Hey, all!

Sorry for the delay in updates. Not a whole lot new to report, as the tariff situation is still very volatile, but we expect to have at least a few more of the designs in the mail to us before the end of summer.

After the last update, our project manager spent 3 weeks sick in bed while managing the project for the tarot deck itself (we were funding the remaining card art), followed by recovering just in time to spend a week out of town for Kublacon [which fell on their birthday as well! 45 years!] (and where we saw at least one of you lovely backers in person when you stopped by our table!). After returning home from that, they have had a series of medical appointment follow-ups with their specialists only to learn they need three surgeries this year! Deviated septum (ENT specialist was waiting for their lungs to recover enough to withstand surgery), optic nerve lesion/pit in the left eye (they'll share the imaging from the optometrist below; it's actually on both eye nerves but is currently only dramatically affecting the left eye), and surgery on their left hip (avascular necrosis of femoral head alongside arthritis).

They are home for now, but over the next few weeks will be getting all those surgeries scheduled, so we don't know exact timings on some things until those are on the calendar to plan around. Will try to update monthly as we move forward, as much as health allows us to remember, so don't be afraid to poke in the comments to ask for updates - the reminders are appreciated, given the state of ... well ... *waves hands around* everything.

Here's the eye scans from last week's appointment. left vs right, and last year vs this. You can see the layer separation happening, it's kind of crazy!

I know it's been a bit, but we had to delay some of the remakes due to personal issues happening at our project manager's home. If you backed Pintopia 2, you've already seen this update (sorry we're still catching up to all the places that need updates added!) but for those who didn't - our project manager who coordinates all of this and runs the campaigns and handles fulfilment has been dealing with both health concerns, and toxic housemates that assaulted them and both stole possessions and damaged property, and required both a restraining order and the local sheriff to remove the persons from their home when they overstayed past their eviction date.

This has finally been resolved, and their health is on the upswing of recovery for now (though their lungs remain sensitive and their cancer diagnosis is still pending, and a surgery is thus far delayed). So things should finally be getting back to normal with getting the products in.

Of course, there's also now the new tariff situation on the horizon. Enamel pins are not made in any meaningful way in most places outside of China, and the few that do are at 3x or more the cost. So making them elsewhere becomes unfeasible. We are committed to completing these, but know that the current state of tariffs mean that it may take us some extra time, as we refuse to pass those unexpected costs on to you folks.

We will send out soon the pins already in our possession - if you'd like us to hang on to them until we have your full order, we're happy to do so! And if you'll be at Midwest Game Fest in Kansas City, MO May 1-3rd or Kublacon in Burlingame, CA May 23-25, you can pick them up in person from us in the dealer's room and save yourself a few bucks of shipping. 

We are still waiting on some of the designs, as we had to get some remade. The glass effect can be tricky to get right! But we do appreciate your patience, and understand that it's coming up on a year in April. So what we're going to try to do is get the orders out starting next week for the pins that we do have on hand so far.