Hi all!
I'm happy to inform you that all of the items have now arrived and I'm getting set up to begin shipping next week. You can check below for photos of all the pins!
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Lorebird
about 2 months ago
Manufacturing Update (and some other things)
Hi all!
It's been a while since the last update! I want to start by saying that manufacturing is wrapping up and the project is still fully on track according to the origina...
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Lorebird
3 months ago
Quick Update Before the Holidays!
Hi all!
This is just a quick update to let you all know that the pins, stickers, and acrylic items have gone into production! Everything is moving along more or less on sche...
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Lorebird
4 months ago
Surveys going out
Hi all!
Surveys will start rolling out in the next couple of days, so keep an eye out for those! The sooner I get everyone's selections, the sooner I ca...
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Lorebird
5 months ago
Campaign is done! Info about next steps
Hi all!
Apologies for the late update! I just now noticed that my original "yay we're done!" update... never actually went out. I apparently only saved the...
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Lorebird
5 months ago
Final 48 hours!
Hi all!
Happy almost Halloween!
48 hours remain! We're in the final push of the campaign, and things are looking pretty good! We've got two stretch goals unlocked and a littl...
I'm happy to inform you that all of the items have now arrived and I'm getting set up to begin shipping next week. You can check below for photos of all the pins!
This also means it's time for me to lock orders and charge cards for shipping and any add-ons you've added. You should receive an email from Backerkit soon to check your order with a 48-hour warning. You can make any changes you'd like to your order between now and that cutoff on Friday, after which your card will be charged. I'll also be locking addresses around the same time for shipping purposes. If you have any questions about that process in the meanwhile, you can contact me or Backerkit support.
I'll send out a more detailed post on the timing of shipping at the start of next week as I get everything set up, but I expect the full process to take about two weeks from addresses locking.
It's been a while since the last update! I want to start by saying that manufacturing is wrapping up and the project is still fully on track according to the original timeline, meaning that orders will lock sometime around the end of February and fulfillment will begin in March. So, for those of you who just want that solid info, you can stop reading here and wait for the next update about quality check and fulfillment updates.
If you're curious about some of the finer details, and want to see a sneak peek of the pins (plus a surprise!), keep reading!
I want to extend my apologies on the lateness of this update. Basically, I've been trying to get some conclusive answers on how the tariff and shipping changes in the US are going to affect this project. Since the trade situation of the US keeps changing so rapidly, however, the concrete effects have proven very difficult to pin down. At this stage, I am expecting there to be minimal impact as manufactured items arrive in the coming weeks. Of course, this could all change at a moment's notice. What is more or less confirmed is that I have enough of a margin built into this project to deal with any additional tariffs that might hit me, so fulfillment isn't at risk -- it's more of a question of how complicated and/or expensive it's going to be for me to actually receive the pins and other items.
And, as manufacturing is almost complete, I have some sneak peek photos to share with you all! Please note that these pictures are from the manufacturer, so they're not staged or lit for product photos -- I'll get better pictures once I have the pins on hand.
Cottage pin, looking nice and abandoned!
Freebie mini pin!
Look at all the writers in the Tudor mansion!
And, the suprise: they glow in the dark!
Glow!
The ghosts on every pin have a glow-in-the-dark effect on the enamel, meaning that they react to UV light (blacklight) and glow in the dark. So, just like my bottled ghost pins before, these guys are going to give off a ghostly glow in dark or blacklit rooms. I'm personally really hyped for how they're looking with the glow. I can't wait to get these pins on-hand so I can set up some interesting photo shoots!
That's all this time! You can expect the next update in a couple of weeks, toward the end of the month, hopefully with more photos and some more details on the fulfillment process.
As always, thank you all very much for your support and patience. None of this would be possible without you, and I'm truly grateful to me making these pins real -- even with the impending US trade war throwing wrenches into the process. Tariffs or no tariffs, these pins are looking fantastic, and I can't wait for you all to add them to your collection.
This is just a quick update to let you all know that the pins, stickers, and acrylic items have gone into production! Everything is moving along more or less on schedule for the while being and I'm hopeful that the political situation (particularly in terms of tariffs) won't impact the project significantly. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as things move along!
Those of you who aren't interested in any of the survey statistics can safely stop reading here! I wish you all lovely holidays and a happy start to the new year!
