Bonus update! 👀 I just got some fresh sample pictures in from my plushie manu with the BRAND NEW fabric sample color! We can now compare together the original red plushie to the updated burgundy version :) Sadly, we have to pick just one, so let me know in the poll / comments below which color you prefer:

We did another test run with this burgundy fabric to try and match the original artwork closer, and I think we finally got it / got as close as the physical materials can get! If we go with this version, then it'll match the initial vision of the design, as well as the freebie holographic sticker that'll come with each plushie.

Or, we could go with the more classic look of a bright, vibrant red little mushroom friend, which will veer from the artwork a little bit, but still stand out in your collection.

What do you guys think?! I kinda love both 😅, so this is where I need your help deciding which version goes into full production. Everything about each sample is exactly the same, aside from the fabric colors. Note: the overall shapes will vary slightly between every plushie due to the nature of the item, but the mold / pattern is consistent between them. 

Hey there everyone!

A big shiny package full of gorgeous stickers arrived at my doorstep this week, and I'm thrilled to share the first look with you all! 🤩 Check out all of our new holographic stickers and sticker sheets from the Shroomie Shoppe project:

✦ All stickers are made of a high quality, waterproof / UV proof vinyl that's easy to peel, and lasts for ages!

✦ The individual stickers are all made from the same company that produced my previous holo stickers, so rest assured on the consistent quality.

✦ I also used this manufacturer for the sticker sheets above, which is a different producer than my last sticker sheets from the Shroomie Roomies project. These new sticker sheets are the same size as my previous ones, but the cardstock / vinyl is just a little bit thinner. However, the entire individual sticker borders are holographic on these new sheets, rather than having background artwork borders :)👍

I think they all turned out great, and I'm excited for you guys to bask in the super shiny glory once you get them in-hand too!

You should have all received an automated email from BackerKit about an automatic order lock for this project in 48hrs. That means you have the next 48hrs to make any last edits to your order (like if you decide to add on any of these lovely new stickers ✨), and then your carts will lock, meaning you won't be able to make any more edits after then.

If down the road, you do decide that you want to add on anything else, you can still use the Shroomie Shoppe - Pre-Order Store, and just notify me ([email protected]) with your order / pledge number to combine the shipping.

Simply log into BackerKit > click your profile icon in the top right corner > click "Your Pledges & Surveys" > at the top, navigate to "Your Surveys" > find and click "Shroomie Shoppe" from the list > then find the "Edit Add-Ons" button at the bottom.

✨ You can also quickly access your survey by having a direct link emailed to you here: Shroomie Shoppe - Reward Survey

Orders are locking for quantity count purposes, but I'll be waiting until we're closer to shipping / order fulfillment before I charge your payment methods for the outstanding balances (shipping costs + any add-ons purchased). With the tariff situation continuously changing on a moment's notice, I'm choosing to be patient, and wait this out a bit before making any firm decisions on how to handle the looming tariff costs. Rest assured, I'll remain transparent with you guys and let you know how this project may be affected as things develop. I won't be cancelling anything, but there is a chance of needing to delay shipment until this all hopefully blows over. Hard to say anything for sure right now, but we'll navigate it together as it comes. 
 

There are still 9 backers with incomplete surveys, so if this is you, please take a few minutes to fill it out (Shroomie Shoppe - Reward Survey), as this will provide me with your pin selection(s) & shipping address, that are of course necessary to receive your order :)👍 Thanks SO much again to everyone who already submitted theirs so quickly!

Until next update, I hope you all stay safe, healthy and well! And as always, stay shroomy 🍄💖

Hello again, Shroomie gang! Hope you've all been well :)

You may have noticed that surveys have not locked yet, and that cards have not been charged. This was intentional, despite the previous update giving a specific lock/charge date, BECAUSE: I wanted to give you all a chance to check out and snag this brand-new pin design that's getting added to the collection:

We can all thank a super wonderful backer, Starbask, for pledging for a custom pin tier and coming up with such an adorable concept! Fun fact: the four cats tucked into the scenery here are based off of this backer's real-life kitties, two of which love to climb while the other two are content to flop and chill on the ground :) The big pink tree is also based off of their favorite real-life crab apple tree that's filled with childhood memories. It was so special getting to personalize a design like this, and I hope you all love the new pin as much as we do!

