This update is a little jam-packed, and it’s one I meant to share sooner, but I’ve been busy-busy behind the scenes! 🐝
Before jumping in: I’ve been reading everyone’s thoughtful comments from the last update, even though I haven’t had a chance to respond to everyone individually yet. I’ll do my best to catch up on replies this week! If there’s something I still need to address, please forgive me, I’ll get to you soon! 💪
🏆 Final Finish Call: We’re Doing Both!
After putting together a more up-to-date production sheet with all of the pin designs, expected enamel colors, screenprint counts, and other details, I received both estimates back from my manufacturer~
I asked for two quotes:
Rose Gold Hard Enamel (only)
Rose Gold Hard Enamel + Color Coated Soft Enamel
And good news: having both the rose gold and color coated variants made is only about $3,000 more than producing only the rose gold pins!
That is still a significant amount of money, and it does make budgeting tighter, but I believe it’s worth it. It means everyone will get to choose the option that suits them best, I’ll have additional stock left for my shop afterward for anyone who missed them or wants more, and I’ll also receive about $1,500 off my order for producing so many pins at once.
So yes: I’m going to move forward with both finish options! ✨
📧 Upcoming Google Form
I’ll be putting together a Google Form where every backer can choose which version they’d prefer to receive:
Rose Gold Hard Enamel
Color Coated Soft Enamel with Epoxy
To keep this manageable on the production and fulfillment side, you’ll only be able to choose one finish option for your full order with no mixing and matching individual designs. Things would be too chaotic otherwise. 🙏💦
Anyone who does not respond by the deadline will receive the Rose Gold Hard Enamel version by default, since that was the poll-winning finish.
I may create a Discord later with a trading channel if people are interested, especially since I’ve wanted to make a Discord for more casual day-to-day updates anyway. We’ll see! 😇
📝 Manufacturer Notes
I also asked my manufacturer a few key questions about making both versions:
They confirmed that producing both versions will add extra production time,which was expected.
They also confirmed that we can use rose gold clasps for the hard enamel pins and rainbow clasps for the color-coated pins.
They also said that producing the color-coated pins together should help keep the coating colors more consistent, which is good news!
So yes, this does create more work for both me and the manufacturer, and it will likely add some time to the full production process. But as I said before, I believe it’s worth it if it means more people can receive the version they’re most excited about. 🌟
🖼️ First Wave of Vector Art Submitted
Moving on to something fun: I’ve submitted the first wave of vector files to my manufacturer!
I often start with the smaller pins and charms because they’re cheaper and quicker to sample. This lets me see how the colors look in real life before applying them to the larger pins. If colors need to change, it’s much easier to adjust them at a smaller scale first. 👌
The first submitted designs are:
Archangel Raccoon
The Dagger Charm
Furbidden One Charm
Cherububu Charm
Holy Donut Charm
A few notes about the artwork:
Even though I always do my best to stay true to the original color palette, enamel pin production means translating digital colors into physical Pantone colors. Pantone is very useful, but colors can still appear different depending on one's monitor, real-world lighting conditions, and the very imperfect nature of being human.
Different metal finishes can also affect enamel colors. Warmer metals, like gold and rose gold, can make enamel colors look warmer. Purple or cooler color-coated metals may make some enamel colors look cooler. In some cases, I’ll choose slightly adjusted colors in the production files so the final physical pins land closer to the intended look!
Soft enamel adds another layer of complexity because the metal sits higher than the enamel, creating some shadowing. The screenprints also sit on top of the clear protective coating, casting shadows onto the enamel. These shadows especially affect the appearance of lighter colors. Thus, some colors may look a little odd in the digital production art, but the goal is for the final physical pins to look just right!
And of course, these are still just digital designs! They’re meant to guide production as closely as possible, but they won’t be 100% accurate to the finished pins. Once samples are made, there may still be edits to enamel colors, screenprint colors, or even the color-coated metal itself.
With all that said, please enjoy this first look! 👁️
🍩 Tiny Holy Donut Engineering Note
You might notice that I changed the way the Holy Donut Charm hangs!
I didn’t want to ruin the round donut shape by adding a visible loop at the top, but I also wasn’t happy with the idea of adding another hole through the donut or using a giant jump ring through the center. None of those felt quite right.
Then I had what I am choosing to call a genius idea: put the loop on the back!
