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PROJECT UPDATE
Ken Fiskorne
CREATOR
Invested in BackerKit’s future during our Wefunder campaign
🧙
Group-Collab Leader
4 months ago
Project Update: THAT'S A WRAP! Campaign summary, what's next, and where we're headed next...
Good evening, gang! If you're me, and you work the hours, I do, typing this 20 minutes to midnight is still 'evening.' Cool it.
That's all, folks - CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS wrapped up on Thursday at 4 PM.
Overall, while we didn't unlock everything, we had a pretty successful run. It was a difficult year for Pintopia projects in general, but I'm satisfied with where we're at. I know we wanna get to the meat of things, so...
Here's some quick numbers.
- C3 wrapped up at $14,441. We went, in our last 48 hours, from being KPH's second-worst performing crowdfund, to being the second best, behind last year's CRITTER CRIMES in the $15k ballbark.
- C3's got 359 backers. This is second to BIRD CRIMES, at 469.
- 140 of you are returning backers. That's 140 of you who will be getting the silver Loyal Akita pin. Thank you for coming back and sticking with it through it all this year.
- 194 of you also backed Henrieke's THE HYENA FAMILY. That's a free 1.75" BIG hyena pin for you. Awesome!
- We're finishing up with 79 total pin designs for backers to pick from. This is the highest, with GOLDEN AGE PARROTS our runner up.
- We are 22 of 22 funded projects in the PIN SAFARI group! Thanks for supporting my animal artist buddies this year.
As mentioned, we have 79 total pin designs. Our two final 1.5" designs are the Duck Toller and the Werewolf!
The Duck Toller is our last-minute sponsor, from a very passionate breed enthusiast. These aren't the most common canines around, but they're an unmistakable working dog. Thank my buddy Fieldpup for this one, dog collectors!
Our Werewolf, ever popular (for better or... for, uh, rabid), will also be available.
You guys don't understand. I have already been paid unspeakable amounts of money to draw this character in compromising situations. Was the halal plate worth it? Who knows, man. But that fish fry got me through vectors, so, thanks, I guess.
We need to have a quick, downer, type of talk about the rest of the MONSTERS tier. I've tried to be pretty open about fraudulent, cancelled, or heavily downgraded pledges being an issue this Pintopia, and, lo and behold, it is going to bite us in the ass a bit here.
Our last-minute $600 pledge I was worried about did end up paying. However, we are out a startling amount due to failed charges right now. Cards just started charging today, so this is recoverable. But, due to an exceptionally high number of failed payments on my last campaign, and the extremely high rate of cancellations already, I am going to be erring on the side of caution.
Go make sure your card is up to date - mine wasn't! I was that guy, too. Sorry, everyone!
I may make the other MONSTERS pins available as cards successfully charge. However, it is a risky move to self-fund 4 more pins with the net amount we're looking at right now. I'm looking for total charges, plus after-campaign numbers, to reach about $16.5k to get here. I'll keep you posted. I'm sorry to disappoint, but, there are other options for now!
There are still preorders, too, to make up that number, so we'll see where we go.
Our Werewolf, ever popular (for better or... for, uh, rabid), will also be available.
You guys don't understand. I have already been paid unspeakable amounts of money to draw this character in compromising situations. Was the halal plate worth it? Who knows, man. But that fish fry got me through vectors, so, thanks, I guess.
We need to have a quick, downer, type of talk about the rest of the MONSTERS tier. I've tried to be pretty open about fraudulent, cancelled, or heavily downgraded pledges being an issue this Pintopia, and, lo and behold, it is going to bite us in the ass a bit here.
Our last-minute $600 pledge I was worried about did end up paying. However, we are out a startling amount due to failed charges right now. Cards just started charging today, so this is recoverable. But, due to an exceptionally high number of failed payments on my last campaign, and the extremely high rate of cancellations already, I am going to be erring on the side of caution.
Go make sure your card is up to date - mine wasn't! I was that guy, too. Sorry, everyone!
I may make the other MONSTERS pins available as cards successfully charge. However, it is a risky move to self-fund 4 more pins with the net amount we're looking at right now. I'm looking for total charges, plus after-campaign numbers, to reach about $16.5k to get here. I'll keep you posted. I'm sorry to disappoint, but, there are other options for now!
There are still preorders, too, to make up that number, so we'll see where we go.
As of right now, these 4 BIG pins, 75 1.5" pins, and all of their corresponding stickers are available to you!
So, what's next?
For me, it's custom pins. I have two of you, one with a good email rapport and references, and one who needs to send me some more information. I'm headed downstate for Chinese new year, so realistically, you're gonna be hearing from me the 20th or 21st. Not too late to send me additional refs or ideas, though!