This design is not only packed with a large amount of color layers, but it'll match the bigger jar scenery pins in size at 2 inches. It'll also be hard enamel with double back posts and my engraved logo on the backside. Unlike the other jar pins though, this design will shimmer brightly in a rich rose gold plating to really bring out and complement the vibrant colors of this little garden. 

Simply log into BackerKit > click your profile icon in the top right corner > click "Your Pledges & Surveys" > at the top, navigate to "Your Surveys" > find and click "Shroomie Shoppe" from the list > then find the "Edit Add-Ons" button at the bottom.

✨ You can also quickly access your survey by having a direct link emailed to you here: Shroomie Shoppe - Reward Survey

👉 EDIT: The "Cat Cottage Garden" pin is also available as a pin selection choice in the main survey questions, so you can either select it as one of the pins that you pledged for, or grab it as an additional pin in the Add-Ons section!

Since this final pin just now got finished, I'm of course extending the close-off date for orders, and won't be locking them down or charging cards until April 17, 2025. This gives 2 more weeks for you all to make any edits to your orders and get your payment method ready for charge.

Don't worry too much though, even if you find yourself wanting to add something else to your pledge further down the road, there's always the Shroomie Shoppe - Pre-Order Store, which if you use, I can easily combine that order with your main campaign pledge (and I'll manually refund the shipping cost on any Pre-Order store purchases so that you're not paying for shipping twice)!

I've been super excited to share the new plushie updates with you all :) Especially since the big blue shroom is getting a sweet upgrade! In my initial sample, the bottom of the mushroom had a flat piece of carboard, cut to the shape of the design, in order to let it sit flat and stand up on its own. However, after having the sample in person for a short while, I noticed that the bottom board easily got bent and distorted, which made the plushie not stand very well on its own anymore. More importantly though, this stiff sheet of cardboard made the overall plushie really ... non-cuddle-able. The big fluffy mushroom cap at the top is SO ridiculously fun to squish, hug and snuggle with, but I couldn't ever comfortably snuggle with the whole plush due to that obnoxious board layer at the bottom.

Never fear though, a solution has been found! I've been working closely with my plush manufacturer over the past month, brainstorming different ideas. We ended up adding a layer of beads just to the bottom of the mushroom, so it'll be slightly weighted now (just under 1 pound)! This not only lets our Shroomie friend sit flat like in the design, but it now stands securely, tall and proud on its own now that it's no longer top-heavy.

Check out this clip from the factory (I WISH I could upload a video here instead of a GIF so you could hear the satisfying smack sound of those weighted beads hitting the table 😆):

This plushie is going to be SO great in person, guys. I truly cannot wait for us all to get to squish our fuzzy lil new mushroom friends in-hand!

And speaking of lil fungi — here's the latest on the Mini Mushroom Plushie:

As you can see, the image quality isn't the best 😅, but I'm really pleased with the larger mushroom cap, darker face and embroidered lines under the cap, and the addition of blush! We also shrunk the legs a bit to make them fit that signature stubby Shroomie look, AND ... a small loop has been added to the top of the cap, so you guys are now free to add your own keychain attachment!

The biggest thing of course, is still the color of this mushroom. Personally, I'm actually digging the look of this vibrant red on the current sample, but we agree that it doesn't match the original artwork. So, we've been discussing other color swatches, and found a new fabric color to test that should fit the deeper burgundy color of the art much better. We're going to try a new sample using the G81 fabric (you can see a sliver of it in the top left of the pics above) and see how it compares to the G55 color previously used. Stay tuned!

❓ Even though this Mini Mushroom Plushie is currently a bit of a brighter red than the artwork, what do you think of the color? Do you still like it, or do you only want to see the plushie in a deeper burgundy palette?

All of the Shroomie Shoppe pin designs have already long-been approved and are ready for production :)👍 Now that this final new pin (Cat Cottage Garden) is complete and sent off to the factory, everything will officially begin! I would've liked to have the production process started sooner, but with a crazy busy life schedule right now, it took me a bit longer to finalize and confirm all of the pantone colors + more recently, design and complete the new cottage pin. But the ball is rolling now, and I'm really stoked to receive and share production process pics as they come in!