So that’s where the Holy Donut will hang from now, and I think it’ll look quite nice. 😚
🗳️ Survey Housekeeping
There are still a few people who haven’t filled out their surveys. Since it’s only a small number, this won’t affect production, but it does mean I won’t be able to ship your order later if your survey is still incomplete! 😱
Once funds are committed to production, I won't be able to offer refunds for incomplete surveys, so please fill yours out if you haven’t yet! I’d be very sad if your Critters never found their way home.
If I opened your survey for any last-minute additions, you should have received an email about it locking again, and you may receive a notice about your card being charged shortly afterward.
Speaking of charges: there are also a number of orders whose cards were declined. I’ll attempt to recharge cards occasionally while production is ongoing, so please double-check your payment method if you haven’t seen your transaction go through. 💸
There’s still time to sort these things out, but I wanted to give everyone a heads-up in case they need to check in on anything!
❓ What’s Next?
Next, I’ll be putting together the Google Form so everyone can choose between the Rose Gold Hard Enamel and Color Coated Soft Enamel versions. Keep an eye on your email and spam folders for that link! I'll share this in the next update as well, for anyone who might miss it otherwise.
Since I lost some work during my recent computer troubles, I’ve also been toying with a couple of the charm designs to help get past that painful “oh no, I have to do the same thing all over again” feeling. 🥹❤️🩹
SO! In the next update, I may have a few small charm adjustments to share~ Nothing major enough to change the core designs, for anyone who may be worried. It’s more about finessing what’s already there. And, of course, you all will get the final say on whether to keep the changes. 👍
🔎 Biblically Accurate Kitties Sighting
A fellow researcher appears to have discovered another population of strange celestial beings: Biblically Accurate Kitties by KirasElixir! These angelic little felines are full of wings, eyes, and deeply suspicious divine energy, so naturally I thought some of you might enjoy taking a peek.
There are only 5 days left to back their research, so if you’re in the mood for more beautiful, unsettling, many-eyed energy...
I hope this update has been insightful and enjoyable! I’ll have more to share soon, though it will have to wait until after my jury summons. 😶🌫️ Wish me luck!
See ya next time~ 💛
~ Qesque 🎨 Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Bluesky: @Qesque
Hello all! I'm hoping to make this post more show and less tell, but we'll see how I do. 🙈
Thank you to those who shared their thoughts and concerns in my last post (as always!). I know the colored metal was a big part of the original look for these designs, and I really do understand why the shift to rose gold hard enamel feels disappointing for some of you.
Because of that, I’ve gone ahead and asked my manufacturer for two production quotes:
ONLY rose gold hard enamel pins - the poll-winning finish and current campaign plan
BOTH rose gold hard enamel & color coated soft enamel pins - to see if offering both versions is doable
I don’t know yet if the second option will be financially or logistically possible. Aside from the cost considerations, there are also things like whether or not fulfillment can be handled without causing too much confusion or delay to consider.
But before I make the final call, I wanted to at least look into it properly. So I'm turning to you guys for feedback again! It genuinely helps me understand what matters most to everyone as I figure out the best path forward.
🎭 Current Pros + Cons
Rose Gold Hard Enamel (only)
It's the poll-winning finish
More cohesive across the full set of pins
Simpler production and fulfillment
Likely means a shorter campaign timeline
Color Coated Soft Enamel (as well)
Closer to the colorful metal look from the original campaign art
More finish color variety means additional hardware (rainbow to match)
Extra art files to account for color shifts due to the tinted metal and shadows
It would add cost, complexity, and possibly time
👇 If you’d like to weigh in, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 👇
💎 Rose Gold Mockups
As promised, I’ve put together rose gold mockups of the full set so you can get a better idea of how the designs may look with the rose gold finish! 💛
I’m including comparison images here showing the original colored-metal mockups (left) next to the rose gold versions (right). I also included mockups of the Angel Opossum and Hanging Mouse Charm, so you can see how my mockups compare to the actual manufactured pieces we've sampled (below).
A quick note: these mockups are very quick-and-dirty! They’re meant to give a general sense of the finish direction, not a perfect preview of the final pins. One must call upon the power of 🌈imagination🌈 to picture them as much shinier, prettier, physical enamel pins with polished metal and dimensional details that don't come through in flat digital art~ ✨
If you’d prefer scroll through the larger images more easily, I also uploaded them to Imgur here:
I’ll share more in the next update once I hear back from my manufacturer and have a clearer idea of whether offering both versions is actually possible, and what effect that might have on the production timeline.
