Hello again Adventurers, 

Well, a lot has changed since the last update.  

As you might be aware there have been a lot of changes going on with import tariffs to the US. At Midnight tonight the new base import tariff on goods coming from China to the US will be 104%  It is actually more than that depending on the specific good, but I digress.

This is an issue because enamel pins are almost exclusively made in China.  I started my business in 2017 and while I continue to search, I have never found a US pin manufacturer, only middlemen who lie and then have the pins made in China like everyone else does.  So domestic production is not an option for me or any other pin designer.

Well, for you, hopefully it won’t mean anything.  My sincere hope is that in about two months I will receive the pins, give them an inspection and begin shipping them out to you.

It is a bit of a different story for me though.  This tariff situation basically means that the cost to me to have the pins produced and shipped to me has unexpectedly doubled.  I know when you see a bigger campaign like this one the numbers look impressive, but the profit margins on pins are relatively thin to begin with.  If I am very lucky this project will end up breaking even now.  The only real positive is that I order extras to account for production flaws, and I can likely sell those extras in my shop later for a very small profit.  

I don’t think I have much more to say about it for the moment.  I will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have.  

Kindest regards, 

Joshua R Pinkas

Thank you to those who have noticed yesterday's smoke test of 9 surveys going on and filling them out for me!

Now that means that today all surveys have gone out to every backer!

Now all you need to do is make sure that you fill it out before April 24th- when the surveys get locked the only thing you'll be able to change is your address.

If your pledge still hasn't gone through due to card issues, I urge you to fix that asap with the help of Backerkit otherwise you will be forfeiting your pledge altogether.

This is where your shipping will also be calculated! If your order is small you will get untracked shipping, if its big then it will be tracked.

There is now also a new pledge tier that you can switch to when you enter your survey. The All-In tier! Where you get one of everything that the campaign unlocked. (the button to switch tiers is right under the big green button when you first view the survey.)

I know some people were interested in this, and if you switch to this tier then you will still retain a small discount for ordering so many pins at once unlike if you ordered them all separately.

This is only available for previous backers!

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It's now open!

> Go Here if you missed the campaign!

If you're a backer, you won't see this, as the add-on section within your survey is basically the same thing!
Otherwise for those who missed the campaign but still want to get the goodies EARLY.... and continue supporting the insane finances that are tied to ordering over 700 pins, then this is the place to do it!

Will I have these pins available in my shop and in-person later on? Of course! But I don't know when I'll have them and how my summer is gonna look like, so for now this is your best chance to secure your items.

Pre-order store closed on April 24th as well!
That gives you about 2 weeks to get your orders in<3

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Sure! I have been rizzing up my manufacturer to get the Lucifer pin samples made for the past week or so. It's quite tough to speak in a timely fashion with them when the timezone difference is so insane. I got an image back from the designers, and... well.

Hopefully will get that figured out by tomorrow.
Either way, thanks to one little teeny tiny suggestion, Lucifer had one teeny tiny alternation that made all the difference.
The shade of red on the Cathedral variant was slightly shifted to the left and be more pinky. I think that makes it all the more solid in the end! So thank you for suggesting ;)

Now I will fight the uphill battle of pantome picking for the rest of the pins and creating the design docs.

Lucifer sample is going to take up to 25 days to make, and I have negotiated a shipping that isn't going to put a dent in my finances, but will take about 3 weeks.
With the sample unexpectantly taking this long, we are skirting on the very edge of our current timeline and the shipping out date of the pins. We should be able to stay on time, but if there are any hiccups or mishaps, I will let ye all know in May how the timeline is looking. Other pins don't need samples made, so they'll be going straight into production once the funds get released to em and I have solid numbers from the surveys and pre-order store. (That's April 24th!)

And now here's the entire rosted of the pins and their final designs!

And the two series all together....

Oh and btw! This is going to be the size of Lucifer! 3.3 inches or 85mm across. Ain't that just a big boy! Size of my palm even! (my hands aren't very big though)

That's all for now! Thank you everyone for keeping up with the updates!

If you're interested in following more of my work feel free to look over all my socials on my carrd here!
And if you're interested in seeing aaaall the tiny minute details of how these pins are progressing in between updates, as well as keeping up with my general store updates (while I don't have a newsletter yet..) I do have a discord server!

Hello Backers 👁️ Welcome to another photo-heavy, lengthy update 👁️ 

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday evening getting decent photos of them—they're quite hard to photograph, as they are ridiculously shiny. ✨ I'm excited to finally see them as a physical product and I'm quite happy with them overall, though there will be some color tweaks on some designs before final production.

