Hello everyone. We had a few hang ups on getting the survey approved, but I think everything is on track now. I just sent out the "smoke test" which basically means that a few of you have received your surveys. I'm going to wait a day or two to make sure that I'm not getting some weird feedback on the survey before I send one out to everyone.

I'm starting a production run next week and will be looking at individual surveys the week following that. However, I want to make sure we get a bunch in before I start fulfillment, so the sooner everyone completes the survey, the sooner I can ship!

If you have any questions at all, please reach out and let me know.

Thank you all for backing my project. While I was hoping to break some barriers here, this is still a great little project and I hope everyone will be satisfied with their final reward.

Next up is the survey where you can make your final choices. I hope to have that up and going by the weekend. Once you complete the survey, I'll get to work on your reward and ship it out as soon as possible.

Thanks again and I hope to be back in touch with survey details soon.

We are in our final 48 hours (41 hours, actually). It is time for the final push. If you haven't pledged yet, it is time to pull that trigger! If you have, it is time to send out the final Shares to get your community on board. For me, it is time to buckle down and get ready for the production run. 

What to expect once the project closes:

I've put out a few requests for sharing from people I met at Gary Con, so there is always the possibility that the project explodes in the last 2 days which could alter the above. But based on current numbers I think the above is very achievable.

NOTE: I will be attending Origins in June, and Cleveland Fan Expo in April. If you would like to pick up your mimic at one of these events to save shipping charges, please email me at [email protected]. I will be more than happy to allow these options. If you live in the Athens Ohio area and would like to pick up at the workshop, please feel free to email me as well. Anytime we can avoid shipping helps both of us!

FINAL GARY CON NOTES
 I returned from Gary Con early Monday morning at about 3:30am. The original plan was to get to Indianapolis and find a hotel for the evening. But I passed Indy at about 11:30 and was still wide awake, so decided to press on. I managed to do it, but these late night drives are getting more difficult every year. I'm definitely going to have to scale back my driving soon; or at least add an extra day or two to the schedule.

Gary Con was a raging success. According to Luke, attendance was at about 3,500 (Skip Williams placed it slightly higher), but it really felt much larger. While I don't think I sold out of anything, I certainly was low on stock of several items by the end. With the exception of Gen Con (which is a different animal all together), this was probably my best show since the pandemic.

I made some business contacts while I was there and there is a pretty good chance that we'll be able to start wholesaling select products. This will help my overall strategy of doing fewer shows while still allowing Hrothgar's Hoard products to be available at many of them. I do enjo going to shows and meeting new people and getting feedback and everything. But it is just such a time commitment.

As always, I got to see Charles Urbach and Lisa Sell, two great artists who I'm become friends with over the years. If you aren't familiar with their work, be sure to look them up on Facebook. I kept missing Diesel LaForce throughout the weekend, but was able to touch base on the final day. I also met Amber at Sirius Dice and I'll be looking to carry some of their dice for mimic food in the future. Lastly, I met Jared at World of Game Design who is currently running a kickstarter for Zweihander RPG. Take a look at it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zweihander/zweihander-reforged-edition?gad_source=1&ref=HrothgarsHoard

Well, that is about it. I took yesterday off and am back in the workshop today. I took some special orders that I need to work on and then it is back to doing mimics and books.

Thank you all very much for supporting the project and please be sure to share one more time:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/hrothgar-s-hoard/adopt-a-mimic-program?ref=BK-Update-3-26

Hey all! I was going to post last night, but ...well.... I didn't.

It's been really busy here. Gary Con is a Thursday-Sunday event. Most 4 day cons start off slow and really get moving on Saturday. But for whatever reason, this has been pretty much full-tilt since the convention started.

Luke does a great job with this convention. I talked to him the other day and he said it was up to 3,500 attendees and I have to say that it feels bigger than that. I would have guessed over 5K.

Yesterday, I woke up to an unpleasant surprise...you can see what I'm talking about below:

Ya..that is snow. A fair amout of it. Maybe not the 5" that was forecast, but it was more than enough to cover the cars in it. Bleh.

My one complaint about this convention is that the dealer hall is cold. Way too cold. Someone said they saw the temperature gauge reading 60 degrees. I'd say that is about 5 degrees high. I stopped off today to pick up some of those chemical hand warmers they sell at Walmart. Going to tape those suckers all over my body.

I've talked to a lot of people making purchases and am hoping some of them will check out the project here in the next few days. I'm encouraging everyone to sign up for the mailing list so they get more info on this and future projects.

Speaking of future projects, I'm selling a few of what will likely be my next project here at GaryCon to get some feedback. So far comments have been overwhelmingly positive. I don't want to give specifics out yet while still working on the Mimic project, but I'll probably start leaking some info around June.

A big plus in doing shows like Gary Con is getting to talk to other vendors, some of whom are interested in having Hrothgar's Hoard do either custom work for them or carrying my products. I'd like to cut back on the amount of travel I do in the future, or at least control it more to events closer to home. We'll see where a few things lead and whether I can handle the output that may be needed to do this. I'm already searching for an assisstant in the workshop and if a deal goes through with one company I talked to, I may be looking for more. I'd love this to be something that can take Hrothgar's Hoard to the next level. I'd really like to spend more time being a creator and a craftsman rather than a salesman.