Since this post already has a lot of images, I’ll save the vector art/progress sharing for the next update as well! ☺️
📆 Charge Date for Add-ons
As a reminder, I’m still planning to charge cards for survey add-ons and upgrades on Tuesday, Sept 8th!
This does not include shipping. Shipping will still be charged later, closer to fulfillment, once final package weights are confirmed.
I know it's been a long discussion about the plating for these pins, but we're close to the finish line now! (Pun intended?)
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 💛
~ Qesque 🎨 Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Bluesky: @Qesque
I'm back from my mini-con adventure, and a small break from posting, and I'm ready to share the news~
Thank you to everyone who voted in the final finish poll and shared your thoughts on the pin samples! The results came back very clearly in favor of the 💎 Rose Gold Hard Enamel Finish(65%), followed by the 📀 Rose Gold Soft Enamel with Pink Coating (29%).
So, with that decided: the campaign pins will be produced in rose gold hard enamel! ✨
I’m really grateful for all the feedback throughout this sampling process. It's been exciting getting to experiment with some of the color-coated options, and I’m glad we took the time to test them, compare them, and make the final call on the finish with all the knowledge gained. 😇
Since there was still interest in the coated finish, I may continue exploring some color-coated soft enamel variants separately as future shop/convention inventory. That would be separate from campaign rewards and would not replace or delay the rose gold hard enamel campaign pins. For now, the priority is getting these guys into full production! 💪😤
🚫 A Small Setback
So, I thought the Choir Critters files had escaped my recent computer troubles, but it turns out I did lose a little bit of vector progress. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything huge! I've needed to restart three files: The Furbidden One, Cherububu, and Tamagodchi.
The good news is that The Furbidden One and Cherububu have already been re-vectored this week, and I’ve started reworking the Tamagodchi as well. Archangel Raccoon, The Dagger, and Holy Donut are still good to go and will be submitted shortly, and the Angel Opossum and Hanging Mouse Charm are ready to approve for final production as well!
I’ll be submitting files in waves so production can begin while I continue finalizing the remaining vectors. The first wave will go in soon, and I’ll keep working through the rest from there. 🎨😌
📆 Charge Date for Add-ons
Since the final finish has been decided and production is ready to begin, I’ll be charging cards for survey add-ons and upgrades on Tuesday, Sept 8th. You'll also receive a notice from BackerKit 48 hours before your cards are charged.
📦 This charge will not include shipping. Shipping will still be charged later, closer to fulfillment, once final package weights are confirmed.
If you need to update the payment method/card on file you should still be able to do so from your BackerKit survey confirmation link before charges run September 8th!
🔎 Fellow Creature Sighting: Feathered Fox Friends
I rather enjoyed sharing another creator's campaign last update, so I thought I'd do it again. 😇
This time, I wanted to give a little shout-out to Feathered Fox Den! I brought home Rowan from Series 1 of their plushie foxes, and I love them dearly~ I’m obviously planning to bring home a friend for them very soon. 👀
Daphne is genuinely sweet and clearly puts so much care into these little guys. They’re incredibly soft, and the embroidery in their wings is so lovely~ 💛
I don’t know if folks enjoy seeing other campaigns pop up here, but I’ve been having fun sharing projects I’m excited about!
Thank you for keeping an eye on this project and all the Critter happenings~ 👁️ In the next update, I hope to share some of the vector work that's been done on these strange little celestial creatures.
I hope you have a lovely weekend!
~ Qesque 🎨 Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Bluesky: @Qesque
The final Angel Opossum samples are here, which means it’s time for one last finish comparison before we officially move forward with production! This time, I received three sample versions:
💎 Rose Gold Hard Enamel
📀 Rose Gold Soft Enamel + Pink Coating
💿 Silver Soft Enamel + Pink Coating
Originally, I was planning on ordering only two additional samples: one hard enamel rose gold sample and one soft enamel sample with the translucent colored coating. However, I wound up testing two translucent-coated versions, and there’s a specific reason for that!
Typically, this translucent coating is applied over silver plating, because silver reflects the Pantone color most accurately and gives the cleanest color match. However, I also wanted to test the translucent pink coating over rose gold plating. My thought was that if the coating wears down at high-friction points over time, rose gold showing through would look much softer and less stark than bright silver peeking through the pink.
Below are the three sample variations, including tiny breakdowns of their differences.
So how did they handle the shake tests, you might ask?
