Updates

Hey all, it's the final day already!

Apparently my previous updates never got updated even though I am positive I set them to be sent out, so sorry about that! I will do my best to cover everything in this update. Bag prototype and life update is down near the bottom of the update.

Cross Collaboration Perks
First, a reminder! Supporting my campaign AND my collab partner Arledge Comics' campaign will get you free rewards! Pin tiers will get a free pin and ita bag tiers get an insert to use with the ita holster!

Back my collab partner's project here!!

Pin Designs
With what we have raised, we have 4 unlocked regular pins and 4 mini pins offered as a set. Here are the designs:

I want to add a couple premium pins I've been working on in the survey, but not before that. It would be a bit messy to add a premium pin tier this late.

Velcro Patches + Keychains
I am designing velcro patches to attach onto the ita bag based off of luggage tags I am also offering as add ons. I might do more and offer them as pledge survey stretch goals. 

Bag Inserts
We will have some bag inserts available for purchase as add ons. The bag will come with a basic black insert and if we can reach over 13k I will also include a free holographic insert with every bag. We are still finalizing the insert itself with prototyping but am confident enough that the insert will be as I intended even if I have to go through another manufacturer to make it. Here are the ita bag insert options:

The Second Ita Holster Prototype
The next prototype came in the mail while I was at Fan Expo Denver this past weekend, so I have some (not great but eh) photos of the bag as it is now! Excuse my attire - it's hot over here!

Bag Functionality
So.... How much can it fit?
I will say that I intended this bag to be *compact*. I have a hip bag currently that can fit a lot but it gets so bulky and my hips turn into a liability to everyone around me when I am wearing it. So it is meant to be mostly flat and hold things like pill wallets, epi pens, phones, wallets, small notebooks, small battery banks, etc. 

It's not going to fit an iPad or something, but it can fit my daily needs if I'm going to be out and about for a long time. Imagine what a medium to large fanny pack can hold. I promise, any larger would get rather annoying to have on your hip!

The material is a durible but flexible canvas so it's actually pretty comfortable on my leg and adjusts to shapes well. 

Alternative Colours
I was asked early into the campaign about alternate colours, but I wasn't able to get a confirmation yet on how easy/expensive that would be to produce. I am talking with my manufacturer about it right now but won't have tangible details in time so please plan on black being the only available colour for this bag for the campaign. If I can get confirmation about alternate colourways soon enough, I'll include them in the survey either as a question option or, most likely, a pledge stretch goal. 

Colours I am entertaining are:

I'll keep talking with my manufacturer and see what can be done without things getting too expensive or complicated.


A (Sad) Life Update
I thought about not mentioning anything because I hoinestly don't like to sound like I'm making up excuses on a professional project, but the reality is that this past few months have been the hardest and most turbulent months of my life and there's quite a lot of you who don't just follow my projects for the art, or the products, or both - some of you follow them because of me, the human behind the art just trying to create something beautiful in a word that often feels so hostile. And if I'm even more honest, some of you follow me and my projects because of my dogs. They have been the image of my tip jars, a constant presence in my pins and other art, always nearby with every manufacturing update and very often part of my conversations at conventions. 

We had to very suddenly say goodbye to our 11-year-old wolf dog Balto while I was at a con. As a grace, we brought him with us so we had the chance to be there with him. We had no reason to believe his time was coming, healthy enough to be helping me pack for my con and go trotting around the backyard just a day before. We had 10 amazing years with him but it still wasn't enough. 

I am not handling it well. I've lost pets before but this was the longest I've ever had a companion before and he was my constant throughout all of the craziness I've delt with in my adult life, and especially the chaos these past few months. Our shiba Mona is sonfused on why he never came home from the vet. My heart keeps breaking over and over again. 

Between the sudden loss, our financial situation changing due to unforseen circumstances, and still trying to settle into our new house, I have not been able to put as much into this campaign as I wanted to and I do apologize. I haven't given myself a chance yet to sit with my grief, so I will be taking a couple days after the campaign ends to do that. I should be back with surveys a week after the campaign ends. I also went ahead and cancelled my next pin campaign which was supposed to be happening in June. I need a chance to breathe, I think. 


Anyways, that's all going into this final push. Sorry again for the weird update technical issue and the absentness. Prototyping continues to move forward, and I'm confident that it will only take one or two more samples before the final bag design is established. 

Thank you all for your support, and I'll see you very soon! :)

Cheers,
Lachlan