Stickers have also been ordered, and should be the first finished items that we see, since they're much quicker to produce than our other items.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I'm here to help and answer questions if you need any assistance with your orders / surveys! Take care, and stay shroomy 💪🍄

Hi there fellow fungi friends! March is upon us (can you believe it?!), and with the new month, your Reward Surveys have sprung up as well ;) I'm SO thrilled to see that over half of you have already submitted (way to go, and THANKS so much for being incredible)!! 

✦ BackerKit calls it a "survey", but it's more like a shopping form where you confirm your pledge tier, shipping address and get another chance to shop all the campaign's add-on goodies (as well as all of my previous merch). 👀👍

✦ Your order can only be shipped to you if you've submitted your Reward Survey! That's why it's so important that you fill this out and complete it as soon as possible, so that I have an accurate count of how many pins / plushies / stickers to order from my manufacturers. Thank you in advance for your submitting yours ASAP!

 

✦ In the Reward Survey, you can also cast your vote for what kind of future project(s) you'd like to see from me :) It's thanks to everyone's votes during my last project that we got tiny jar pins + more Shroomies!

✦ I'm keeping surveys open for about 3 weeks, so orders will lock and any remaining balances will be charged on March 31/April 1.

✦ If you're a backer who used the "Pay Over Time" option, then your survey will automatically send only after your pledge balance has been paid in full. This will either be 4 months (4 payments) after the campaign's end, or as soon as all 4 payments have been made (if you choose to pay the full remaining balance early). Note: your survey is on a different timeline than everyone else's, due to the nature of pay-over-time. So please don't worry about your pledge getting locked early—the March 31 lock will be for all non-pay-over-time backer surveys that are completed. Rest assured, your survey will still come, will have full access to everything, and will have some time after completion before it locks. 

✧ Your Reward Survey has automatically been sent to your email inbox. If you don't see it, be sure to check the spam folder. If for some reason you still can't find it / don't have it, there are 2 other ways you can access it:

1️⃣: Log into BackerKit > click your profile icon in the top right corner > click "Your Pledges & Surveys" > at the top, navigate to "Your Surveys" > find and click "Shroomie Shoppe" from the list

2️⃣: Use the link here to have the survey re-sent to your email: Shroomie Shoppe - Reward Survey

If you missed the live campaign and want a chance to grab any of the Shroomies and shiny goods from this project, now's your time! This Pre-Order shop has everything that the live project did (at the same campaign prices) + all of my previous pins & stickers that are still in stock and ready for a loving home :)

👉 Shroomie Shoppe - Pre-Order Store 👈

Note: if you're already a backer and have a Reward Survey, there's no need to use the Pre-Order store, since you have access to the same shop-front within your survey. But you can share the link with family & friends, since it's there for anyone who hasn't ordered yet. 😉
Also, after surveys lock, if you decide later on that you want to grab anything else, then feel free to use this Pre-Order shop, and I'd be happy to combine your orders for shipping.

Alright, I saved the best part for last ... 👀 Our first-look at the mini Shroomie plush just came in, and now I get to share it with you all and bask in its cuteness together!

Please note: the very first sample of a plushie design is always more like a rough draft, VS how the final will be. I've already submitted edit notes on this design so that it'll better match the original artwork. So, no need to worry if you feel like it looks a little off. I'm already on it! 💪🍄

Several little details are being adjusted, but the biggest thing will be making the mushroom cap much wider.

Look how silly and squishable our little guy is though! I'm so stoked for this one to go through production, and really really grateful that you guys voted for this design and made it possible 😂💖

Thank you for following along and for being a part of this shroomy journey! Please feel free to reach out any time if you have questions, or just drop a comment for fun. I absolutely love reading and responding to comments here, and especially value your guys' thoughts on the items we're making.

❓ Question for fun: do you have a favorite type of mushroom, and how do you like to enjoy them (foraging, photography, cook with, etc.)?

My dad and I would often find wild mushrooms growing in the yard outside, and would put 'em in a vase / bowl to enjoy like a bouquet of flowers until they'd wilt 😂

Until next time!