Super fast update: THE PINS HAVE ARRIVED. (A third box isn't shown on the photo. In total it's about 20 kilos.)
The pins are here!
I'll be away in the coming weeks but will continue working through checking over 1500 parts when I'm back (pins, standees, woven omamori, excluding backing cards and packaging). We're so close to fulfilling this project now aaahhh! Thank you, again, for your patience.
Another haiku for you: A project that stalled For months, now moving towards Its awaited end
The Water Shrine finally has its base!❤ Technical details + mockup have been sent to the manu. When they approve, production will start! On the left you can see the placement of the decorations. On the right is the actual view--I did forget to Photoshop the acrylic borders in. Just imagine they're still there? :'D For clarity: The base and Shrine are wooden, the waves are acrylic. You'll notice that the Shrine back has been removed.This is because there's no space for Shrine back + wave hook + small wave together. Pins can still be hung from the Water Shrine! It was always meant to look like this but I made a mistake in the Preorder product photo.
I'll check your orders for those that ordered an extra Shrine back and refund you for that part (will contact you first).
The final results will come with their matching plating, so please ignore for now that all have gold plating in the photos.
The Guardian
The Guardian's line art is too thin. This is on me, not fully understanding the medium of screen printing when I first designed it. A new sample has been requested with updated screen printing for the line art, and a lighter orange for the fur. This isn't just about switching out colours but actually providing new artwork.
The Messenger
The Messenger is ALMOST perfect! A new sample has been requested with a more golden, less bright yellow. You can't see it on the photo but it's...yeah. Almost glow-in-the-dark yellow.😂
Inner Peace
Inner Peace turned out very dull. I couldn't find a turquoise that would yield bright results, so the water has been updated to tropical blues. This will be the most drastic change of all pins. A new sample has been requested. A new version of the vinyl stickers has also been ordered to match the pin.
Inner Beauty & Good Omens
Put on your sunglasses and tone down the brightness of your screen, because someone here didn't work with a Pantone book (me, it's me). I HOPE YOU LIKE NEON!😎Screens can't show the exact hue but believe me when I say it's the type of high-vis neon people wear in the dark to stay safe. My eeeeeyes! XD Inner Beauty and Good Omens have been requested as new samples with updated pink. For Inner Beauty I also sent in new artwork for thicker line art around the head. ...Look at that background, though! It turned out so well. Oh my!
Strength
Strength's background pattern turned out amazing! A new sample has been requested with a richer red, and a different brown for the wood. I'm very happy with this one but do notice the increased chance of alignment issues. A larger amount will be ordered to ensure plenty of A grades.
The King
The King is PERFECT. Oh my god.😍
...You don't want to know how long my feedback mail to the manu was; I had to add clickable chapters. :'D
The Healer and The King went into production just under a month ago, and I hope they'll be here by end of July. I'll ask the manu about the new samples this week and poke them about production. All in all I'm happy all details could be printed. Screen print is SO pretty, guys.
The timing of the event is actually a relief despite the crowded schedule, because I can do test runs with shipping! Which should help Omamori Spirits' shipping go smoother.🤞 My campaign Team Derp Summer Clearout will contain wooden pins, mini prints and LOTS of stickers. All items are already in house and ready to ship. The campaign will only run for 1 week(!) with strict deadlines.
We're launching TOMORROW at July 14, 2026 at 4:00 PM CEST / 7 AM PDT!🚀
A few important points:
-Special reward for returning Backers -Items that were also available during Omamori Spirits will not be discounted -Shipping of both campaigns can't be combined -Pledge Levels for the US are limited to flat mail*
*New laws are becoming active 2 days after the event ends and I don't want to risk overcharging shipping. I'm very sorry for everyone that has to miss out. :(
A haiku for you: Project got hiccups Backers made it happen and Tze is now wiser
The full update with photos and descriptions needs a bit more time so here's the most important stuff.
Shipping of 6 pin designs + Water Shrine standee delayed:
The estimated shipping was supposed to be end of May, which we've clearly missed. The Healer and The King are in production and will be shipped out first when they get here. The other designs came out well but had some issues. For example, The Guardian and Inner Beauty need new sample moulds. Photos will follow soon!
I'm very sorry for the delay. Other Creators have told me that delays in shipping are normal in crowdfunding, but personally I'm really not happy with it. Lesson learnt for future campaigns.😔
All flat mail and the Shrine standees are being prepared for packing. Once they're ready to be sent out a reminder will go out to those Backers to complete their shipping address, and a notice that their cards will be charged for shipping fees.
Everybody only pays shipping once and receives all their things at once. If you ordered something that's not yet ready to be shipped out it means you won't be in the first batch of parcels.
Thank you for your kind comments on the last update. I didn't manage to reply to you, but your words were felt.❤ We're going through the last bit of the process and I'm still travelling home a lot, but things are settling.
First things first: The physical sample of The Healer is here. The 7 remaining pin samples should be ready this week. After approval they can go into production. As for the Shrine standee: The design is finalised, approved and ready for production.