We're on schedule for surveys, if not a little ahead of time. I've been getting pledge manager stuff set, getting giveaway and promotional backers smacked with some extra credits, and getting pin renders cleaned up. Late February, early March, is a good time to start expecting your survey.
Preorder store's probably coming then, or earlier! If you missed the campaign, you still have a chance to get pins at the $9 a head rate. While discount tiers are gone, and there won't be any more freebies, you can purchase most stuff at the campaign price, and you'll get it when our backers do in the spring.
I have some catch up work to do, too. There's still a few stragglers from CC who need custom work done. If this is you, please reach out to me.
If you purchased a CUSTOM CRIME for CRITTER CRIMES, you were subjected to unfair delays due to circumstances outside of your control. You are entitled to a $10 campaign credit on your C3 pledge. Contact me either in our work thread, or in a new email, to apply this to your campaign. This is even if you got your CUSTOM CRIME pledge already.
What's next next?
This is a hard one, and I will say, outright, I may lose a lot of you on my next project.
Let's stay vague: I am workshopping a mid-sized group event with several other creators for November. It's not golden age-styled animals, but it's something that became very dear to me this past year.
If this project is for you, it will really be for you. But, if it's not, there might be something else from another one of the wonderful, talented illustrators who have agreed to take the plunge with me.
That's all I can share for now, until we all have more done and we're given the green light by BackerKit. I'm hoping I have something to show you all soon.
As of right now, I'm OK with how C3 turned out. Things could have gone better, but in terms of everything I had in my reach, I did what I could. I turned out better than a lot of other Pintopia artists this year. Frankly, there's not really anything that made that difference except my audience. You turned out in droves for this, and for a project I was wary of taking a risk on.
Thank you for being here for these past couple weeks.
Let's talk after I get some damn sleep.
PROJECT UPDATE
Ken Fiskorne
CREATOR
Invested in BackerKit’s future during our Wefunder campaign
🧙
Group-Collab Leader
1 day ago
Project Update: Cards charged, check 'em, waiting begins
Good afternoon, gang!
So, despite the best efforts of back-end features and code to sabotage my plans, we did have successful charges late last week. Thank you to BackerKit staff for working through that, and hopefully things work as intended to save everyone some trouble next time.
All USA C3-only backers, non-EU international backers, preorders, and local pickups were charged for shipping and any addons. Your money will be going to cover the final installment of pins paid on delivery, as well as some samples...
That being said, we do have some failed charges. I have 10 of you guys in that group who didn't go through.
So, despite the best efforts of back-end features and code to sabotage my plans, we did have successful charges late last week. Thank you to BackerKit staff for working through that, and hopefully things work as intended to save everyone some trouble next time.
All USA C3-only backers, non-EU international backers, preorders, and local pickups were charged for shipping and any addons. Your money will be going to cover the final installment of pins paid on delivery, as well as some samples...
That being said, we do have some failed charges. I have 10 of you guys in that group who didn't go through.
Please check and make sure your credit card on-file is up to date. I can't ship pins unless postage gets covered.
Unpaid campaign backers had until May 12th to get their shit sorted. I'll be giving paid backers who are missing their balance until August 20th to pay their dues and claim their pins. Otherwise, thank you for your donation, I'll toss your pins to the local animal shelter to sell and cover animal care costs.
Did you back THE HYENA FAMILY? Are you in European Union Europe? Don't worry - you haven't been charged anything, and you don't need to worry. You will be on the hook closer to when pins arrive.
At this time, I am hoping and praying to any possible higher power that pins arrive this month. I am not counting on it but I am guessing late June or early July.
I caught a few issues at the factory before things shipped, which will save a lot of time and money in the long run, but it means some designs are being remade before the whole order goes out.
That's about it, for now. I appreciate you guys bearing with me, this week continues a streak of absolutely horrific luck and incidents happening outside of the HUSTLE. If you're waiting to hear back from me, please bump our email or DM and let me get back on top of things.
I hope to have something a little more fun to share next week. Take it easy, and enjoy a hopefully-mild early summer evening.
Did you back THE HYENA FAMILY? Are you in European Union Europe? Don't worry - you haven't been charged anything, and you don't need to worry. You will be on the hook closer to when pins arrive.
At this time, I am hoping and praying to any possible higher power that pins arrive this month. I am not counting on it but I am guessing late June or early July.
I caught a few issues at the factory before things shipped, which will save a lot of time and money in the long run, but it means some designs are being remade before the whole order goes out.
That's about it, for now. I appreciate you guys bearing with me, this week continues a streak of absolutely horrific luck and incidents happening outside of the HUSTLE. If you're waiting to hear back from me, please bump our email or DM and let me get back on top of things.
I hope to have something a little more fun to share next week. Take it easy, and enjoy a hopefully-mild early summer evening.
PROJECT UPDATE
Ken Fiskorne
CREATOR
Invested in BackerKit’s future during our Wefunder campaign
🧙
Group-Collab Leader
5 days ago
Project Update: Shipping charge delay - hang tight, have some more pins!