Well, the hard enamelrose gold version held up the best overall, with only a little scuffing visible on close inspection. The translucent-coated rose gold version does show a bit of wear around the halo, but it’s much less noticeable than the earlier chrome-plated version, and also less visually noticeable than the wear on the translucent-coated silver version (so it looks like my hypothesis was correct!).
Since the durability of the hard enamel rose gold sample is fairly straightforward, most of this update focuses on the two translucent-coated soft enamel samples and how they compare. (If you’d like a refresher on the more general differences between hard enamel and soft enamel + epoxy, I covered that in more detail in the previous sample update here!)
I recorded a shorter video this time showing:
All three samples before testing
A side-by-side discussion of the finish differences
The shake test for each pin (shortened)
Close-ups of all three pins after testing
As always, the photos below are helpful for a quick look, but I highly recommend watching the video if you’re able! The differences between the finishes are much easier to see when the pins are moving and catching light from different angles. 👍
🧪 Before & After Shake Tests
Since the hard enamelrose gold version held up the best overall, showing just light scuffing on close inspection, I'm going to skip right into the wear for the more experimental colored finishes.
The translucent-coated rose gold version has a warmer, slightly softer pink tone due to the rose gold underneath. It does show a little wear around the halo after the shake test, but the contrast is much gentler than the silver version, which makes the wear less noticeable overall.
The translucent-coated silver version shows the more true pink-purple tone of the Pantone I chose because the translucent coating is sitting over silver plating. However, when wear appears around the halo, the silver underneath creates a stronger contrast.
👥 Final Side-by-Side Comparison
Now that we have all three options in hand, I’m opening a poll so backers can help choose the final finish!
The winning option will be used for the rest of the Choir Critters pins moving forward.
🗳️ Poll: Which finish should we use for production?
Hard EnamelRose Gold The most durable option, with a classic rose gold finish and traditional hard enamel texture.
Soft Enamel Rose Gold + Translucent Pink Coating A warmer pink translucent finish, with less noticeable wear because the rose gold underneath blends more softly with the coating. (I can possibly adjust the Pantone color to be slightly more purple, as it is with the silver sample.)
Soft Enamel Silver + Translucent Pink Coating The most accurate to the Pantone pink translucent finish, but wear around friction points shows more noticeably due to the silver underneath. (The mouse appears more pink in the sample, but this was an error in the production, and it would be white in the final pins, if chosen.)
Vote to help decide the winning finish 👉 [POLL LINK]
The poll will be open until Thursday, Aug 20th (end of day CT), so please vote when you have a chance! Your feedback has been incredibly helpful throughout this process, and I really appreciate everyone taking the time to weigh in. 😇💛
📆 What Happens Next?
Once the poll has a clear winner, I’ll post a short follow-up update announcing the final finish choice!
That follow-up will also include the final date for charging remaining survey balances. I previously held off on charging add-ons/upgrades because I wanted everyone to have a say in the final pin direction before moving forward. Now that we’re at the final sample stage, I expect remaining balances will be charged during the final week of August, after my art show on the 22nd. I’ll share the exact date before any charges are run, so there won’t be any surprises. 😉
PokéBites is also almost fully wrapped up, which means I’ll have more time to dedicate to Choir Critters next month as we move into full production. Almost there!
🔎 Fellow Creature Sighting: BLUE HELL
Now for a short break before we get back to our regularly scheduled Choir Critters fieldwork. I wanted to shout out a fellow BackerKit campaign: 💙 BLUE HELL: An Ode to Dead Pet Games by ZooCorp.
Creature Collector (Atom) and their partner Flipper (ToadsTown) were kind enough to connect me with my very own fated pony, and I feel truly blessed that such a divine creature has chosen me as its person. 👁️🗨️💛~(>人<)
I suspect there may be a strong overlap between those of us who love Critters and those of us who may be intrigued by ponies and the lost digital pets waiting in Blue Hell. 👀
I’ve got our first physical samples to show you, and I also have some quick housekeeping notes.
🐁 Sample Previews: Angel Opossum + Hanging Mouse Charm (Hard vs Soft Enamel)
I uploaded a YouTube video (about 15 minutes long) showing the sample pins in detail:
📹 Feel free to watch on 2x speed and/or jump around! And apologies if I sound a little stuffy in it, I was under the weather at the time. 😅
In the video, I show:
Hard enamel Angel Opossum + Mouse Charm
Soft enamel with epoxy Angel Opossum + Mouse Charm
Side-by-side comparisons + close-ups
“Shake tests” (to simulate friction from the charm on the halo loop)
Additional colored metal samples my manufacturer sent that are apparently more durable than the chrome plating options
While the images below are a great quick glance, I highly recommend watching the video, as seeing the pins in motion can make all the difference.
