all that and the heatwave I am ready to get back into working overtime 💀
Zine + Notepads!
You guys ordered so many fox and dog notepads that I had to restock them, and I used that opportunity to slightly update the designs. Here is your first look at what the notepads look like. They now also have upgraded paper, 50 sheets of 120 gsm FSC-certified paper!
I also got the Zines professionally printed so you get peak quality! They are double-sided with a star pattern on the back that will peak through even when it’s folded up. It was a lot of fun to design, and I really want to make more. Dare I say the hardest part was reducing my yapping to a minimum? I really did WAY too much research for this project, I could write a whole book!
I am also working on a way to send all of you who ordered the Zine the digital version as a colouring page so that you can colour, print and fold it yourself.
SHIPPING UPDATE
US shipping has now officially started! The first packages will be picked up by DHL Saturday or Monday and I am reasonably confident that everything will work out as expected! You should receive an email with tracking information this weekend, if you were in the first batch. I would appreciate it immensely if you could let me know when your package arrives and whether everything worked as it should with customs, namely that it is delivered to your door with no extra charges!
For my UK Friends: The tax office have emailed me this week saying they (finally) processed the application and will send my tax ID by letter mail. Nothing yet, but I am using the time by packing up your orders, so that ideally I can ship them the day it arrives. Should there be further delay, I‘ll let you know individually.
EU/RoW Orders with Zines and Notepads: Your orders will also be shipped this weekend!
Quick reminder: if you ordered a colouring book, your order will be shipped last. That‘s because crafting the books requires time and patience and I don‘t want to rush it.
Thanks for your patience and excitement for this project! Let me know what you think of the zine!
It looks like a handful of you have already received your pledges, how exciting! Please do tag me in your stories, if you post them, I’d love to see it!
The first pledge all packed up!
Here is an update on the progress!
📮95% of EU and RoW orders fulfilled💫 - the only ones not shipped contain colouring books, a zine or a fox notepad. You should have received an automated tracking mail from me, the “official” BackerKit mail will follow next week - uploading them is super annoying, so right now I am prioritising shipping over admin :).
To my Australian friends: if you can, let me know when you receive your parcel. I’d like to check whether the shipping times my carrier provides are accurate.
📦US: 25% percent prepped, shipping delayed: my shipping provider is having a big IT issue at the moment; I’ve been waiting two weeks now for them to assign me a tracking number range. In the meantime I’ve started prepping your orders, so that once the issue is fixed I simply need to print invoices and shipping labels and can send your packages ASAP
💌UK: prepped, waiting on VAT. I am still waiting to hear back from the UK tax office with a VAT-ID. To ensure you don’t have to pay for VAT twice, I need to provide that VAT ID to my shipping carrier and create a VAT Invoice for you. I have prepped all your orders so once I get that ID I can send out your packages right away.
Looking nice and shiny
As for the timeline, I am taking a very necessary break to spend time with my family and friends and attend a concert this week. All remaining orders will be shipped after July 10th. The good news: By the time I return hopefully all IT issues will have been resolved, and (US)shipping should go quickly!
Thank you for your patience, your excitement and your good vibes! It’s been a pleasure creating this project and seeing your enthusiasm.
As usual, if you have any questions reach out anytime!
My organisation station! This is where I collect and check your items before packing them up.
I wanted to show you some more photos of the pins and collector cards, as well as show off the washi tape that finally arrived after 2 weeks in shipping hell. But first, all the news:
All the pins have arrived and don‘t let me keep you in suspense: first impression: they look amazing! Colours came out as expected, the metal is nice and shiny and the contrasts are great! Check them out!
Now that the pins are here, let me give you an update on the timeline!
Timeline
🔎 Quality Control - The next 1-2 weeks will be spent going through all pins individually to check for imperfections. That includes nicks in the metal, bubbles in the enamel or inclusions.
🛠️ Preparing for shipping - This might be more complex than you think! Apart from ordering more shipping supplies, it also includes weighing all products and setting them up in my inventory software, as well as importing all orders into another software to generate invoices and shipping labels. I am also still hoping for good news regarding shipping to America! I‘ll keep you posted.
💫 Finalising the last few products! I‘ve prioritised working on pins and washi which take longer to produce, so now it‘s time to finalise and order the last few products, that are printed locally or in the EU. That includes the „Thank You“- and backing cards, stickers, stickersheets and notepads, the zine and the colouring book.
✨ The bits and bobs - there are always a few things that show up throughout the process, so I am keeping some wiggle room in my timeline to account for that. For example: the pin banners you can see above come with a white string - I don‘t really like that! Let‘s make it blue! Basically, this category includes the last 10% of making everything just right, and I can‘t wait to make everything perfect for you.
SO my plan is:
May: finish QC and receive all products. Set up shipping on software side and charge cards
Early June: Ship out EU orders
Mid June: Finalise US Shipping and UK Vat, finish hand-binding colouring books
Mid to Late June: Finish shipping to UK, US and RoW
I hope that timeline works for you. Talk to you again soon! Viktoria
Pin production completed this week and all celestial companions are now on their way to me!
🔎 After the pins arrive I will check the quality of every single one + add them to their backing cards. This is my first time making enamel pins, so I don‘t know yet how long it will take me.
🛠️ After all products have arrived and gone through quality check, I will start shipping out your orders! Addresses will lock around May 22nd and cards will be charged soon after.
Please note: I am a Team of One! Things may take longer, but if they do I will let you know!
🚨 Please make sure you complete your pledge manager and enter a valid credit card by May 22nd. If your payment fails your order will go to the back of the line and will only ship after payment (for shipping and the campaign) clears.
Last but not least, take a look at 5 of the updated stamp washi designs! Hope you like them and can‘t wait for you to see them all :)
