Greetings everyone! I wanted to do a little 'few months later' update with you all. I'll be going over where we had issues, how we're approaching them, and what's coming next.

Missing Items:
All told, we did have two packages go out that were missing an item, but that was a slip up on our part and we're sorting it out so that the next backer event doesn't have that issue. We'll be arranging our shipping so it's an assembly line with three check points before the box is sealed and labeled. That way SOMEONE will catch it if something is missing. Those two packages have been sent out this week so if you're one of the two you should expect your items asap.

Contacting Us:
If you are missing anything and didn't contact us, please please message me! [email protected] is my email, or you can go to submergedstudio.com and open a chat message on the site there. OR you can message me on facebook if you have any of our facebook accounts (personal or business). I do want to make sure that we are easy to get ahold of when needed. I know that getting ahold of us was a bit of a concern with the campaign, so we'll be making sure to have contact information very clearly labeled in future events.

Clearer Language:
There were some communication issues with the way we wrote out the various tiers, so we're working on making the language more clear and easy to understand.

Returning Backer Bonuses:
We will be adding a special gift for previous backers with the next event. The great thing about this platform is it has a rewards system for people who have pledged to other campaigns in the past. We'll be able to offer exclusive bonuses for returning backers, and I'm crazy excited about it.

What's Coming Up Next:
We have two planned books coming up. Little Comforts 2 (of the revamped series), and the bestiary. The bestiary is scheduled for May of next year, Little Comforts will be it's usual schedule for 2024.

Plushies? Jessica used to make plushies of the Toku creatures, and we are now looking into how to get them made so that we can offer a line of cute Toku. We would like to have either those, or toku figurines coming up soon.

Ornaments? A while back we did a metal oroboros dragon christmas ornament that went over really well. Creating another christmas metal ornament is pretty high on our wish list, so we'll be working towards that as well.

Patreon:
outside of the crowdfunding platforms, we are bringing back the patreon, with exclusive content, prints, and other items. We've just started a new tier that lets you participate in creating new toku creatures, with the end result of a print being mailed to you of the final creature. Once every three months a new one will be designed and sent out. I'm pretty excited for it. If you want to know more, check out:  Submerged Studio | creating Fine art and fantastical worlds | Patreon   It's the tier called "The Scientists"

Finally.. thanks again everyone. I'm so happy with how this went, and Austin and I have found a renewed creativity and excitement in what we do. We'll be meeting every wednesday to work on the various projects we have going on and we can't wait to share more with you. 

Hello everyone! 

Austin has just left, and the spouse is off to drop all the packages at the post office! 

All but three have been shipped! (Need an extra sized box for one and need survey filled for the rest)

As I am new to backerkit, and my stamps account is not integrated with them, your tracking numbers will have been emailed to you from me directly. If you are having any issues finding your number, I have them all recorded and can look up your package no problem. 

Thank you so much for everything! I'm so happy, austin is so happy, and most importantly my family is so happy to not be packaging any more LOL. Thank you and have a wonderful holiday season! 

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday if you celebrate thanksgiving, and a wonderful day if you do not.

At the moment we are still waiting for the last few backers to get their surveys finished. But as soon as they do we will be charging cards and scampering to get this all fulfilled and out. Estimated time to go to the printer is by december 1st. We'll be putting a rush on it, so it *should* be here in time for us to ship out by the 15th. While I know we said we can't guarantee a christmas arrival, we are still doing our best to make it happen. We'll keep you posted as we get more updates on timeframe. 

The book is finished, the postcards are finished, the ornaments are finished, the dress is finished, the tree paintings are finished, aaand.. I just finished the snow fairy painting for the limited edition collectable art trading card! I'm actually really pleased with her, I feel like my sense of shading is starting to improve which I am super excited about! I hope you like her as much as I do!

The original has a holographic glittery effect in her hair and eyes, and the fastenings of her robes and jewelry are metallic silver. 

Hello all, Jessica here,

Updates:
First off, I am told that the updates are not showing in order. So I'm posting the date of the update in the title to help that.

Postcard Clarification:
It was drawn to my attention that my phrasing was a bit vague and confusing regarding the postcards. I am terribly sorry about that, and am writing clarification now. If you filled out your survey already and this clarification means you ordered the wrong amount/wanted a specific one, please feel free to email me at [email protected] with who you are and exactly what cards you wanted. I will make certain your order is exactly how you want it.

Postcards are broken into two types. Story postcards (that are letters between jack and julie and so are art not in the book), and then assorted postcards which include postcards with images from the book.

Story postcards are the ones you want that have extra info. The backs are printed with Jack and Julie's letters, so aren't good for using them for personal use. They're purely decorative. They are *not* printed in the book, nor is the writing between Jack and Julie printed in the book. They are not necessary to know what's going on, they're mostly just flavor text. The text on each postcard is unique to the location of the card. There are six of them, and they come from these locations:
Brussels
Paris
Orca Island
London
Mt Rainer
Pike's Market.

