Making Progress :)
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Oct 02, 2023 at 12:06:58 PM
Hey everyone :) I thought I would post a quick update on how things are progressing.
First - the biggest news - the bookcharms and pins have been finally ordered! I can't believe how difficult it was to get this order through with my manufacturer and I've never had such a bad experience ordering anything before. Everything from questions going unanswered for weeks or months then blamed on language barriers - or answers changing from one email to the next, to the basic math in the quotes being repeatedly wrong and added incorrectly, to prices changing drastically from one quote to another, to them repeatedly sending proofs to me unchanged from the last round of proofs repeatedly ignoring the changes I requested - it has been a marathon of months of emails. But I was finally able to make it through the cursed forest and out the other side. The pins and bookcharms are due to ship to me around Halloween!
So despite all of this difficulty, it seems I may yet be able to hit my goal of fulfillment in November! And despite how difficult the ordering process became, I know the pins and bookcharms are going to be lovely. All the samples they have sent me have been gorgeous, the previous pins they have made are gorgeous, and despite the difficulty, I made sure we didn't move ahead until the designs and proofs for these new ones were just right. So, I think in the end, this will all have been worth the time and difficulty.
Everything else is here and ready to go! Packaging, stickers, bookmarks, etc - its all just waiting on the pins and bookcharms to arrive.
So with that being said, I will be aiming to get the backerkit surveys sent out around Halloween as well :) so keep an eye out for that around then. I'm so excited to be able to finally have some good progress to report and can't wait to get all these shinies in hand and sent to you! I also wanted to say thank you for all your patience <3 It was really important to me, to not rush these and make sure they were as nice as possible rather than just try to get it over with - and I really think you are going to love the result as well. So thank you for giving me the time to get everything just right! Love you guys and I will be posting more announcements soon now that everything has jumped on to the next stage :)
Progress Update :)
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Aug 28, 2023 at 10:20:45 AM
Hey everyone,
I wanted to give you all a quick update on the progress behind the scenes of getting the charms and pins manufactured.
Bookcharms / Pins
There's been some delays in getting the designs proofed. I've been emailing them back and forth almost every day for over a month now and it's been a long road to getting all 20 designs translated into what they can make in metal and enamel. But they have gotten 19 of them finished - and we are just working on the very last one now. It's been tricky because we added so many new designs!
But, we're still working on the last design (Khepra) which for some reason is really hanging us up. They wanted to make the bookcharm and pin 3 inches wide instead of 2 inches like the other designs - or to change the design drastically. I didn't want it to be so much larger than the rest of the series, so I'm working to find a middle ground between these two extreme options. Fingers crossed we are close to a solution.
I'm confident though, once we get this last proof right, that the production and shipping will go smoothly. It's just taking a bit longer than anticipated because we ended up adding so many designs to the original 6. But I wanted to take the time to make sure the pins and charms were as nice as possible and as close to the original designs I drew as possible - and they are almost spot on after some delicate finessing and many, many emails back and forth with the manufacturer.
Everything else is here & ready :)
Otherwise, everything else is almost done :)The gold foil stickers are due to be delivered here within the week. The bonus bookmarks, as well as the gold foil prints and normal prints, are all here - and I already have all the packing and shipping materials ready to go as well. It is just the pins and charms being manufactured that we are waiting on. So hopefully in the next few days, we can finalize Khepra's design to the right size without any drastic changes and move on to the production phase (fingers crossed).
Surveys - BackerKit
I've gotten a few messages from people worried they missed the survey - so I wanted to update here for anyone else - I haven't sent the surveys out yet. I'm waiting until everything is in hand and I am ready to start shipping to help minimize any changed addresses or errors to make sure the shipping side of things goes as smoothly as possible. I will be using BackerKit to send the surveys since this Kickstarter ended up growing way more complex than originally planned lol. But it will still be probably at least a month before those go out - since they haven't started on the production of the bookcharms and pins yet.
I hope this helps give everyone a sense of where we are on getting everything made and shipped and hopefully eases any worries! We are still making progress and close to the final steps being completed. Thank you everyone for your patience! :) It is really important to me that I get everything just right so they are as nice as possible to send to you - and as close to the original designs you saw. It's taken a little more time and frustration than anticipated to stay true to that - but I think when you get them and see them in person, it will be worth it! I want you all to be thrilled with your new treasures, rather than just rush them out as fast as possible. Anyways, sorry for the long post, but I think that covers most everything for now. And of course, if you have any questions, always feel free to message me and I will do my best to help!