Deer: Right away, you'll notice something a little off about the deer... For whatever reason, the glitter is bubblegum pink! I've already let my manufacturer know I'll be changing this—my rep actually said "to be honest, the glitter is not as good as my expectation."😆😅
 
Edit: I got a suggestion to look into pearlescent enamel instead of glitter, which sounds very cool and more in line with the effect I was hoping for. I asked my manufacturer and we're giving pearl bones a try! I ordered a new sample, and hopefully I'll have a photo from my manufacturer soon.

I think as-is, even if the glitter were the right color, it's too busy with the details of the bones, plus the little screen printed stars are hard to see.

Tome/Statue/Flower: I will also be lightening the darkest grey on the Statue and the Tome. The grey does not seem to be correctly matched to the Pantone. The outer petals on the Flower are also a bit too dark for my liking. Though the Pantone is close, I'm hoping we can get it a bit closer by lightening the color a bit.

Ichor Eye: The color shifts in this one are too subtle I think. The Pantones seem properly matched, but I chose ones that are too dark! I'll be brightening the red goo for little more contrast and color variation.

I think that's it for changes! I think these will be simple fixes. I'd also like to have a new sample of the Deer and the Statue at the very least, but I think a photo from the manufacturer will suffice. 

I did receive sticker samples weeks ago and I've been working to get them reprinted. For one—they're too dark, an easy fix—but I also found them to be too transparent. After testing them on a few different surfaces like a notebook and water bottle, they just didn't look all that great, especially in comparison to other stickers I've received from other artists...

Anyway, the kind folks who made my stickers are reprinting them with 20% more white ink, to see if the opacity is  better. I am also getting samples from another company as a back up. Apologies for the delay on proper photos! Getting these reprinted has been a very slow back and forth with customer service, due to the time zone difference. But I'm confident I'll get good clear stickers made, even if I need to use a different company. :)

During the campaign, I asked what sort of effects charm enjoyers like. Holographic was the clear winner, but I recognized it might be hard to determine how this would look without a mockup. Well, instead of a mockup I'm getting samples instead! Star holographic and plain clear samples to compare.

The folks making my sticker samples are also making my charm samples (I've received charms from them years ago and loved the quality), so these samples have been delayed since the back and forth has been slow. However, we're in the proofing stage and I hope to have charm samples next week.

Look at that spooky guy! This is a pre-production sample photo from my manufacturer and I love it.

I'm going to double/triple check surveys and put some sample photos in there for good measure. Then, I'll get the survey to Backerkit for review first thing next week. After their review, a small number of surveys will go out as a "smoke test" to make sure everything is working properly. Then, all the surveys will be sent out! 

Any news on color fixes and other samples will be posted here in an update as usual. I'm sure any kinks can get ironed out as the surveys are being filled out.

I think that's all 🫠 Thanks for being so patient with everything! 

Hello everyone,

I want to thank you all again for your patience. Things have still been rough, but thankfully, I'm doing better mentally. It definitely has slowed my progress down more than I would have liked, but I'm definitely trying my best to keep chugging forward and fulfilling the project!

What's next:

Updated Timeline: (modified from the project timeline)

Unlocked Collection:

Modifications: I changed the pose for Desi to the winged angel cat because it was a pretty popular pose.
Large pin special features:

Modifications: I added the astrology sign to the corresponding constellation, and the constellation has been modified to the proper house order.
Large pin special features:

Potential Unlocks through pre-orders & surveys:

To unlock each item, there will be a minimum requirement of at least 30 orders of each item. If it is unable to reach the minimum order quantity, the pledges will be modified so no one is charge for locked items.

Large pin special features:

Large pin special feature:

Pre-Order Store:
My focus right now will be preparing the surveys, submitting them to Backerkit for review, and sending them out in two phases for everyone to complete. Phase 1 is the smoke test to a couple of individuals to ensure there are no questions, and Phase 2 is sending the surveys out to everyone. Please do not delay on completing the survey because I will need the numbers to ensure I order the proper quantity of each item (especially the bags).

Once I submit the survey to the Backerkit team to review, I'll start preparing the pre-order store for launch. Another update will be provided when the pre-order store is open.

tldr: The pre-order store will be open starting early to middle of next week.


Thank you all for your patience with me, and I do hope this update reassures everyone that I'm still working on fulfilling the project.

Please stay happy, healthy, and safe <3

Mindy
MindytheTurtle

It's the final 8 hours until the campaign ends.... and I am so sad to say that I will be sleeping when that happens. I will surely be dreaming of drawing pins all night.... I'm excited!!

We're coming up to the nitty gritty of things now, and I spent most of today looking at building the survey, pre-order store and ensuring that the rest goes smoothly.

So in the first order of things....

I sat on his colourways for the majority of the day with many other iterations and took input from many friends on colour theory and theme accuracy regarding him. In the end we have ended with three choices;

Cathedral - A pure dark version of the angel that fell. It retained beautifully colourful wings, yet its soul tainted dark. I personally adore this colourway the most. As it stands very strong between all the other extremely colourful demonic pins with its monochromatic colour scheme and makes the wings pop more. I just think its a great contrast compared to all the other pins and feel like it stands its ground well from the others.

