Woof, shit fucking sucks, and shit just stopped sucking enough that I can get some thoughts typed out beyond "things are still happening" and "I'm so sorry."
Work chaos, personal chaos, and customs issues have been devouring every spare second I have for the past few weeks. Cherry on top, my ever-reliable work Honda decided that this is the first time, in almost 30 thousand miles with me, that a stock part was going to break and nearly total itself.
Thankfully, that didn't happen, and we caught the timing belt tension just in time. Lesson learned, $3,000 spent, when your Boxer the Horse-esque Japanese workhorse vehicle starts complaining, listen to it earlier.
Now that things have calmed down a little, I have a couple updates on C3.
Locking pin backs have been ordered, and are looking to get here the middle of April. They'll be tallied out, bagged into packs, and ready to be tossed into orders. Why are they not here yet? Thank UPS.
Stickers have been formatted, and ordered! We don't have an ETA on them yet, but, mercifully, most designs use the same outside cut path. Same plan, once these arrive, they will be assigned to packing slips before pins arrive.
All (non custom) pin artworks are done, sent to my manufacturer, and the first deposit for machining has been paid. We're officially starting production on C3's main event.
Custom pins are still, unfortunately, not done. I am running on fumes and I owe custom artwork backers the energy and focus to give them the best possible artwork.
I've been lagging behind on getting everything done, so it's only fair: I'm extending surveys and preorders until next Friday, April 3rd.
You will be able to add new pins, change your picks, and place new preorders until then. We will be locking orders that night.
This is also the new deadline to fix failed card charges. If your credit card on file with BackerKit is NOT up to date, make sure it's corrected by April 3rd. I will be cancelling all orders that are unpaid by the middle of April. You will not have a chance to pay for your pledge or get campaign rates after this.
KEN'S PIN HUSTLE SPRING CLEANING
To lessen the load of some of the time-wasting bullshit happening in the background, I've got a sale up on the KPH store. Most of my prior projects are up at a considerable discount.
BIRD CRIMES and CRITTER CRIMES enamel pins are 30% off. GOLDEN AGE PARROTS pins are 35% off. Both projects also have B-grade 5 packs for $25 and $30 each. Get some rejects for dirt cheap wholesale prices!
LITTLE SHITS, my ever-popular 1" stickers, are finally back up in the store for a bit. I'll be taking them down at the end of this sale to re-inventory them. If you want some of these cuties, snag 'em now - there's birds, dogs, zoo animals, and some pride-themed little guys.
I've also listed my COOP CO-OP chicken pins, finally. There's some wonderful cartoon chooks now available, for my lawn raptor enjoyers. This is the first time I've ever had these pins for sale outside of a convention, so check them out!
These'd be a nice Easter egg prize for an adult who's outgrown the hunts, or a secular spring piece.
If you're interested in anything from my shop, and rightfully want to save money on shipping, leave me a note to hold on to your stuff 'till we ship C3 out this summer.
Ok, Ken, what was that fucking, broken link, or whatever, last time?
So, last update, I posted a banner for something fun and unique and totally real I promise. Unfortunately, BackerKit's technical back end disagreed. Immediately, I got DM's from like a dozen of you asking what the hell the 404 was.
Silver lining here. There's more to talk about, more to show off, and I got some of my crunch rage out in the emails getting the miscommunications sorted out. Awesome.
It's no secret I've been slogging a lot more on stuff since GOLDEN AGE. I've been cooking ways to deal with it. It's a game of balancing unfucking my personal life, managing increasingly large-scope projects, and making sure my rent still gets paid.
The solution to dodging burnout is a passion project.
This is, also, the solution to increasing creator concerns about BackerKit's official group projects.
TRIBUTES is a collection of fan-made video game pins by experienced enamel pin artists.
HUSTLE regulars will probably smirk at some names in here: we have bird queen Corviforms, "what the fuck why did nobody make circuit board pins before this"artist CZGold, among others who aren't quite ready to show their hands yet.
Here's a few deliberately crunchy previews from the group:
A suspiciously PS1 JRPG-esque concept by @itsyaboijordaan
A dog that missed its Frontline dose from @AlstroArts
If you're a video game or visual novel fan, give this project a look. Craving some obscure cult JRPG pins? Miss your favorite childhood PC edutainment game? Salty that all your favorite characters ever get is a funko pop? We got you.
We are still in the VERY early stages of stuff on our end. Our final creator lineup will be revealed in May. There's some incredible artists from the cartoon and furry side of things, who I'm proud to have on board.
I will be making Metaphor: ReFantazio fan pins - both 2.5" Tarot style display pieces, and 1.5" cameo portraits.
TRIBUTES is launching in November, and this is meant to be a sneak peek to ready your wallet.