Assorted Postcards are blank on the back, so you can use them to send to people. They have 14 variations you can choose from. The six from the story postcards (minus the flavor text), and then these 8 additional options:
Warm light
Blue Eyes
Cold Trees
Snowy Landscape
Holiday Houses
Julie
One Dance
St Vith

How to order postcards:
To order the story ones, you pick the story postcard add on, and then you can choose from the variants available. Assorted postcards I believe do not have variant options, we just put them in at random (but don't quote me on that one since I need to check it).

Backerkit issues?:
Please let me know if you are having any issues or struggles using backerkit. I cannot do anything about the formatting of the site obviously, but I am willing to pass your concerns along to their help desk and do what I can on my end to make things as smooth as possible for you all. I really appreciate your patience and understanding while we learn how to use this platform.

Where we're at with making everything and shipping dates:
The books and the art trading cards are at the printers, and are expected to be here at our house by the 7th at the very latest. Austin is coming up on the 11th to start with the fulfillment, and our goal is to have it all shipped out by the 15th (so that it can hopefully get to you before Christmas).

The ornaments are made, the dress is made, the original tree art is all painted. They are just waiting to be sorted out into their appropriate boxes.

The postcard blanks are here and I will be printing them personally, so they are all ready to go. I will only be printing exactly enough for the orders here, as they are unique to this crowdfunding campaign and will not be available elsewhere.

Art Trading Cards Update:
A note about the art trading cards. Rare cards in the collection have gold gilding on the edges. Uncommon cards have silver gilding on the edges. Common cards do not have gilding.

We wanted to do something special for the crowdfunding only cards, and so these ones have blue gilding on the edges. There are only 50 printed in total of each card (you guys unlocked two cards). I'm pretty excited for them to get here. We're anticipating about 3 left over after we get them all to you guys, and those extras will either go up on the website, or be saved for a special occasion. We're not making plans until we're certain exactly how many are left over.

Contact Info:
If you need to contact us, you can do it two ways. 
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.submergedstudio.com (we have a contact page there). 

Just a small reminder that the surveys have been sent out, so please fill them out asap! Thanks for your time! 

Hello everyone! I'm just letting you know that backerkit is helping me sort out the technicalities behind ... well the fullfillment part. There's a lot more to it than kickstarter had, but wow it keeps track of everything. 

You'll have options to add on more items, change your pledges around, and lock your order once these get sent out. I am just waiting for them to review and make certain I am not missing anything before we send them out. 

Thanks for understanding! We're still on track for our timeframe! 

We did it everyone! Austin and I are so excited about this! I don't think I have felt this jazzed about a crowdfunding project since my very first one. I feel like we're stepping into a whole new world of art and creativity, and that this is just the beginning.

Now begins the process of figuring out how the funding and fullfillment parts of backerkit works. I will be sending surveys out today, and we will begin pulling everything together to jump the moment the funds hit our bank.

Please remember that shipping will be added on to your pledge at this point. 

One exciting thing. This is an official Submerged Studio project, and so this year the book has.. an ISBN! That's right, it's all official and shiny!

To celebrate all of this... Austin and I have an announcement. And it's coming by bringing back an old friend who's stumbled on something strange....

It’s not often these days that something crosses my desk that truly catches my attention. If you had asked me a few months ago would I believe that something like this could actually exist outside of a fairy tale or a myth of old I would have told you no. But something has changed.

This will be a long term, intense project and so is not expected to launch until early 2025. We'll be setting up a page that will let you follow along as we work, and create something awesome. 

Wow! Jessica here! I've been working on the postcards, and the special snow fairy art card... and you guys just blew past more goals! 

So let's recap, shall we? 

So for our 6th goal we wanted something special. We've decided that if we reach $1600, we will be going through all 5 of the past little comfort books, plus this book, and put all of the recipes into one single pdf for you. Just as a special thank you for supporting us and being so wonderful. 

The campaign ends on Wednesday and that's when Austin and I kick it into high gear. I'm really excited guys! 

Wow! I take a little time away from the computer to work on the art, and we already hit another achievement! This means two more postcards have unlocked! 

I've made them available as add ons, along with what we're calling 'story postcards'. The story cards are postcards Jack and Julie sent to each other, and so will have writing on the backs of them. They are not intended for personal use for that reason. The art from these will be specific to the card's writing, and not available in the book or anywhere else. 

the blank cards for you to write and mail to people will feature art from the books and are available in a separate add on! 

Thanks for all of your support, we're so excited to get this project back up and running again! 

Hello everyone! 

The good news is.. we unlocked the second achievement! This means that two postcards will be available for adding on to your pledge! 

The second set of cards is coming up next, and it's art you haven't seen yet! 

Austin and I have been working like mad to finish up the book, and we're down to polishing the last bits and making certain it's formatted correctly. It'll go to the printer this weekend and then it's just waiting till funding hits. 

Meanwhile, we are working on another project! As you may know, Little Comforts is set in the same world as the story we had been telling for several years, but had to drop off due to school/work/covid. With this reboot of LC, we're also rebooting the actual main story! In order to make it easy for everyone to jump into the world we're building, our next project will be a bestiary full of the creatures from our stories. (This is why Austin's the author, I just made that sound really confusing). We're just doing simple outlines and planning right now, the actual work won't begin until after we've fulfilled Little Comforts. But we're both really, really excited to step back into this crazy world of ours.