Most of the project is going as planned.🙏 But some things had to be put on hold unexpectedly this month... Sadly, two days after the last update my father passed away and I had to travel home. And I still need to go home a lot. So now I'm making sure everything is set up to keep running in my absence.
Rewards were planned to be sent out end of May. Honestly it's going to be a BIT tight but as soon as the pin samples are approved I'll put in the order. Nearly everyone finished their survey now so we've got clear numbers on how many to order of each design. Thank you for filling them out so swiftly! (By the way: The Guardian is the most popular by a mile.)
The part that suffered the biggest delay is the Water Shrine. I'm very sorry about that, especially after the excitement of having unlocked it.😔 All I need to do is illustrate the base, prep the wave parts into printable files and make a mock-up for the manufacturer. I'm not sure if I'll manage this week, but I'll try my best.
Except for the Water Shrine ahem I now have the sample pins here and THEY LOOK GOOD. Of course, as a first-time enamel pin maker I had my worries, even with guidance from my peers. Making 100% print pins instead of using plating linework isn't the norm. Durability and texture were also important factors. Thank you so much for placing your trust in my project and me. Everything's coming together exactly as planned. That's incredible. @_@
Some notes:
-In the top left, on the left, is the UV print version of the pin. See that texture? Ew. -The pin hangs perfectly from the standee but I'm using part of an old charm that had to be wrecked for this purpose. :'D The previous lobster clasps I ordered turned out too big, so I'm still looking for the right size. Still got some time! -Originally I was going to add rubber backings to these pins, but the butterfly clasps hold on a lot better. Soooo I might switch to butterfly clasps instead (even if I personally dislike them).
The base is now bigger. The result is less chance of breaking when inserting the parts, and there's some extra space at the front. The sakura bonsai has also been enlarged.
While these go into production I'll have a think about the right packaging, and work on a construction manual that's easy to understand. Wood is a wonderful, but fragile material! I want to make sure everyone receives their standee in perfect state without broken parts or chipped print.⭐
That's it for now. I'll get to that Water Shrine and wait for the remaining pin samples. Shipping still won't be charged until we're READY-ready. All stickers and mini prints will be ordered this week. We may still be able to ship flat mail pledges out ahead of time!
Here's the reminder to fill out your surveys by Tuesday March 31st. The Preorder store will also close on April 1st.
After this deadline any incomplete surveys can still be filled out, but those will be put on low priority and corresponding items will be sent out with a delay. If you have a specific reason why you need more time to fill out your survey please let me know! I'll try my best to still send out your items according to schedule.
Cards will be charged after the first week of April. Shipping is charged later, when the goods are ready to be sent out.
Ok! Each update should also come with something to look forward to. Otherwise it's just spam. Right?👀
The first pin sample is done! I present you...The Healer.
Left: Screenprint / Right: UV print
I was advised to test both screenprinting and UV printing techniques as each comes with its pros and cons. Screenprinting is more labor intensive with a higher chance of misalignments and is more prone to scratches. UV print can print images as is, from file to end product, and is more scratch proof because of a resin layer. At first sight there isn't much difference aside from more colour vibrance (left) and amount of detail (right).
So I asked for a photo from a specific angle. And there we have it.
Left: Screenprint / Right: UV print
I'm really not fond of that extra texture in the UV printing. It gives me a cheap tourist magnet kind of feel.😬 So the definitive decision has been made to proceed with screenprinting as originally planned. I'll order extras to even out the amount of possible B grades. The manu also got the OK to make samples of the 7 other designs. The Water Shrine has been unlocked in the Preorder store! Thank you! I'll start on getting those sample files ready! :D Here's a reminder that I'll order TWO versions, one with and one without the shrine back. Once the samples are in we'll do a quick vote on the preferred version.
For creative Backers that want to mix and match:
Parts of a certain material only fit into slots made for that material (it's the difference in thickness). You can't put wooden parts in acrylic slots and vice versa. The Shrine back and Shrine front have specific measurements and only fit into their appointed slots!
Of course you can put any wooden decoration in the shrine slots. I see some of you are planning to only use the Shrine front and put plants behind it. A display for a figurine?👀
Oh! Foo Dog 2 is fully finished and its shading now matches the lighting! This set was by far the most popular. :D
Both Foo Dogs
The Preorder store closes in 3 days and I'd like to highlight some items! For my next project I'll know to just whack everything into the survey, lol, lesson learnt.
If you liked the Mini Print add-on you might be interested in these listings (they're linked to the store so you can click on them):
If you're weak to stickers...I got you covered:
Hah! I snuck in some spam after all.
The Time of Waiting begins as all manus prepare their samples. In the meantime I'll work on the campaign page so it reflects the latest info, and think about decorative packaging.
If you'd like to follow my work in between update crickets come and say hi on Instagram or Bluesky, or in person at one of the cons I'm attending this year. :3 (Before you ask: Sadly I didn't get into DoKomi.)