I wanted to give a plug for my neighbor at the con, Nobel Dwarf Printing. They make some great resin based minis as well as canvas printing. I really like his stuff and will be coming home with at least one or two of his minis. You can check out his stuff at: https://www.nobledwarf.com/
 
Here are a couple pics from his booth.

 
I think that is about all for now. For those who haven't yet backed the Mimic project, there is still a few days left to get on board. Click on the link below to back. Don't miss your chance to adopt your very own mimic!

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/hrothgar-s-hoard/adopt-a-mimic-program?ref=BK_Update_3-23

I spent today setting up at Gary Con. This is one of my favorite conventions of the year because of the community here. There really is something about being at the place that started my journey into D&D. I drove through the town today and it really has the look and feel of a traditional old-time town. I grew up outside Kent, Ohio and have lived in Athens, Ohio for the past 20 years. There is just something special about the old downtowns of towns that have been around for a long time.

I got the booth set up and I like the way it turned out. I've made a lot of adjustments to it over the years. I'm definitely making much better use of the verticle space. I had thought I brought way too much stock, but it turns out that I have probably 90% of my inventory on display.

Something brand new I'm offering here are some collector coins that I engraved with artwork provided by world renown artist Grace Allyse. (OK...she is my daughter. And the only reason she is "world renown" is because she is currently living and working in Germany. But in marketing terms, she is certainly 'world renown', right?).

The coins cost $20 and you can collect them, but they will always also have a value equal to their purchase price at Hrothgar's Hoard. So you could redeem them at any convention or Ren Faire that I am at for their full face value. I think they are pretty neat!

Tomorrow starts the convention. I'll post more.

Hello everyone. I just got to the hotel and thought I'd post an update on my way to Gary Con.

First, if you haven't heard this yet, early D&D designer and all around good guy James Ward passed yesterday. I met him once or twice in the dealer hall, but can't say that I knew him well. We live in a time now where we are losing heroes from our youths. Or at least I am that old; I'm sure many of you are much younger. I'm sure there will be a proper memorial this weekend and I'd like to encourage everyone who plays RPGs to try to meet the founders if they ever get a chance.

Today, the plan was to leave early, drive the 8 hour (9 once you add in rest stops) and get to Lake Geneva by 3. However, my trailer had other plans. When I got about an hour and a half out, somewhere between Columbus and Dayton, I noticed the trailer really felt like it was dragging. Before I could pull off, it jerked suddenly to the side, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the trailer dragging on the ground. I look to the side and, I kid you not, I see the trailer tire rolling on the road next to me. Luckily, there weren't any other cars around, so nobody got hurt.

I called a towing service...about 3 hours later, the trailer was repaired and I was able to get back on the road. $175/hr for emergency service. Plus parts. Still...what else was I going to do?

About an hour later, I pulled over and got some gas. I looked around at the plaza I pulled into. Oddly, it was the same one I pulled into about 5 years ago when I had transmission problems with my truck. That was an expensive day as well. There is something about the Ohio/Indiana border that has it in for me.

This following picture is one that I hadn't seen before. I dunno....I think literally any other billboard would have been better than this.

Drove through Chicago around 6:00. I've driven through several of the cities where cons are over the years in the midwest and east coast. Philly, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Columbus, Kansas City... I gotta say Chicago drivers are by far the worst I've ever encounted. I hate driving through there every single year. Luckily, the weekend and Gary Con makes up for it.

Made it to my room about 9:00. I'm going to watch some Capt. America and the Winter Soldier and take an easy night and the set up tomorrow.

I'll bring you the news from Gary Con over the weekend.

My wife is off on her own conference this weekend, so I came home to an empty house. With nothing really to do, I've been spending all day in the workshop. Mostly cleaning/organizing, but also experimenting with a couple things.

I asked my oldest daughter (who is quite the artist) to draw a hobbit hole for me to use on various projects. She emailed me the results last night and I thought it was simply amazing. So I decided to offer it as a stretch goal once we hit $6,000 in pledges. This is just over 1K away, so I'm full expecting it to be done very soon.

The card you will receive is a business card size piece of black aluminum with the image laser engraved on it.

I may be biased because my daughter did this, but I think it is amazing. I love how she worked the JRR Tolkien sigil into it.

So hit the share button! Get this around.  Lets break the 6K barrier and then get up to 10K!

I returned last night around 9:00 and just vegged for the rest of the night. I haven't even unpacked.

A few local friends have encouraged me to share a bit of what life is like right now. Hrothgar's Hoard has been around for close to 10 years now (I think...its been a second, as my daughter would say).  I was doing about 2 kickstarter projects a year for several years. This project was actually supposed to begin last year.

