A bunch of the smaller add-on items have arrived! I took some photos, here are just a few. The buttons are also here and I am waiting until I can take video of them to sha...
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October
21 days ago
Wanna see something funny?
I got sent a few prototype photos last night, no mini bags yet, but Bear Chow + Alley Chow really went for it. I neglected to realize that the tail drooping down for...
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October
24 days ago
Please Fill Your Surveys! + Some Early Fulfillment
Hey all, mostly this is a quick reminder to say fill your surveys! We are currently at 74% completed, which is great, but it could definitely be better. Other quick housekeep...
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October
about 1 month ago
48hr Freebie Problem Resolved!
Hey all! If you are receiving a freebie pin because you pledged in the first 48 hours, I have good news! The broken part of the survey has been repaired. If you have already ...
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October
about 1 month ago
Surveys are OUT! 48hr Freebie Choice Problem
Surveys for the campaign have gone live! Please fill them out as soon as you are reasonably able to, but there is currently no big rush. I am sure you've all been getting an ...
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October
about 1 month ago
Smoke tests are turned loose!
It is later than I would have preferred, but smoke surveys are out! If you have received one I would massovely appreciate a prompt response so we can still make the February ...
A bunch of the smaller add-on items have arrived! I took some photos, here are just a few. The buttons are also here and I am waiting until I can take video of them to share, because they turned out SQUISHY which I love! I was expecting them to have a texture but not for them to have any give.
For these types of items we are now just waiting on the plush keychains, collab pins, and lanyards. The meat plush keychain have had their final production models approved and have entered full production. The zebra 2-bone and haunch have also been approved and are ongoing. The mini bags are still undergoing their initial draft, but I will share those ASAP.
With the arrival of the items above a few more orders have been fulfilled early since everything they had were in stock! If you haven't received tracking information then your order still has items that need to arrive even if you got mostly small stuff.
The neon dino bags have been a very bizarre problem. I am not sure what it is about this bag.. there is one specific thing I kept asking for them to fix, and pretty much everything but that one thing keeps getting changed??
What I have been asking to have fixed
Historical re-enactment of my manufacturer trying to correct the bag
I just want them to change the color of the bone applique on the front of the haunch bag to match the bone on the back, because at first it was a unique color, then changed to match the zebra bones, then I was told it matched but it didn't when the sample arrived. The most recent incorrect iteration of this request was changing the yellow on the bottom to match the bone color. This is not a dig on my manu's designers, they are doing their best! But the language barrier can make things go a bit sideways sometimes.
The only reason this is an issue I bring up at all is because right now they are trying to produce safety testing prototypes that should be finalized, not still requiring adjustment, and a ton of time passes between each iteration only for it to come back addressing a problem I didn't have and ignoring the one I did. I am very sorry if this ends up delaying the neon dino bags at all, but right now I don't think it will make us late for any estimates.
That's all for now! We're still in the very early stages of this campaign, so updates will get slower and slower from here now that the smaller items have mostly arrived, but when there ARE updates they will be MILESTONES hurray!
I got sent a few prototype photos last night, no mini bags yet, but Bear Chow + Alley Chow really went for it. I neglected to realize that the tail drooping down for Bear Chow and the simple cylindrical shape of Alley Chow would affect the overall scale of the bag and it turned out uh, well
Oh no
OH NO
Oh geeze
CHUNKY.
PLEASE NOTE THOSE ARE TEST FABRIC COLORS FOR THE GENERAL SHAPE, NOT FINAL COLORS!
These are big. Like bigger than the beetle backpack I designed that turned out to be like wearing a mattress on my back. Which is great for me with my busted spine having an instant resting spot but practical for literally no other purpose that I have found. You could probably throw a whole child away in that fabric trash can. I actually kinda like Alley Chow this size but it would be wildly out of budget. So we're chopping about 8 inches off these, but size-wise that will be just to make the scale match the existing bags.
HOWEVER!!! Mako Chow looks great!! It is larger than expected too, but the taper and the tail saved it. It is not stuffed in these photographs, which it carrying things will make it a appear less tall and to have more of a pinch at the taper of the spine. You can kind of see the same issue with the salmon bag, how it looks too tall/wide, but when a bag is in use with actual items being stored inside it looks very different. That's the big con of going for maximum usable space, but I think the pros of it having even more room to use and it being a lot easier to ship, store, and travel with is worth it. Especially since most folks won't be carrying it empty to begin with.
Mako Chow in profile, meat forward
Mako Chow in profile, tail forward
I will not be raising the price on the pre-order shop just yet, but the final price for Mako Chow is likely to be a bit higher than originally expected. So now is a great time to lock in the current price! I might actually lower the number of orders needed for each bag. I haven't sat down and crunched the numbers yet, but thanks to add-ons being added from surveys we would be far enough along to unlock another stretch goal if this was still the active campaign. I'll be spending some time figuring that out soon!
Hey all, mostly this is a quick reminder to say fill your surveys! We are currently at 74% completed, which is great, but it could definitely be better. Other quick housekeeping:
We're 23 days away from the scheduled survey lock!
For those out there who had completely failed payments for pledges under a certain threshold, your pledge has been cancelled.
For those with card issues above a certain cost, I did reach out privately. Currently those remain.
If you have a 48hr freebie but did not make your selection on your survey for which one you want, please do so! Some folks have done their surveys but have not made their freebie selection.
Safety testing wrapped up and I've been getting asked to make some final approvals before production begins. Little things like tag placement and printed, etc. So that's great!
Still waiting on prototypes for the minis and the premium cut designs, but I did check in to make sure the folks tasked with those are on it.
A small number of you got only stuff that is already fully in stock! This would be the grilled haunch, grilled 2-bone, sticker sheets, and the stickers from the set. If you got just those and had no other items (including freebies) your fulfillment is already underway. I am keen to keep early fulfillments rolling out whenever possible! It is an uncertain world right now and the more I can get out (to international backers especially) the better. The only certain thing with the whole tariffs situation is that it will keep getting dumber and dumber, after all. Between that and my main shipping service (USPS) being under fire I will be looking to get stuff out the door the very moment it can be sent to avoid potential disasters.
Surveys for the campaign have gone live! Please fill them out as soon as you are reasonably able to, but there is currently no big rush. I am sure you've all been getting an avalanche of survey updates so I will keep things as brief as possible:
There is a problem that was not caught in the test pledges, which is that those of you receiving the 48 hour freebie can't make a button choice. I have sent a help request to Backerkit but because it is the weekend this will likely not be resolved until Monday at soonest. Please feel free to wait until I announce this is fixed if you are receiving this freebie!
To reiterate some previous updates: zebra 2-bones are available, and the pre-order shop is open.
A small reminder, I am still very unwell. This has affected my ability to keep up with messages. If you feel I have missed your inquiry please email me at lairbrewservice at gmail dot com and I will respond as soon as I am able.
Pledges with no payment information will soon be canceled, so this is one more reminder to check your payment info if you haven't already!
Manufacturing is already underway for our unlocked and prototyped designs. This includes the plush keychains. It is still very early! Safety testing is still ongoing since multiple bags have to be made to get subjected to all the tests. Other little things like tush tag printing and die-cut production need to happen before sewing bags can start, but those are also underway. I am still waiting to receive mini t-bone prototypes, and many other designs entered prototyping without being unlocked but I will still share them here when I have them.
Other things that have entered manufacturing:
Buttons
Stickers & sticker sheets
Window cling decals
I have held off on lanyards since not many have been ordered and we don't have a mini bag prototype to compare them to yet. I'll give updates on those when they are available.
