Got a short update with some production photos. I'll have those in the backer-only section below. TL;DR: production is going surely but slowly and I don't have an update on when fulfilment is going to happen. I am encouraged by the quality I've been already seeing compared to the first production attempt of these pins!
All items are still available in the pre order shop!
This happens to a lot of pin designers and I guess it's my turn! I unfortunately had to change manufacturers for this series.
The Short Story The good news is that pins are now being produced by the new manufacturer. The bad news is that it could take 2+ months. Shipping will now likely be in September. The new manufacturer knows you all have been waiting a while for these so they said they'll make sure to send plenty of production photos to share when they get further along so you all can see the progress being made!
The Long Story I had to reach out to a secondary manufacturer because my main one was bogged down with other Pintopia orders as well as my witch sets from Autumn Aesthetics (they took sooooo long). But the second manu pushed back hard against the manual pearl swirl I wanted for the pins and was producing inferior quality, particularly with the rainbow meta. Bubbly metal, streaks in the epoxy, and metal not being cleaned before the epoxy was poured. In the end, I had to pull the plug.
I reached out to a smaller manufacturer that was highly recommended by some other artists and friends I trust, and while their production time is longer the quality is definitely much higher and they are aware of the problems with the other manufacturer and are being very mindful to not make the same errors. And they didn't push back on the pearl swirl!
Since I had to start over anyways, I did touch up a couple pin designs and wanted to make sure you saw them! I changed Watcher to have pearl swirl gradient, and I added both pearl swirl gradient and UV gradient to Survival. I also have to mention that some pins will have epoxy while others won't - the ones with printing on them will have epoxy. In my experience, epoxy on rainbow metal has a higher B grade rate because metal flakes sometimes get caught in the epoxy, so that is why not all the pins will have it. I also designed a lot of the set to play with the depth of metal vs enamel.
Updated Survival Design
Updated Watcher Design
Buhhhhhh I hate giving updates like this but better you know! I was also waiting until I locked in a replacement manu and the production had started. Sorry you're all going to have to wait a little longer but I will make sure you get your pins asap and with the best quality possible!
Very sorry about the survey delay - I wasn't home for pretty much all of March and most of April and some detail somewhere in the survey got super scuffed. I'm still not entirely sure what happened?
But!
Everyone besides pay over time backers should have gotten their surveys by now! I'm actually pretty upset at how late the surveys got released so I will be adding a small freebie in everyone's physical orders as an apology and a big thank you for your patience! You all were so kind, I really am grateful and I never want to squander the kindness and faith you all put in me, my art, and my campaigns!
I'll have more details below if you're interested but if not, no worries! If you encounter any issues with your survey, please use BackerKit Support to send a help ticket - all support requests get forwarded directly to me and I can see your questions faster!
The Delayed Ita Bag
Some returning backers might remember that there was originally supposed to be an ita bag as part of the Cyberpunk Animals campaign. I delayed the bag because I could already tell Pintopia was going to be a lot to handle during my move, and I was super right to do so!
But now, the bag is finally ready to show off! Introducing the Ita Holster!
It goes on your hip! Or shoulder! It's very versatile! This bag will be part of the upcoming Bag Bazaar event starting on May 12th. I'll have better photos for the actual campaign, including showing it in practical use! There will also be a small selection of pins, an acryllic carabiner, a strap, and a luggage tag - all designed to match the bag.
(But also, absolutely NO pressure to back. There's a ton going on. Just wanted to make you all aware since this was originally supposed to be part of Pintopia!)
We're Back On Track
This winter/spring stretch of time has been very tough! Don't worry, I'm okay! It feels very silly to say that the delays were because it took me this long to move in and get my office space set up, but yes, it took me this long to move in and get my office space set up. Moving all my furniture, merchandise, and other assets out of my multiple storage units and into my new place was an actual nightmare, and I didn't take time off from work to get it all done. I asked other artists who have recently moved how they handled it, and most of them told me they had to take 3-4 months off to make it work! So.... oops. I also had 4 conventions in Marchi/April plus a secret 5th one I just got back from, so I was barely home to get things done.
I think I really should've skipped Pintopia this year, but what's done is done and I am going to do everything I can to fulfil this set!! It really means a lot that you all were so excited for it - I've been wanting to do something in the cyberpunk aesthetic for a while!