Some of you know this already. But last March...just about a year ago, we had a fire. It destroyed the entire workshop. Tools, equipment, backstock, wood. Everything. I had 5 employees at the time and more shows lined up than I've ever done before. Luckily, I had some stock in a local storefront and in my trailer, so I didn't lose everything. Just pretty much any way of producing anything new. Sadly, I couldn't keep my staff on and ran a gofundme to get them some money while they looked for new jobs.

So, what do you do when life kicks you in the teeth? You get up and say, "Thank you, may I have another?"

Luckily, I had insurance. Not enough (as usual), but enough to start doing something. I wasn't going to be able to replace the workshop building any time soon (no contractor could get me on the schedule until the fall), so I bought a 15x15' circus tent. I found a used 80w laser a few hours away and ran out and bought it. Had a new load of lumber delivered and I was able to start making some new products.

Meanwhile, I tried to keep my schedule going. I hit a couple shows that I had already paid for using the inventory that was in the trailer and store. I managed to scrape by. Insurance money started coming in allowing me to replace more tools. Fall came along and I got the new workshop up. Had to wait a little longer to get the concrete floor in. Set tools up in there and ran things off generators until I could get electrical hookup. We didn't have any heat, so I insulated and used a torpedo heater through the winter.

I've slowly done wiring. Got plumbing put in last week. Now it is time to start putting up some drywall.

I hesitate sharing these pictures because it makes it look like I work in complete chaos. I pretty much do, but in addition to making things, I'm trying to organize for Gary Con in a couple weeks. Then I'll be at Fan Expo Cleveland. Southern Indiana Ren Fair after that....sigh...it just never slows down.  Anyways, despite the mess, this is the most organized I've felt in months. Believe it or not, things are finally coming together. I've rehired one assisstant and have been advertising for a second. As we get production up, I'm going to be looking either at a dedicated sales/marketing person, or maybe outsource it to a 'consolidator'...a couple companies from GAMA caught my eye and may explore that.

Anyways, that's my story for the last year. As always, please share and let your friends know about the project.

Thanks

I had a full day at GAMA today. Lots of meetings. Marketing, marketing, branding, marketing....

I even met with a marketing company: The Marketing Clerics. They are a business that focuses on marketing companies in the geek realm. I'm definitely going to look into them further. One of the hardest things about running a business is that there are just too many hats to wear. I'm good at a few things. But others....not so much. And it takes time away from the things that I am good at. So one of the big things I need to start doing is outsourcing certain parts of my job so I can concentrate on the things that I do well.

One other seminar I attended had to do with starting a local convention. I've been thinking of this since COVID and it was interesting in getting a viewpoint from someone who has done that many times before. As you may know, I'm from Athens, Ohio and any convention there would be by definition a small one, but I think it would be fun to have something close to home that helps spread gaming in our community. We have a weekly game at the local Library...about 15 of us play at a couple different tables. And there is a local book store that has been trying to expand their gaming footprint. It could be worthwhile (although probably not profitable) to try to start something that has a chance of growing in the community.

That is something that I've thought a lot about over the years. I'm in my 50s and spent many years coaching softball when my kids were young. I even coached at the local high school for  a few years. I did this mostly because I wanted to be a part of something more.  After the kids left for college and I got out of coaching, I've been looking for something to replace that feeling. That was about when we started playing D&D at the library. I think organizing (or helping organizing) a local con might help with that desire. 

In any case, today was a pretty good day. Even though there is open gaming tonight, I'm probably in for the night.  More tomorrow.

Another long day at GAMA. I always seem to wake up early whIen I'm on the road, so generally I'm up between 5 and 6. Today I slept in late. About 6:30.  If you knew me from my younger days, you'd know how messed up this is.
Today I had workshops from Gatekeepers, Wizkids, Lucky Duck, and Sirius Dice. Of the four, I liked Sirius Dice the most, but they were all interesting. There were interesting things with all of them, but, as I've said before, this was a scouting mission. I'm here mostly to figure out things for next year.

Had lunch again (Chester let me eat today) and then went to the dealer hall where I talked with several dealers about various items. I got a lot of good ideas and even an idea or two for a future product or two. Of course, every time I set Chester down, he seemed to get into trouble.

I got one of the "Acerak's Treasure" mystery pouches from Sirius Dice. Naturally, Chester wanted to "protect" them.  He insists that I get him a diet pepsi to help wash them down.

I think his eyes were bigger than his stomach here. He definitely is attracted to dice. I'm sure that if you adopt one, they will be just as eager to protect your most precious shiny math rocks.

I thought I best if I didn't tempt Chester any further, so I brought him back to the room for a little down time. 

Tomorrow may be a short day...I have a couple seminars in the morning and ant to hit the dealer hall one last time, but will probably get on the road by 3 or 4. I have about a 5 hour drive to get home and would like to be back before too late, but I probably won't end up posting tomorrow.

Thanks again for showing your support for me both in the past and in this project. If you haven't pledged yet, be sure to get in soon. We are half way to the next stretch goal, and I'd love to send some rangers out to look for a new line of mimics.