This update is a little jam-packed, and it’s one I meant to share sooner, but I’ve been busy-busy behind the scenes! 🐝
Before jumping in: I’ve been reading everyone’s thoughtful comments from the last update, even though I haven’t had a chance to respond to everyone individually yet. I’ll do my best to catch up on replies this week! If there’s something I still need to address, please forgive me, I’ll get to you soon! 💪
🏆 Final Finish Call: We’re Doing Both!
After putting together a more up-to-date production sheet with all of the pin designs, expected enamel colors, screenprint counts, and other details, I received both estimates back from my manufacturer~
I asked for two quotes:
Rose Gold Hard Enamel (only)
Rose Gold Hard Enamel + Color Coated Soft Enamel
And good news: having both the rose gold and color coated variants made is only about $3,000 more than producing only the rose gold pins!
That is still a significant amount of money, and it does make budgeting tighter, but I believe it’s worth it. It means everyone will get to choose the option that suits them best, I’ll have additional stock left for my shop afterward for anyone who missed them or wants more, and I’ll also receive about $1,500 off my order for producing so many pins at once.
So yes: I’m going to move forward with both finish options! ✨
📧 Upcoming Google Form
I’ll be putting together a Google Form where every backer can choose which version they’d prefer to receive:
Rose Gold Hard Enamel
Color Coated Soft Enamel with Epoxy
To keep this manageable on the production and fulfillment side, you’ll only be able to choose one finish option for your full order with no mixing and matching individual designs. Things would be too chaotic otherwise. 🙏💦
Anyone who does not respond by the deadline will receive the Rose Gold Hard Enamel version by default, since that was the poll-winning finish.
I may create a Discord later with a trading channel if people are interested, especially since I’ve wanted to make a Discord for more casual day-to-day updates anyway. We’ll see! 😇
📝 Manufacturer Notes
I also asked my manufacturer a few key questions about making both versions:
They confirmed that producing both versions will add extra production time,which was expected.
They also confirmed that we can use rose gold clasps for the hard enamel pins and rainbow clasps for the color-coated pins.
They also said that producing the color-coated pins together should help keep the coating colors more consistent, which is good news!
So yes, this does create more work for both me and the manufacturer, and it will likely add some time to the full production process. But as I said before, I believe it’s worth it if it means more people can receive the version they’re most excited about. 🌟
🖼️ First Wave of Vector Art Submitted
Moving on to something fun: I’ve submitted the first wave of vector files to my manufacturer!
I often start with the smaller pins and charms because they’re cheaper and quicker to sample. This lets me see how the colors look in real life before applying them to the larger pins. If colors need to change, it’s much easier to adjust them at a smaller scale first. 👌
The first submitted designs are:
Archangel Raccoon
The Dagger Charm
Furbidden One Charm
Cherububu Charm
Holy Donut Charm
A few notes about the artwork:
Even though I always do my best to stay true to the original color palette, enamel pin production means translating digital colors into physical Pantone colors. Pantone is very useful, but colors can still appear different depending on one's monitor, real-world lighting conditions, and the very imperfect nature of being human.
Different metal finishes can also affect enamel colors. Warmer metals, like gold and rose gold, can make enamel colors look warmer. Purple or cooler color-coated metals may make some enamel colors look cooler. In some cases, I’ll choose slightly adjusted colors in the production files so the final physical pins land closer to the intended look!
Soft enamel adds another layer of complexity because the metal sits higher than the enamel, creating some shadowing. The screenprints also sit on top of the clear protective coating, casting shadows onto the enamel. These shadows especially affect the appearance of lighter colors. Thus, some colors may look a little odd in the digital production art, but the goal is for the final physical pins to look just right!
And of course, these are still just digital designs! They’re meant to guide production as closely as possible, but they won’t be 100% accurate to the finished pins. Once samples are made, there may still be edits to enamel colors, screenprint colors, or even the color-coated metal itself.
With all that said, please enjoy this first look! 👁️
🍩 Tiny Holy Donut Engineering Note
You might notice that I changed the way the Holy Donut Charm hangs!
I didn’t want to ruin the round donut shape by adding a visible loop at the top, but I also wasn’t happy with the idea of adding another hole through the donut or using a giant jump ring through the center. None of those felt quite right.
Then I had what I am choosing to call a genius idea: put the loop on the back!
So that’s where the Holy Donut will hang from now, and I think it’ll look quite nice. 😚
🗳️ Survey Housekeeping
There are still a few people who haven’t filled out their surveys. Since it’s only a small number, this won’t affect production, but it does mean I won’t be able to ship your order later if your survey is still incomplete! 😱
Once funds are committed to production, I won't be able to offer refunds for incomplete surveys, so please fill yours out if you haven’t yet! I’d be very sad if your Critters never found their way home.
If I opened your survey for any last-minute additions, you should have received an email about it locking again, and you may receive a notice about your card being charged shortly afterward.
Speaking of charges: there are also a number of orders whose cards were declined. I’ll attempt to recharge cards occasionally while production is ongoing, so please double-check your payment method if you haven’t seen your transaction go through. 💸
There’s still time to sort these things out, but I wanted to give everyone a heads-up in case they need to check in on anything!
❓ What’s Next?
Next, I’ll be putting together the Google Form so everyone can choose between the Rose Gold Hard Enamel and Color Coated Soft Enamel versions. Keep an eye on your email and spam folders for that link! I'll share this in the next update as well, for anyone who might miss it otherwise.
Since I lost some work during my recent computer troubles, I’ve also been toying with a couple of the charm designs to help get past that painful “oh no, I have to do the same thing all over again” feeling. 🥹❤️🩹
SO! In the next update, I may have a few small charm adjustments to share~ Nothing major enough to change the core designs, for anyone who may be worried. It’s more about finessing what’s already there. And, of course, you all will get the final say on whether to keep the changes. 👍
🔎 Biblically Accurate Kitties Sighting
A fellow researcher appears to have discovered another population of strange celestial beings: Biblically Accurate Kitties by KirasElixir! These angelic little felines are full of wings, eyes, and deeply suspicious divine energy, so naturally I thought some of you might enjoy taking a peek.
There are only 5 days left to back their research, so if you’re in the mood for more beautiful, unsettling, many-eyed energy...
I hope this update has been insightful and enjoyable! I’ll have more to share soon, though it will have to wait until after my jury summons. 😶🌫️ Wish me luck!
See ya next time~ 💛
~ Qesque 🎨 Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Bluesky: @Qesque