The Fallen - A compromise between whites vs darks. Pantome colours are actually quite limiting when it comes to light greys. So making white work is quite difficult to match while keeping the depth of the design- especially between its pincers. This is a combination of other versions to make the lights not as stark compared to the darks.

Vampire - At the very end I decided to do a complete opposite version to the Cathedral. Using a pure white version with the bright wings wasn't working well, so instead I painted the wings dark and came to this incredibly forbodeing 'vampire inside a cathedral' kind of vibe. And I really dig this one too.

If I we're to give my opinion on this, I would... make both cathedral and vampire. Actually I am extremely tempted to do that regardless.
If my manufacturer allows, I would possibly be able to make a smaller amount of each pin while still reaching the mininum order quantity......... only if you people are interested!

Lucifer will feature transparent stained glass enamel wings and will be a large speciality pin.

(And yes, you can pick the two colour split.) Unfortunately you can only pick one option in the poll, but if you've specific thoughts about it then do let me know in the comments!

VOTE ENDS ON THE 6th

I also want to say that Lucifer will be a speciality pin, and if he gets unlock he will not be included in the general 'Enamel pin' reward. Mostly due to production costs. If he gets unlocked during the campaign there will be a separate add-on for him. If not you'll find him in the pre-order store to potentially unlock!

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I had a small hiccup in my schedule last month, which is what made me a little late to designing the pins. It wasn't really something in my control, but still I have to take that hiccup into consideration!

For backers that we're here very early on, the timeline has been shifted over by 1-2 weeks. Here's the new schedule:

April 3rd: Campaign Ends
April 10th: Survey Starts
April 24th: Survey Ends
Early May: Production Starts
Late May: Production Ends
Late June: Receive pins to office
Throughout July: Begin shipping process

The production time will depend heavily on when funds get released to me and on my manufacturer's speed with the amount of pins we will be ordering!

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PRE-ORDER STORE + SURVEY

What's the pre-order store you ask?
Well it's the place where anyone who missed the campaign can still pledge to get their items! This store will open on April 10th along with the surveys.

For current pledge keepers, the survey will have an integrated add-on section where you can add additional items into your pledge, change your pledge, and pick the pins that were unlocked for your currently chosen items.

Survey locking will happen on April 24th. This gives you 2 weeks to get your answers in!

I will let you know when the pre-order store will be closing later on.

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NEWS!

I got images from my manufacturer on restocks of the Pride Beetle Angel! As well as the two new colourways which a lot of you have already added to your pledges!

Here's a first look at the nonbinary and intersex beetles!

They came out lovely! I can't wait to have them in my hands :]

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That's all for now!! Here's to the remaining 8 hours of the campaign 🥂
Thank you all for the great reception! :D

Hey everyone!

Great news—all the pins have arrived, and I’ve officially charged cards for shipping! Once the funds clear, I’ll start packing and sending out your Monzzters!

If you want to keep up with what I’m doing next (including how I use the funds), follow along at @docu.pizza on Instagram. I’ll be setting up a booth in Los Angeles this year to keep selling pins and hopefully build a budget that can satisfy all our cravings for the pizza documentary feature!

https://www.instagram.com/docu.pizza/

Thank you so much for being part of this weird, saucy journey. More to come soon!

Troy DeWinne
Docu Pizza

Hello everyone! It is less than 72 hours until the campaign ends now- which is blowing my mind just how fast time is passing! It feels like we just launched yesterday...

But let's not dilly dally too much- You're here for an update on the stretch goals that I promise in the last post.
So here they are!

These pins are all going to be 5 inches in size with rainbow metal, screenprint, sandblasted effects, glow in the dark enamel AND be multi layered for maximum depth effect. They will also cost €69 each because of the difficulty level... I hope you all understand just how complex these pins are to make, and I hope it doesn't deter anyone from pledging for them!!!

I'm kidding.

Happy April Fools everyone!

Not let's start over.... FROM THE TOP!

✨✨✨✨✨

Starting with the Virtue; it's job in the angelic hierarchy can look a little dubious and like its interchangeable with the Dominion choir. However, since I'm taking the executive decision that the Dominion is the keeper of the universe, we're going to shrink the viewpoint for the Virtue and focus on something very Earthly: plants!

These two designs we're both suggestions from your comments on the suggestion post: a weevil and madagascan sunset moth.
I wanted to keep the focus on plantlife on both of these so I'll break down the design phylosophy behind them.

The weevil has a very simple weevil shape, with its wings that will match the other angels with recessed metal. It's abdomen is that of a still un-opened rose, and it sits atop a succulent.
The moth has wings for feet and a halo, while it's wings are pure flowers. The flowers will follow the colour scheme of the actual moth's wings, which are very colourful already. The species of plants on it will be: succulent, green-yellow anthurium, grape hyacinth, helenium, and tulips.

