I got photos of Moose's last prototype early this morning! He was a bit of a struggle. His last iteration had so many odd changes that I didn't even share it. But now we have one handsome lad with the biggest shit eating grin I've seen on a plush yet! He also has a bakery worth of cake which was unintentional but hilarious regardless.
His spots and much of his mouth are applique to keep those portions soft and pliable. Unlike the werewolves he has no faux fur and the longer pile minky is part of his mohawk only. The contrast between the browns isn't as visible here, but his ears, nose, anf claws are all a darker brown than the face and legs.
He will be shipping to me shortly, along with Skye's updated look. Those of you who saw Skye in person at Anthrocon likely noticed his pinkish peach mane instead of the white we'll be using in the final take. I'll be getting out to take photos one they're here!
Smoke test surveys went out!
Most folks have not filled them out, so please check to see if it was sent to you. Let me know if you encounter any issues! This is going to be a weird one since I don't believe pay in 4 folks get their surveys until their payment plans are completed, so I imagine troubleshooting will be ongoing just from the staggered nature of things.
Since we have a final prototype for Moose before surveys have gone out there will not be any order lock delay waiting on finalizing his appearance. If you received a smoke test survey and wanted Moose here is your reminder to change that choice if you are unhappy with this final iteration! Or maybe a reminder to pick him instead if you like him as much as I do.
First, I know I'm a bit late! Technically everything wrapped up on Monday, but I was still on the road coming home from AC until around midnight, so I wasn't able to post then and spent Tuesday just trying to recover some brain function. I'm still stuck in bed because of injury relapse after a weekend like that which kinda goes without saying by this point but my brain was finally on enough for me to get some more In One Place kind of work done.
You will see some differences between the campaign offerings and the pre-order store! Specifically, the giant plush are all only available unstuffed, in-stock plush are available to add to your order, and Udon is up for an unlock order. If we make enough on the pre-order store, especially if it is direct orders of Udon, he can still be made! The in-stock plush are also available since the pre-order store is more of a direct sale than an actual campaign. Stuffed plush will not become available through the pre-order store. If you absolutely require a stuffed plush you will want to wait for the plush to stock on lairbrew.com.
THE BASICS OF WHAT'S NEXT:
First, I need to actually receive the funding. This is going to be a difficult one this time folks. Not because of Backerkit, but because there has been a tremendous amount in failed payment, and because of the percentage of pay-in-4. Almost 13 thousand in pay-at-once payments have failed thanks to this being a sizeable pledge that can cause many banks some alarm, and about another 15 thousand have not been collected yet. That puts me at having received an amount that is frankly not yet useful. All of the money that has been received is going in to an account where it will sit untouched until we've successfully received enough to start manufacturing.
Currently I anticipate we will be delayed by 4 months, which is the amount of time it takes for Pay-in-4 payments to conclude, since I can't know how many failed payments will turn in to successes. That means instead of February 2026 fulfillment we're looking at more like June 2026. This delay would basically be us in a holding pattern waiting to place the order once we can pay it all off up front, which is just as well, since:
August means the circus is back in town. There's already a whiff of Entry of the Gladiators on the winds since the clown running this country is starting to honk his nose about imaginary deals getting made. I went in to this expecting that things might return to the nuclear business killing levels they were before, but if that ends up being the case for a solid 4 months past elephants in costume getting trotted out then all that set aside money is most likely going to just be returned. We have selected a secondary manufacturer in a country with stronger trade ties to our state in the US, which means I do have a plan in place if the response to tariffs. Only time will tell if this plan remains affordable.
Once money is had, manufacturing actually begins if everything is actually dancing to a more hopeful tune. The first step will be making production samples that will go through Plush Hell in the name of safety testing. These are extremely large plush made with a difficult to work with material, and the ones being fulfilled through the Backerkit are going to be shipping stuffed which means only 2 to 3 plush per box. So safety testing, manufacturing, and shipping is not currently anticipated to be arriving at the station early.
TL;DR: Right now we're basically just waiting for time to pass and money to move.
After I'm done resting and can ambulate properly it is back to the pre-order stuffing mines for me, so expect updates to be fairly sparse starting out. There isn't going to be much at all to report on until it is time to move forward with manufacturing. Once that process actually begins we are fully locked in and there won't be any stopping the project from hurtling forward, so until we know the path is safe we're not gonna run it. I'll see you as soon as I have anything of substance to share!
WE FINALLY MADE IT!!! Just in time too!! If you were waiting for a guarantee on funding now's the time! Especially since there will be no preorders for stuffed plush. The campaign is ending Monday, so let's see how far we go! Thank you all SO MUCH for your support!!! I obviously could not do something of this scale without you!
We're at Anthrocon for 1 more day! If you're here you can stop by to see the prototypes!
There has always been someone at the table whenever I had a chance to snap a photo! This is the only one I have without accidentally showing strangers' faces. But the designs have been getting lots of love! So have our new kobolds and prop bags. That's an 8ft long table Udon is on!
Fulfillment date update upcoming:
A lot of the payments for this project are Pay In 4! Enough that we are likely to be delayed by at least 2 months, or up to 4. That just means moving estimates forward, not actual changes to products or the part you play as a backer! I'll have a better idea of the changes once the campaign's final count rolls in.
We're going to be on the road home when the campaign closes! I'll post as soon as I'm able and we have a final total. Thank you all again!!!
The gorgeous werewolf stickers by guest artist Charmsey have been completed! They look so good!! Each sticker is just 1 of the 3 colors, but here they are all together: The campaign itself is having some trouble. We are still fluctuating between 28k - 30k. If all the folks who've canceled hadn't done so we'd be more than funded which is a little disheartening, but as long as we stay this close I'm pretty confident we'll pull through. I know these are expensive plush and times are very, very hard right now, so please know I understand that backing is not a menial thing and I appreciate it more than I can articulate.
We're headed to Anthrocon in just a couple weeks and Udon, Garth, and Skye will be going with us!
We are going to have other plush prototypes too, like the 4 new kobold colors and Slash. Their released counterparts will all be for sale!
Valentino the Grey Werewolf and the Giant Gryphon will also be available in limited supply.
Hey all! After crunching some numbers on a new stuffing setup and supplier, I decided to lower the price of the 40in plush.
40in plush are now $275, down from $300!
Overall this is good news, and that update is reflected everywhere necessary! Plush only bundle prices have remained the same since their discounts were already as steep as I can go, and that has remained the case.
Whatever amount you backed for has not been touched, and nobody has had their pledge automatically edited or cancelled. I can't adjust prices on backed items or change backer levels for backers. The higher cost backer levels and add-ons have been hidden, so if you pledged for a non-earlybird price 40in plush, or got a 40in plush as an add-on, I recommend editing your backer level/add-ons to instead be for the new lower priced items! If you pledged for an earlybird 40in the price is the same and you do not need to take any action.
We have been hovering at our current funding point for around a week now, but we've remained SO close. We just need that last push!
I make a lot less on these on these plush than you might imagine, and pretty much every plush sold via Backerkit I don't see a penny of profit for at all. My reward is getting to make the plush and nothing more! So please do not look at this price drop and expect it to go any lower. I absolutely can not, and so will not, do that. Still, I apologize for the major change. I hope the fact it is base prices going down for everyone isn't disappointing!