Good evening, gang!
Just a quick heads up - we are waiting out a potential back-end issue with BackerKit's segmented card charges. This means yesterday's announcement about Thursday charges is no longer accurate.
While this is a small change of plans, it shouldn't affect things too much. Make sure your card on file is accurate if you haven't already. You should still be expecting a charge before June 13th if you're in the categories listed here.
These pin pictures got dropped on BlueSky earlier, but if you're detoxing from the socials, let's toss 'em to you here, too. Most of these pins are final, sans their black epoxy background - you can see it on a few, like the duck toller, deer, and dalmatians, though!
Just a quick heads up - we are waiting out a potential back-end issue with BackerKit's segmented card charges. This means yesterday's announcement about Thursday charges is no longer accurate.
While this is a small change of plans, it shouldn't affect things too much. Make sure your card on file is accurate if you haven't already. You should still be expecting a charge before June 13th if you're in the categories listed here.
These pin pictures got dropped on BlueSky earlier, but if you're detoxing from the socials, let's toss 'em to you here, too. Most of these pins are final, sans their black epoxy background - you can see it on a few, like the duck toller, deer, and dalmatians, though!
Final note, I'll finally be closing pre-orders this Saturday (June 6th). If you missed out on CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS and any of these designs speak to you a little more as physical items, this is your last chance to get them at campaign price at campaign times.
C3 pins will not be available retail until everything's graded, backers get their pins, and inventory is set up. This could be as late as early September. If you want 'em, get em now!
C3 pins will not be available retail until everything's graded, backers get their pins, and inventory is set up. This could be as late as early September. If you want 'em, get em now!
PROJECT UPDATE
Ken Fiskorne
CREATOR
Invested in BackerKit’s future during our Wefunder campaign
🧙
Group-Collab Leader
7 days ago
Project Update: PENDING CHARGES - Check if it's for you!
Good evening, gang!
Quick, boring, text-heavy one.
So, we've worked out some of the back-end kinks for split segment, combined shipping, whatever. Legalese technical bullshit. It's almost time to cover payment 3/3 on CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS' production, which means grabbing the remaining campaign balance and tossing it in a HYSA to make a little buffer money back.
Layman's terms, we will be charging some backers for their addons + shipping this Thursday (6/4).
Quick, boring, text-heavy one.
So, we've worked out some of the back-end kinks for split segment, combined shipping, whatever. Legalese technical bullshit. It's almost time to cover payment 3/3 on CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS' production, which means grabbing the remaining campaign balance and tossing it in a HYSA to make a little buffer money back.
Layman's terms, we will be charging some backers for their addons + shipping this Thursday (6/4).
- USA backers who did NOT back The Hyena Family.
- Non-Europe international backers (Canada, Mexico, Australia) who did NOT back The Hyena Family.
- Local (NY) and Anthrocon pickup backers.
If this is you, you have a charge coming for your addons and shipping. Make sure your card on file is up to date. You got a little while to update your address, but, if that's not changing in the next month or two, make sure it's set too.
These backers are NOT being charged anything right now:
These backers are NOT being charged anything right now:
- USA backers who backed The Hyena Family and opted for combined shipping.
- European backers who backed The Hyena Family and opted for combined shipping.
- Custom and sponsor tier backers.
You guys'll be charged closer to when The Hyena Family items hit stateside, in case rates change again.
At this time, original campaign shipping estimates are accurate, plus about 50 cents per package. I price my BackerKit shipping to cover packaging, partially cover the average freebie yield, and a little bit of contingency for situations like 2026. Luckily, that worked out fairly well here, and we aren't looking to swing much higher.
Sorry there's nothing too fun in this one. We're still expecting pins in late this month, and I'm gonna follow the fulfillment plan from the last update 'till the universe shafts me again and I have to change it.
Look at this fucked up thing.
PROJECT UPDATE
Ken Fiskorne
CREATOR
Invested in BackerKit’s future during our Wefunder campaign
🧙
Group-Collab Leader
9 days ago
Project Update: FINISHED PIN PICTURES! + shipping schedule announced, combined shipping delay
Let's start today's update off with a question: would you still love me if I didn't have eyebrows?
"What if I was a worm" is too easy. Small unemployable adorable animal is too easy. This is a store full of Don Bluth loyalists, and at the HUSTLE, we know what really matters.
I, frankly, find anyone without outright caterpillars above the peepers absolutely irredeemable. Eyebrows are a sign of integrity, machismo, and a lot of other things I can't finish a joke with, because, frankly, this is a stupid bit and I just need to laugh about the fact that my factory forgot the fucking eyebrows on a pin that already had an approved mold and sample.
I saw this having my morning coffee on Thursday and the noise I made probably woke my neighbors up.