Talk soon! <3
Jeszika
Set design! :)
over 1 year ago
– Sun, Jul 16, 2023 at 02:25:03 PM
Hello again! Just a quick update - I wanted to share the design for Set with all of you, as I know he was one that a lot of you were hoping for and waiting to see. So I put together a little card for him, as I did for the other gods, so you could see his design as well as read his little info sheet as well.
He was a lot of fun to design! The Set animal was said most likely to be an imaginary Egyptian creature rather than a real animal - though there is always speculation on what kind of animal he may have been based on. He was said to have a lean canine body, like a sighthound or jackal, with a forked tail, and tall upright ears that were often depicted as square or triangular. His face is what is most difficult to place, as it was shown as a long, slightly downward slope that many have tried to guess what animal it was based on. Guesses range from saluki dogs to giraffes but it is most widely accepted that it was imaginary.
When working on his design, I knew I wanted him to feel lean, but powerful, a fierce strong beast so I gave him a more muscular build in his chest and neck, yet kept his legs and tail long and lean. Creating his strange face was an exciting challenge as well :) trying to give it a shape elegant and strange but not too uncanny. I hope you guys like how he turned out! I am really excited to be able to add this one to the collection!
Back to work for me, but I wanted to take a quick moment to share how his design turned out with those of you who were waiting to see :)
What happens next!
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Jul 07, 2023 at 09:08:55 PM
I wanted to post another update (I promise the last for a little while to give your email inboxes a break! lol) just giving an overview of what happens next :)
First, on the Kickstarter side of things, Kickstarter is collecting all the pledges and then they usually deposit the funds in my account about two weeks after that.
While that's happening, I'll be polishing all the new designs up into vector files for the manufacturer and ironing out any last details for the order. That way, when the funds are deposited, it should be a pretty quick step to be able to order them right away. Then if all goes to plan, there will be a month or two (usually) of waiting for them to be made and shipped to me. I've never gotten an order anywhere near this large, so it might take a little extra time.
While waiting for the bookcharms and pins to arrive, I will be getting everything else in order - ordering all the other items (stickers, backing cards for pins, prints, packaging, shipping materials, etc). Once everything is here I'll be ready to fulfill orders!
I will probably send out the surveys (for everyone to select which gods they want) right before the bookcharms and pins are due to arrive to me - that way as little time as possible will pass between when everyone fills in their shipping info and when I actually ship. Hopefully, that will keep any changes of address or anything like that to a minimum.
The surveys will be through BackerKit rather than just Kickstarter. When the surveys are up, you will get an email with the link to fill yours out, and I will post a reminder update here too.
Then it will be fulfillment time! I did not expect to have so so many backers lol but I have some experience from before of fulfilling a project this large as well - so I am up for the challenge! It will probably take me a little longer than I expected to pack all these by hand, but I have some systems in place, and some plans for streamlining it - so hopefully it wont take too long :) I will be folding shipping boxes and packing them with the freebies long before the bookcharms and pins get here lol and of course, I will keep everyone updated on the progress as we go.
Aaand, that brings me to a little exciting announcement :)
I've decided to create a design for Set as well!!
I know a lot of people were hoping for him & and we did tear through all the gods with finished paintings. I had said he'd be the first one I added without a finished painting if we got that far. And well, we got that far lol. It all happened so fast yesterday, that there was no way to keep up and add more then. But after seeing the question in the comments last night, I knew I wanted to create that design for you guys as well :)
Everyone will be able to select him as one of the options for your bookcharms, pins or stickers in the survey I send out. I don't know if I can finish the painting to go with him in time, but I will try! The paintings take much longer (usually about 100-150 hours) and I try to not force them until I have a clear vision of what it should be - but I already started his painting before this Kickstarter, and have been feeling the pull to paint it. So if the stars align, and his painting comes together in time - then the prints and deluxe set will be an option for him as well.
I think that covers all the main things for now :) I will share pictures when I finalize the designs for Aton (the free pin) and Set.
And again, thank you so much, everyone! <3 This has been incredible and I can't wait for all of you to have your new shinies in hand!
Wow - what a finish <3
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Jul 06, 2023 at 09:10:41 PM
Goodness, thank you so much, everyone <3 I truly had no idea what to expect when I launched this Kickstarter and I am in a bit of shock over all the excitement and support for the project. It means the world to me. As a creator, I love making things that enrich people's lives with little pieces of beauty or bring joy to them - and seeing how many people love these charms fills my heart. So thank you, everyone, for sharing your joy and enthusiasm with me and helping me create these!
My brain is crackling over here with excitement (and a little sleep deprivation lol) and it is the middle of the night - so I will post a more proper update tomorrow on what happens next and all the logistic stuff. But tonight, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you and I love you guys <3 I can't wait to send all of you beautiful shiny treasures!