Those of you who are interested... keep reading! I have some interesting top 3's for you. Incidentally, about 80% of you filled in the survey during the first week!
Top 3 pin designs: 1. Victorian 2. Tudor Mansion 3. Art Nouveau Villa
Top 3 stickers: (Craftsman/early bird beats all other stickers, but I decided not to count it for that reason!) 1. Victorian 2. Gothic 3. Art Nouveau
Top 3 acrylic: 1. Colombian 2. Craftsman 3. Art Nouveau
Top 3 add-ons by funds collected: 1. Extra pins from the Haunted Dream House set 2. Haunted Dream House stickers! 3. Sweet & Spooky pins
Overall, not a lot of surprises! I expected the Victorian to win in pin designs, although the Tudor Mansion beating out Art Nouveau was a little unexpected. The Gothic house had more success as a sticker, but otherwise the top 3 there is very similar. The Colombian house beating other acrylics (at almost 150% the next most popular design!) was a very happy surprise for me personally! I think the design will look really good in acrylic form, so I'm excited for that. I'm also delighted to see so many of you go for the Sweet & Spooky pins!
Anyway, that's about it from my end. Again, I hope you all have a fantastic end of the year and a great start to the new one. I'll be taking some time off from business things over the holidays, but honestly this campaign has been such a lovely way to close out the year as an independent artist. Your support means the world to me and I look forward to being able to ship all the dream houses and their resident ghosts to their new owners next year.
Surveys will start rolling out in the next couple of days, so keep an eye out for those! The sooner I get everyone's selections, the sooner I can get the pins into production.
Your timely response is appreciated!
To answer some questions I've received:
Cards will be charged in February when all the items have arrived and are being prepared to ship. You will receive a reminder to double check your address and payment details before then, so don't worry!
Those of you who had failed payments on Backerkit will also be able to fix that issue through the survey. Please note, however, that your pledge may be dropped if you don't fix the issue or contact me before 60 days have passed since the campaign ended.
Surveys submitted before December 15th are guaranteed to receive their chosen items (pins, stickers, etc.). Due to manufacturing constraints, if you fill your survey after this date, you may be unable to choose some options due to limited manufacturing runs. As such, please be sure to respond to the survey as soon as you can! I want to make sure everyone gets exactly what they wanted, but once manufacturing is process, adding more units can become prohibitively expensive. I appreciate your understanding on this issue.
Any other questions? Let me know! I look forward to finding out which designs end up being the most popular. I'll send out another update around Dec 15th with some stats on the most popular designs and add-ons, in case any of you are interested in that kind of data the way I am.
That's all for now!
As always, thank you so much for your support! I appreciate you all so, so much! -Anni
Apologies for the late update! I just now noticed that my original "yay we're done!" update... never actually went out. I apparently only saved the draft and didn't publish it. Sorry about that! I definitely didn't mean to leave you all hanging for all this time.
So! Pintober is over and the campaign is done. We did fund almost all the designs, so you'll have a lot of options to choose from! Thank you all so much for your support of this project. It really means the world to me that so many people want to see these designs turned into real pins. I've been hard at work finishing my files for manufacturing, and I'm very excited to get that ball rolling soon.
But what are the next steps from your perspective? Here's a rough outline of the schedule:
November: Surveys will go out within the next two weeks. Once you get your survey link, you can choose your rewards, grab some add-ons, and add in your address. If you're moving soon, don't worry! You'll get a chance to check and change your address before shipping happens.
December: Surveys will be open for 15 days. After this, responses will be locked so I have some idea of how many of each pin we need for manufacturing. You'll get a reminder to double check your order before it's locked.
March 2025: Shipping will begin! You'll get a chance to double check your address and other details before your package goes out.
Behind the scenes, I'll get things into production in December. Stickers, acrylic items, and pins will start arriving in January and February, after which I'll quality check everything and start packing everyone's orders. By the end of March, the project should be wrapped up! If any delays happen, I'll let everyone know as soon as possible and generally keep you up to date on where things are at.
In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know! Apologies again for the late update on this -- I really thought I had published it and didn't think to check back until now.
As always, thank you so much for your support! None of this would be possible without your help and patience. I'm deeply grateful to you all, and also very excited to make everyone's pin collections just a little bit more haunted soon!
