Series 2 (and hopefully 3) of my gacha moths! Previously just 1 collection, these adorable 22mm pins all sold out - and this time I'm bringing new colorways to Backerkit!
Welcome to Pintober! — a celebration of creativity and collaboration from a diverse group of artists collectively running enamel pin crowdfunding projects from Oct 8th through Nov 1st.
Freebie Cross-Collaboration Pins —Back 3 or more Pintober campaigns and get a free sweet treat mini-pin from each of the artists you have supported! 🍬🍬🍬
The gummy moth pin will have a special metal color: ...and is fully translucent enamel, with 2 print colors on top!
This isn't an official part of Pintober, we just wanted to do this again. My part of our collab is the "abduction"-themed moth I designed, free to all who back both of our campaigns for at least 1 pin each!
This is a glow in the dark hot pink enamel with 7 print colors. The metal color will be the same as for Design 3 (info below under "moths explained")! For our last cross-collab, we swapped our metal bases and then drew the print ourselves, but this time we switched it up and designed them based on the other's campaign!
In addition to the pin freebies, I also have a freebie holographic moth sticker for everyone who gets 1 or more moth pins! Like the pins, this moth's design was made up by myself, but how cool would it be if it existed? The same moths are covering "Blue-Moth Girl"'s (I know, I'm so inventive) face in the 4" matte vinyl sticker that is not only available as a freebie to all returning backers, but also as an add-on in matte and glitter holographic.
Each moth will be 22mm wide with a clear epoxy layer, which the printing is on top of. Here's a close-up of one of the first moths to show what I mean!
With the moth septum ring KS when I got those made, there was a freebie glow in the dark moth sticker for all physical reward pledges, using the biohazard mini moth pin design. However, I've been working on a new art style on-and-off for about a year now, so the moth-themed stickers look a bit different this time, as shown. Those freebie stickers are included in the base unlockable goal, of course. I'm excited to be using this art style for more and more things over time (primarily on my pudding charms right now)!
But let's get down to it - which moths are in the main goal, and what's going on with them?
Design 1:
This one is inspired by...a dark party kei type of aesthetic. OR, a pastel goth spin on the type of funky nostalgic carpeting used in, for example, arcade and bowling alley flooring! This took quite a while to get perfect; it has 6 print colors and a glittery black enamel base (the glitter is inspired by how shiny the fibers in those carpets are!). The metal is a dyed glossy pantone match to the file.
Design 2:
This one is inspired by 8-16 bit sidescrolling dungeon crawler type video games! Very oddly specific, too. All 3 printed colors over black enamel will glow in the dark, while this is the approximate shade the metal will be:
Design 3:
Pretty self-explanatory this time, inspired by ouija boards. Glow in the dark printing on black enamel again. This one's metal will be this very deep and glossy black:
Design 4:
This one was inspired by optical illusions, with a pastel goth colorscheme. The base enamel color is the purple, while the pink and black are the print! This is the approximate shade the metal will be:
I spent many hours going back and forth through all the details on these guys and fine-tuning the details, despite how tiny they'll be. I hope you'll love them!
This was my original collection, which spins (standard grade) sold out of in about 1 year. It took a bit longer to get the rest of the seconds pins sold individually, and all Eye moths. But that still firmly put them up there as one of my best-sellers, ever!
Here are also 2 videos showing the finished moths - neither have a filter applied but the lighting at the convention of the video I took made it look oddly hazy, and the other one was from the factory partner, so it's pretty blurry. That means photos are the best show of their quality.
As you can see the mold already exists for these pins, that means production will be slightly faster than otherwise would be the case. There will be less pain points during production as a result.
Most of my pins can be assumed by default to be limited edition; I don't like to repeat designs. However, sometimes I'll add new colorways in the future. This is just a greatly-amplified version of doing that, since the total designs made for this campaign is 18 (including the freebies!).
Here are examples of other gacha collections I've done in chronological order, the bats having fully sold out and the pills being low stock (except for the open edition ones, I have plenty!):
Both the original run of moths and the fish pins have been done by the same manufacturer, as well as the jellies from this campaign. The additional moths will also be made by them. The original hundreds of moths and the fish designs are some of the cleanest and highest quality pins I've ever received, so I'm very optimistic that will be the result again.
Unfortunately, my jellinom gacha pins aren't in stock yet; they were more complicated than the factory was anticipating despite repeated discussion of the process, and they did not do the final layer of epoxy on the pins. Because of this, there will be some remakes in production alongside these moths. Despite them not having the final epoxy layer on them, they are still the high quality craftsmanship I've come to expect and appreciate from this manufacturer, just not what I had promised my backers. Rest assured that I always do everything in my power to follow through on all promises, and that these moths will not have similar issues as they aren't as "complicated" (moths are just a normal single layer of epoxy then print, as done before, not epoxy -> print -> epoxy like the jellies were meant to be).
