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!