Thanks everyone for being so proactive in getting the surveys done. I'll order the pins as soon as I get counts in, finalize the cityscape banner art, and we'll be all okay!!
Thank you for being here and for the kind messages you've been sending while I was stuck in moving hell! I was so scared of letting everyone down, and the encouragement helped so very much.
Thank you for your patience. Surveys are going out this week pending BackerKit approval. I admittedly got bogged down with finalizing artwork for the final unlocked stretch goals amidst everything else I had going on.
Smoke tests will go out first, then the rest of the surveys will be sent 24 hours later. Some of the art (mostly the cityscape pin banner) will be not quite finalized. I need a smidge more time on it to really make it perfect.
Once 75% of surveys are turned in I'll do the final tally and order the pins. From there it's about 50 days from ordering to arriving at my doorstep. We are still on track for summer fulfilment and I have taken all of June and some of July off to take care of that!
Sorry it took me so long - it seems hard to believe but I'm still working on getting everything moved in to the new place on top of dealing with a full convention schedule. I'll make sure things move a bit smoother from here on out.
Another update will come this week with pin art updates as soon as I get manu approval!
WOW, what a final day! Backerkit campaigns don't usually jump this much in the last 48 hours (at least not upwards) so this was a very nice surprise! Thank you!!
Some last minute housekeeping:
We passed 10k overnight which means at the time of this update Survival, Cityscape Banner, and Technology of a Bygone Era have all been unlocked. However...
The final funding number is likely to fluctuate. If we dip $200 below any goal, that goal will be unfunded. (Sorry, I need to make sure I can afford the pins!)
Watcher, a vulture pin set t unlock at 11k, is still on the table!
Any goal that gets unfunded or isn't reached will be made available as a stretch goal in the survey. This means these items will only be available as add ons, so obviously getting it funded before campaign close is the most ideal!
I am including one (1) pin banner in the all in pin tier as a thank you for your patience and last minute hustle! You will get prompted in the survey to choose which banner you want.
As for the remaining designs! The migraines came back unfortunately so I couldn't finish them, but you all said you would rather have sketches than nothing, so! Get ready for some shaky hand sketches!
SURVIVAL - Premium Pin A snow leopard on a cyber moon! Why a moon? Not sure, but I was watching Treasure Planet recently so maybe I was inspired subconsciously? But as for snow leopards, they have had a tough history of survival as they once were in critical danger of going extinct. They are currently labeled as "vulnerable" but still have a long ways to go before they are considered not threatened.
CITYSCAPE PIN BANNER The idea was that pins could be placed on the windows as a way to cleanly display your pin haul! It takes me much longer to render and finish illustrations than it does to finish pins, but I will post the finished product in the survey update. Banners will still be available as add ons in the survey so don't feel pressured to add it on just yet if you want to wait to see the final render.
TECHNOLOGY OF A BYGONE ERA - Mini Pin I asked if you had any guesses on what this "technology" could be - did someone somehow guess a furby? It is from a bygone era! The furby thing is a little joke from the Pintober community. But in case jokes aren't your thing, I did prepare something else for the 10k threshold.
HACKED - Regular Pin I kept hush until I was sure nothing was compromised, but I was actually hacked during this pin campaign. I was worried about the extent of the breach, so I decided to not log into any site with sensitive information (so BackerKit among other things) for a bit until I had more information. Luckilly, everything is okay! But it was a very terrifying week trying to figure out if anything got compromised. So naturally I made a pin to commemorate the event because I have no chill!
That's all the housekeeping! I probably won't update again until after close to spare everyone's poor bloated email inboxes. I'll get these designs finalized over the weekend. Here's hoping the final 9 hours are kind!
I know Pintopia has gotten a bit... overwhelming, especially since more and more projects are added every year. As funds are no doubt tight and there are so so many projects to choose from, I really really appreciate you all for being here and supporting these pins. I would definitely love to do more in the future! It was such a fun set!
Between the hacking and migraines and pintopia bloat, I know I wasn't as active as I normally would like to be during the campaign, but I appreciate the patience and kind words from you all! For my returning backers, it's a pleasure as always to see you and it made me smile seeing your names pop up again! For the new folks, welcome! And I hope to see you again!