Stretch goal 1 is an additional 4 designs, which would round out the full first gacha machine set. (UNLOCKED)
That would be an extra +$800, taking us to a total of $1885!
Design 5:
This one is heavily inspired by the Jirai Kei Jfashion style. It has glittery enamel, 3 printed colors, and this will be the approximate shade of the metal:
Design 6:
Strawberry Cow <3 That is all. Gold metal, 1 print color on white enamel!
Design 7:
"Angel" is also inspired a bit by the culture behind Jirai Kei fashion, and took me a disproportionately long time to draw. The inspiration hit me quickly, but I felt it had to be perfect. I hope you like it! Glittery white enamel with 2 print colors, black nickel metal.
Design 8:
The pastel rainbow moth is back! This time, the enamel is glittery. After I got the first set made, I was beside myself (being a little hyperbolic here) that I didn't make the enamel for that one glittery. Well, now it will be! Glittery white enamel with 8 print colors.
Stretch 2: Unlocks at $2685 (UNLOCKED)
Design 9:
Inspired by Menhera, the "mental health" JFashion subculture. Jirai Kei in its current form and meaning can be sort of considered an off-shoot of Menhera! 2 print colors on glittery pink enamel. The metal color will be the same as the freebie gummy pin and design #5!
Design 10:
A pastel goth version of the rainbow moth, this one has two glitter enamel colors: white and black. It also has a whopping 9 print colors, adding black. The metal color is black nickel, which is a standard gunmetal-like plating for black metal pins.
Design 11:
Cherry blossoms <3 inspired by Spring, and my new septum ring design that was just funded by my previous collab campaign! White glitter enamel with 5 print colors. This is approximately what the metal color will be:
Design 12:
Also inspired by optical illusions, this one is a glitter purple enamel with black and a darker shade of purple as the 2 print colors! This is approximately the metal color it will have:
Stretch Goal 3: Unlocks at $3285
This is the last stretch goal, in which we can be a bit flexible - if we are a bit short but there are very few errored pledges after funding closes, we will be able to stretch funds to unlock everything regardless!
Design 13:
This is an "ice queen"-inspired variant of the Jirai Kei design, Design 5. Jirai Kei is referred to as "landmine girl" style, the meaning of which is multifaceted but on a surface level, means (typically a) girl who is mentally complex, a bit unstable, and can burn you at any moment. This design is meant to be the icy alternative to that, the locks on the hearts no longer being an invitation to find what's underneath, but a deterrant. It can actually be considered "datenshi kaiwai" style which roughly means "dark angel community" style. This probably sounds ridiculously silly, but I love adding little bits of symbolism into my designs. This is light blue glitter enamel, again with 3 print colors. This time, this will be the metal color:
Design 14:
(regular) Cow! They don't all have to have an oddly-specific lore to them. White enamel with black print, on black nickel metal.
Design 15:
A sugar skull moth. This is glittery white enamel with 6 print colors, on black nickel metal. I played with the idea of the print colors being glow, but instead I opted for very bright, very fun shades.
Design 16:
I asked my fiance for an idea for the final one, he said wood. After a lot of "???" moments, this is what I drew. The pareidolia (perception of faces in inanimate objects) in the knots was an accident but I'm really digging. Do you like it, or find it eerie? Maybe both? This is an antique brass metal, with 5 print colors on a light cream-colored enamel.
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$4000 - quite a few more pins made of each design! Each base goal was to hit minimum required quantity, but beyond that I can add whatever increment I want. However far we get past the final goal is proportionate to how many more I can order to keep up. I'm not yet sure if/when I can reopen Ouija for individual pledges. I will raise pledge limit for 10 spins, also, because there will technically be 2 machines to choose from (in surveys sent post-campaign).
$4500 - I will also make Sugar Skull and Angel's printing glow in the dark! (aside from the black). That will put us at 4 gacha pool designs with glow print, and the Abduction collab moth has glow enamel!
So, since this is a gacha collection, it's set up really similarly to my last Backerkit gacha campaign. All tiers and add-ons are available as single spins, at the same $10 rate as they will be once in stock, in person and online. They are also available as 3, 5, and 10 spin options with further discounts!