It is YOUR choice on which one of these will be chosen. And you have 24 hours to vote on this before I continue on to make colourways for the next vote.

Moving onto the Archangel.

Something very important to me when I was first starting out the Biblically Accurate Bugs was to put a wasp in good light. At the time I was starting out I didn't know which role it would fulfill, but thanks to the campaign I am very happy to finally give it a very important role: an Archangel.

Archangels are the protectors, the ones who fight off demons and the ones who communicate between the different planes. Different religions have different variations of their roles and how they're referred to in their respective texts; but all we're going to focus on here is that they're the ones who fight and protect.

Assigning a wasp to this choir fits like a charm, I think. Wasps have a very bad reputation in the world, while in reality they quite frankly are pest control. They keep the populations of other bugs down to manageable levels, whether by preying on them or as a parasitic counterpart. They're very intelligent and fascinating creatures in the bug world in my opinion, but get such a bad rep from people unsure on how to interact with them.

So to put them into good light they're getting the same job here like on Earth. This Archangel carries a mighty battleaxe and a kind feathered face with simple yet slim wings.

All three of these pins will be 2 inches and with some sort of special effect- whether its glitter or pearl that is still up for debate. But they will match the other 5 angels with recessed metal wings.

I am also very happy to announce that the Archangel was unlocked last night! So they are going to be made either way! :D

So that leaves us with only 1 stretch goal left... the one a lot of people have been looking forward to and its secrecy.

I wanted to keep this pin for last- as I wasn't entirely sure if I should make it or not. However, there's so many more angel choirs than demonic sins, that I thought that adding one more demon would make the uneven number a little more even.
Luci's head is based off a stag beetle pupa and the rest an amalgamation of other bugs.

Lucifer is going to be a speciality pin.

I am thinking about making it 3 inches in size max. Maybe a little less, I have to print it out and test some sizing on him. But the wings themselves will be transparent stained glass enamel. I am hoping this will give a very nice iridescent shimmer to them in the light.
This design is still very much in progress, and I am absolutely open to hearing your thoughts :) Especially about large sized pins!

Making this pin bigger will also mean the price will be different compared to the rest of the angels and demons sharing the same price point. I wanted to make that clear before anything!

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Now as we're nearing close to the end of the campagin, I'd like to show some of the designs from the other artists participating in the Oddities & Obscura collab project!

This Hooked pin from Fish Guts speaks to me on a spiritual level. And it's a UK campaign as well!

What can I say... I do like me some edgy goths. Check out these gijinkas of cryptids at Cryptid Crushes!

Must I say more? It's a bug! A luna moth bug!! It fits right in <3 This pin is from the Inner Whispers campaign!

This whale fall pin from The Brine Pool steals my heart... honestly all the design do. So many silly and weird creatures in that one!

A hard choice from the Celestial Ocean campaign... but I just do love the colours on these sea dragons.

I love birds! I love griffins!! And the colour scheme on this one is just great. Check out another mythology based campaign, Mytho Menagerie.

I am just obssessed by the stare of this little dude... and Pluto will always be a planet in my heart <3 Check out these planets turned into dragons in The Celestial Dragonarium campaign.

Another bug! More bugs!! Always and forever. Check out another Heaven and Hell themed campaign, The Infinite and Infernal.

Possibly the most intricate pins you'll ever find. The hawk just speak to me on another level even if its not my year! Take a peak at all the Animal Talismans, they're stunning.

I just love this set of gothic western monsters (along with the cyberpunks). Themed Monster Enamel Pins has SO many design, it's really hard to just choose one!

Of course I can't leave out my collab partner either! This little Eyes Angel goober is like me but if I was body parts... well... I'm halfway there! His little itty bitty arms speak to me.
Do check out my partner's Mind, Body and Soul campaign! If you back us both you'll get two freebies pins!

Remember that if you back 6 or more campaigns from this collection of projects then you're eligible to earn a freebie pin from each campaign you back! That's like, a lot of freebie pins I think.


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That's it for the update today!

Make sure to vote in the poll and let me know your thoughts on these new designs! Thank you everyone for being so patient on these after the busy weekend.

Let's get that last pin unlocked!! Woo!!

While working on the files for my factory, I have come to the realization I am unhappy with one of the designs. I tried tweaking the design slightly but in the end, I just couldn't get it to work to my standard.

I've decided the best option is to change the design.

There are three new options and I will allow backers to vote which they'd like to see the most. These were designs that I created earlier but saved for possible future blindbags.

The three options: Bee, Zombie, Red Fox

Please vote as soon as possible so we can get these pins into production.

If you are unhappy with the change and would like to change the pin set you chose, feel free to email me at [email protected] and I would be happy to help. :)