Here’s the gist of what you’re seeing (with more detailed notes below):
Hard Enamel
Enamel and metal are sanded/polished to sit level with one another
Texture: because there's no epoxy coating, you can feel the metal ridges
Colors appear just as they do in the Pantone book
Soft Enamel + Epoxy
Enamel sits deeper in the mold causing subtle shadowing in the fills
Texture: smoother overall because epoxy sits on top and levels everything out
Screen print sits on top of the epoxy and can cast light “depth” shadows
More detailed notes (for those who like specifics 😉):
The enamel colors appear slightly more “true” for the hard enamel (I mostly notice this in the tan, which appears darker in the soft enamel version, though this can be remedied by choosing a lighter Pantone to compensate). In soft enamel, the fills sit deeper, so you get a little natural shadowing. The screen printing itself looks consistent across both, but in the soft enamel version, since the print sits on top of the epoxy layer, you can sometimes see faint shadowing depending on lighting. The metal lines also appear slightly thinner in soft enamel because the enamel can “climb” the edges of the mold, whereas hard enamel gets sanded flush, so the metal ridges stay fully visible. Finally, hard enamel has more tactile ridges versus the soft enamel + epoxy feeling smoother.
Below are images showing the pins before and after shake testing them:
The tough part: friction at the halo loop
Unfortunately, neither variant holds up as well as I’d like at the exact friction hotspot where the Mouse charm rubs. The epoxy struggles to coat very thin, narrow metal sections evenly, so while it can protect wide surfaces, thin metal edges still end up being a weak point.
BUT this is where the additional samples my manufacturer sent become very interesting…
🔮 A Possible Solution: “Translucent” Metal Plating (Soft Enamel Only)
My manufacturer recommends a more durable colored metal approach that's essentially a translucent tinted layer that (per her) holds up better than chrome-style colored electroplating. In the video I describe it as something like “clear epoxy mixed with enamel coloring,” but the key point is:
✅ it may let us keep colorful metal vibes ✅ it may be more durable than the chrome-style plating ⚠️ it can only be done on soft enamel pins (not hard enamel)
So here’s where I'd like to hear from you guys! Vote in the poll to help me decide what to sample next 👉 [POLL LINK]
Sample A: Soft enamel + epoxy with the translucent metal plating
Sample B: Hard enamel with a rose gold plating (the closest pink alternative)
Sample Both: It’s hard to know without seeing them, so maybe both
I don’t want to progress into more sample production until I have a clearer read on what you all are comfortable with, but I will keep vectoring and finalizing designs while we decide on the final finish for our pins~ 😊
🧿 $150+ Bonus Omen Charm (Good News)
All remaining qualified $150+ backers should now see an $8 credit in their surveys (including the Pay Over Time folks)! Your survey should also be unlocked, allowing you to make your Bonus Omen Charm selection.
How it works: use the $8 credit to add the Cryptic Omen Charm you want in your survey and the credit will cover it.
If you believe you qualify and don’t see the credit yet, please message me and I’ll take a look! 💛
💵 Note on Charging Remaining Balances
Some of you may have noticed I did not charge cards in April for survey add-ons/upgrades, even though I’d previously mentioned a date.
I decided I didn't feel comfortable charging remaining balances until we’ve landed on a direction you all feel good about and production can officially move forward. I hope this didn’t negatively affect anyone, and once we’ve got the next sample(s) that we’re happy with, I’ll share a clear date before any remaining balances are charged. 🙏
🎬 Behind-the-Scenes Progress
Even though sample decisions are in flux, the work continues:
Almost all charm vectors are complete
Archangel Raccoon is well underway
I’m doing a final cleanup pass on the Purrincipality Cats
After that, I’ll begin the base mold vector for the Purrincipalities
Occasionally, I'll stream some things to Twitch, so feel free to peek in for some Choir Critters vids 👉 [LINK]
Thank you again for your patience, your opinions, and your trust while we make sure Choir Critters is not only gorgeous, but long-lasting. I appreciate you all so much, and I hope you have a lovely remainder of your week. 😇💛
~ Qesque 🎨 Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Bluesky: @Qesque