"What if I was a worm" is too easy. Small unemployable adorable animal is too easy. This is a store full of Don Bluth loyalists, and at the HUSTLE, we know what really matters.
I, frankly, find anyone without outright caterpillars above the peepers absolutely irredeemable. Eyebrows are a sign of integrity, machismo, and a lot of other things I can't finish a joke with, because, frankly, this is a stupid bit and I just need to laugh about the fact that my factory forgot the fucking eyebrows on a pin that already had an approved mold and sample.
I saw this having my morning coffee on Thursday and the noise I made probably woke my neighbors up.
There's a lot of questions and manufacturing steps to discuss how this could happen, and, frankly, I can't wrap my head around it. Other pin artists can squint at the whole ordeal, and they're welcome to, because I don't get it either.
It's over and done with, we're doing OK, and the factory has agreed to take the L and remake all of the shaved cockatiels. Happy ending, we're good, and I will be much stricter on QA before anything else actually goes out.
Here's some other pins with facial furnishings properly intact! Pins just need their final black background and they'll be ready to go.
It's over and done with, we're doing OK, and the factory has agreed to take the L and remake all of the shaved cockatiels. Happy ending, we're good, and I will be much stricter on QA before anything else actually goes out.
Here's some other pins with facial furnishings properly intact! Pins just need their final black background and they'll be ready to go.
We are nearing the end of production on C3. So, let's talk logistics.
Base shipping rates are being finalized. All remaining balances will be charged within the next 2 weeks.
Due to factory hijinks with C3, I cannot guarantee that pins will be going out within our original timeline. I am, out of immense caution, moving our estimate fulfillment for C3-only orders back to July 2026.
I understand this may be disappointing, but, don't worry, it gets worse.
I am honored to work with Henrieke Goorhuis on THE HYENA FAMILY and offering US fulfillment for her wonderful wildlife pins. However, mutual backers may be aware that she is also behind schedule due to some production headaches. Henrieke's production concerns are no fault of her own, but do still affect timelines. We are keeping our promise to make affordable combined shipping available for backers.
We're some of a good chunk of artists having issues with production this year, and while it's not uncommon, it still sucks for you guys.
There's a lot to discuss here, so, for the sake of clarity, I'll keep the jokes and paragraphs out.
I understand this may be disappointing, but, don't worry, it gets worse.
I am honored to work with Henrieke Goorhuis on THE HYENA FAMILY and offering US fulfillment for her wonderful wildlife pins. However, mutual backers may be aware that she is also behind schedule due to some production headaches. Henrieke's production concerns are no fault of her own, but do still affect timelines. We are keeping our promise to make affordable combined shipping available for backers.
We're some of a good chunk of artists having issues with production this year, and while it's not uncommon, it still sucks for you guys.
There's a lot to discuss here, so, for the sake of clarity, I'll keep the jokes and paragraphs out.
- All remaining balances (shipping and addons) will be charged at some point between May 30 and June 13th. Postage rates have stabilized enough that I am comfortable doing this. We are looking at a base rate of $7 US shipping, $15 international (non-EU). More pins, higher cost as always, excluding wholesale and custom tiers. Please keep tabs on THE HYENA FAMILY for EU rates - C3 is being fulfilled for European customers natively.
- THE HYENA FAMILY combined orders will be charged later. If you opted for combined US or non-EU shipping, you will be charged the base rate ($7+) and any addon costs during the charge window above. Plus, a $2-3 service fee to cover getting your hyenas across the pond to your door. You will be charged this LATER when HYENA FAMILY items arrive.
- Sponsor and custom pin orders have 1st grading priority and will go out ASAP. Shipping is covered in the cost of these tiers and any HYENA FAMILY pins will be sent separately at my expense.
- Anthrocon pickup orders will be getting 2nd grading priority. Please email me if you are interested in AC pickup ASAP @ [email protected] so I can add you to a priority list. Any HYENA FAMILY pins will be sent separately at my expense.
- Local (actual local) pickup is included in priority, due to summer event availability. I will be keeping local customers informed privately about dates and locations. There will be safe public pickups at events in Orchard Park (late June) and Gates, NY (post-Anthrocon). Single pickups are available at certain monthly dates in Cheektogawa, NY. If you have questions or are not reachable thru my usual local haunts, please contact me at [email protected]
- THE HYENA FAMILY combined packages will be withheld until stock arrives. If you do not want to wait, you will be on the hook for US shipping + any EU costs owed to Henrieke. You can contact me at [email protected] to let me know you want things separated.
I know that's a lot to digest, but it's gotta go somewhere for posterity.
For now? Be ready for pending card charges, check your payment method on file, and be ready to pay $7+ and whatever else you added on. You'll get another update before it happens for real.
So far, thank you for being here, and I hope things go smoothly from here.
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