Hi everyone! Thank you all for your patience between updates here. This would have been out a bit sooner but I have had alot going on recently. In any case, I am here with a big update on several aspects of the project!
Locking Orders and Charging Cards
I will begin by saying that I made a mistake in terms of order processing. While I mentioned charges to your cards for shipping and add-ons would have been at the start of last month, the charges never actually went through. I contacted support about this and it seems I needed to lock orders before proceeding to charge cards. So I am planning on locking orders with a 48 hour window for changes soon after this update, then, early next week, after another 48 hour notification window, charging cards on file properly.
During the first window you should still be able to adjust any final add-ons and during the second window, you'll need to make sure the card on file is valid and can be charged for the shipping and add-on amounts. I apologize for the mix-up but this is my first time doing manual charges on Backerkit so it has been a bit of a learning experience for me!
Main Plush Update
Since the last update, I have received the final revision of the Haruki plush in hand and given the ok for my manu to begin purchasing fabric for production.
Changes to the plush include a stuffed piece for cheek fluffs instead of the previously fused material (prone to fraying and separation), a rounder tail with more prominent fluff, rounder thighs, 33% more weight with an even distribution throughout the whole belly area, and larger flowers on the head that have been moved forward some to reflect the original design. The final production plush will also have a larger flower on the collar like the new ones on the head.
We are about on schedule in terms of production. Once my manu has the materials they have quoted a lead time of about 60 days to completion. That would put their shipping to me by early-mid August. So I should be able to stay on schedule for fulfillment throughout September!
Flower & cheek fluff comparison
Tail comparison
Weight Comparison
Plush Keychain Update
There's not alot to say about the plush keychain. It is the same as the one pictured in the campaign. The only change made was on the sakura flower detailing of the plush. The rigid felt flowers have been replaced with a softer material that still looks the same but should feel softer.
Resin Figure Update
My figure manu has completed a revised version of the figure with updated colors. It is looking good, though they still missed the cheek fluffs off-white coloring. I have mentioned to them that that will need to be adjusted for final production. Once they get back to me with the corrected version I will be sending over graphics for the box design. The figure will be packaged in a printed cardboard box with a styrofoam protective enclosure.
Accessories Update
The turnaround on accessories is relatively quick production-wise. Usually about a month. I wanted to put the focus on the plush and figure first. The files are technically ready for all the products, but I wanted to take a day or two to give all the designs a look over to be sure they look exactly as intended and are properly prepared for each of the product mediums. I will be contacting my accessories manu in the coming weeks after I get some time to review the designs closely.
Plush Tag & Additional Free Stickers
I have been in contact with an artist who I have worked with in the past to build the character brand image for my studio. Their handle is heychikinan on bsky and various other socials. I commissioned them for a tag design for Haruki that will double as a sticker to be included with each plush looped through the silk tush tag. They are featured on 3 of my other original character plushies as the tag artist so I wanted to keep the trend going. Their artwork is lovely and really pops when paired with each plush! Production of tags will be started in the coming weeks around the time when I contact my accessory manu.
That about sums it up for everything thats been going on since the last update! I hope this helps to keep everyone up to date. Time between updates will still be a few weeks in length as production gets underway. The next update will likely be to touch base on accessories and tags beginning production. If there are any hiccups or just noteable matters about production until then, I will let you all know. If anybody has any questions or concerns, I'm always available via email at [email protected]
Hi everyone! Today was going to be the day I charge cards and lock orders for those not on a payment plan. However, I've been busy the past few days so it slipped my mind for a bit. Please consider this the official notice that your card on file will be charged for any shipping and additional add ons you've added to your pledge through the survey on May 6th. At this time, if everything is valid, your order will be locked for processing.
There are only about 10 backers left who still need to complete the survey. I'm not able to see if they are specifically on a payment plan through that section of the pledge manager, but that means most of you are good to go! Payment plan backers will have time to complete their survey after the final payment is made.
Hi everyone, please disregard this message if you have already completed your survey. For those who have, thank you for your promptness in getting those back, it helps alot! For those, currently 28, backers who have yet to complete the survey, please be sure to do that as soon as possible. I cannot correctly fulfill your order without it!
Among those of you who still need to complete the survey, there are a few that need to update their payment method to send your pledged funds. So please check with your credit card / bank provider that the charge went through, though I am sure there is a notice somewhere on the back end of your account to let you know this as well.
Lastly, if you are having trouble locating your survey, there's no need for concern. Just enter your email address associated with your pledge here:
And you should receive a new survey to complete. While you may continue to receive reminder emails from Backerkit to complete the survey, this is one of two manual reminders I'll be putting out. I will send one more 3 days out from the end of the month as a final reminder before I start locking orders.
Please complete your survey to receive Haruki goodness! 🌸
Hey everyone, hope your week is going well! This update is to let you all know that the remaining surveys have been sent. You should receive an email soon if you haven't already with your survey questions.
This will be the last chance to add any add-on items before I start locking in orders near the end of the month. So if there is something you were thinking about getting something extra during the campaign, now's the time to back it!
There is also a question on the survey for upcoming projects. Once all Haruki backer rewards are fulfilled, I plan on starting a new project and I listed a few of my ideas on that survey question. Looking forward to what you all think about it!
Hi everyone, hope you have all been doing well! I'm sending this update to let you know that you may receive your survey very soon. I just sent the smoke test, so a small amount of you will already have your survey in your inbox. For those of you who did receive it, please fill it out as soon as possible! It helps me to make sure the survey is correct so I can send it out to all the other backers. If you don't have it yet it will be sent a little later this week.
Resin Figure
That's right, another update on the resin figure! I had originally sent for two samples with two different companies, but did not receive the second until recently. Now that I have it, I must say I'm rather impressed with the quality of it. The colors are just a bit off from what I would ideally like (the hot pink in particular), but other than that, it looks great! I will be discussing a couple small adjustments and final packaging that with the manufacturer in the coming days.
Figure from the new manufacturer
With that said, this new manu has a better rate than the previous one so I will be able to offer the resin figure at my original preferred price of $35 each to any backer who's interested, with no additional goal funding or backer count for the figure. You guys got so close to funding the first sample version during the campaign that I wanted to make sure this was available in some form by the end of everything (I want one of my own too!).
Figure comparison. New on the left, previous on the right.
I really hope some of you will take advantage of this figure offering. It will be available as a last minute featured add-on with your surveys. Thanks for reading, I'll be posting another update when the rest of the surveys go out, probably on Wednesday/Thursday.