However, as a backer, you can also individually choose your fav(s) for $12/each instead if you prefer! This is never an option for gacha pins once they're funded, except for when 1) all standards have fully sold out and only flawed pins remain, 2) I have had to bring them to a convention that doesn't allow gacha machines, in which case I do charge $12 for them.
In addition to add-ons that mirror the reward tier structure, these are also available as add-ons
I have 3 brand new sticker designs I drew with an art style I've been working on for a year, I'm excited to debut them! All stickers are $8/e and 4".
(The swirly psychedelic texture is NOT a part of the artwork - I have them all poisoned against generative AI just in case!)
A 3rd girl and her moth are almost finished, and will unlock with the 1st stretch goal!
All stickers have a matte version and a holo version; for the girls they are a glittery holo, and for the moths they are a rainbow holographic. All are 4" and vinyl. All have opaque black "bleed" (the cutline surrounding the actual artwork).
Here are the other add-ons and their pricing by category:
♡ Acrylic Keychains (now live, samples arrived!!):
With lantern option
Without lantern option
With lantern option
Without lantern option
65mm rainbow acrylic with holographic silver foil transfer details on the front. I am applying the transfers themselves, so there may be discrepancies. They will also have lights attached to them! All 3 moth girls will be included in available designs, and they will be $25 each ($20 without the light). Moth girl 3 is WIP and will be unlocked when all goals are met!
Keep the little white plastic tab inside the lantern close; pulling that out is the way to turn the LED on, but it also turns it off! Without turning the light back off, the battery will eventually drain out after an accumulative few days' worth of consecutive use.
♡ Fish pin gacha spins: You can add on spins of the fish gacha to your pledge at the prices shown!
♡ Jelly Pins: You can add on any of these jelly pins individually, they were unlocked as part of the Pintopia campaign! 37mm tall with translucent enamel. $14/each.
♡ Bandages: As a fun new addition to my shop, I'm now carrying plasters with my own artwork! There are two themes, jelly desserts and pastel goth. Please check out the listing for more info, including medical certs. $15 for pack of 25, $20 for 50.
I am using the same graphic as Pintopia to explain costs, as the estimate for those has not changed (same manufacturer, same fee structure, same theoretical number of pin designs if all are unlocked, same pin size and weight).
Since Backerkit charges separately, shipping to you doesn't need to be included in base costs! This distribution of funds applies to the base goal as well as the stretch goals.
10% - fees 75% - manufacturing 10% - shipping to me 5% - supplies
"Supplies" may include new packaging materials, though I don't anticipate needing to order any extra at this time. If I don't, that roll over into a small buffer in case of canceled/unpaid pledges. It's impossible to estimate just how much traction the campaign will get, so that wiggle room is there just in case!
Due to the extra time it takes for "chrome metal" to be made, as it has to reach a large total quantity across multiple unrelated orders, I am anticipating these will take about 2-2.5 months. I'm only worried about the time the plating takes, since this manufacturer has already produced designs for me from this mold before. This timeline does not include the 2 weeks I have to wait to even be able to pay the manufacturer, as that's BK's fund collection period.
That basically lays out the timeline like this:
Campaign Ends -> Fund collection (2 weeks) -> Pins paid, all proofs being approved (1-2 weeks) -> manufacturing (1-2 months) -> Approval, then shipping to me (7-10 days)
The main potential delays are:
the metal plating which I already factored into the estimates above.
any potential issues with the factory and their workers themselves. If anyone is sick, I'm of course not going to ask them to work for me.
If anything substantial happens, the project may wind up being temporarily handed off to another representative while the first is on leave, and catching up the new one can be rough with projects of this scale.
if there is a significant amount of dropped/unpaid (errored) pledges.
more than a couple of people NOT filling out their surveys (they're still really important, even though I've done most of the colorway sorting already via listing titles).
Chinese New Year. If the chrome plating will delay things substantially, I may ask for them to ship the others first, but they are likely to prefer to produce and then ship all at once.
Shipping will be via USPS, and will be charged after the campaign (near the end of manufacturing, before they ship to me) via your survey.
Here are estimates for the shipping charges you can expect to be invoiced via your survey post-campaign:
Please refer to the FAQ first if you have any questions - I'd be happy to answer anything not mentioned there! With my Jellinom gacha collection, that was both my first BK campaign and also my first gacha collection campaign (previously self-funded). It was a learning curve, but I think I've ironed anything out!
Besides Backerkit, here's where else you can find me:
Thank you for checking out my campaign! My next pin project will be a cat-themed gacha collection I originally designed the mold for 3 years ago but put on the backburner to focus more on apparel. I'm looking forward to bringing it back!
