Hello, Adventurers! It's been a heckuva ride over here as we've run through proofs, and we ran into a few hiccups along the way, but we are back on track and I have a few upd...
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A L Raden
about 2 months ago
Quick Production Update
Hello, Adventurers! I'm popping in with a super quick Mythical Bards 2 production update before we head into Pintopia later this week.
As you've seen, surveys have been lock...
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A L Raden
about 2 months ago
Surveys Closing January 16 + Production Updates
Hi Adventurers!
I had initially asked for surveys to be filled out by January 25 because I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time but nearly all of the surveys are c...
Hello, Adventurers!
Thank you so much for your patience while I navigated the last burst of busy con season and the holidays. The pre-order store for Mythical Bards 2 is off...
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A L Raden
4 months ago
Wolpertinger Reveal + All Pins UNLOCKED!
Hello, Adventurers!
We are in the final 40-ish hours of the campaign and all the pins are UNLOCKED!
I had initially set the goal for the Wolpertinger a little higher, but w...
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A L Raden
5 months ago
Gargoyle Reveal + 3.5 Days Remain!
Hello, Adventurers! We're heading into our final days of the campaign (already?!) and the gargoyle design is ready to be revealed! The gargoyle features a backdrop of mossy b...
Hello, Adventurers! It's been a heckuva ride over here as we've run through proofs, and we ran into a few hiccups along the way, but we are back on track and I have a few updates on our spooky bards below!
As of this morning, all proofs for our five new bard pins have been APPROVED! There was a lot more back and forth on these than I had been hoping for to make sure that the pins would come out as planned, but they're also some of my most complicated designs to date so we were bound to run into some challenges. All five are officially moving into production!
The two glitter pins (for early backers and Pintober backers) already arrived, but one needed an update. I was so excited to get a first look at some of the new pins, only to find that the storytelling pin had mistakenly been made in soft enamel instead of hard enamel which resulted in a very different look than expected. Fortunately, it's been an easy fix and the re-made pins (in hard enamel) should arrive likely before the end of the month. (Shout out to my manu, who has been wonderful through this whole process!)
Pending any further complications, fulfillment should begin in early to mid-April. I'd originally targeted February-March for fulfillment but it's unlikely that the bard pins will arrive before I'm back from WonderCon at the end of the month. However, I already have all the stickers on hand, the bard cupcake pins are already on hand (and BEAUTIFUL, the glitter frosting is especially otherworldly, the photo below doesn't do the glitter justice), and I'll start grading what I have in the meantime to reduce as many additional slow downs as possible. I'll keep you updated if we run into any other complications and need to shift this further.
Now that we are FULLY in production, a couple quick reminders:
If you haven't completed your survey yet, I have continued to check periodically and am locking surveys and charging cards (both with a 48-hour notice) as they are completed. 90% of backers have completed surveys (thank you!) and I've just sent reminders to the remaining 10%.
If you did complete the survey, please double check that your payment went through. A couple pledges ran into errors. I can't send you your pins without these crucial steps completed!
That's all for now! Enjoy this close-up of our little bardic cupcake and my best attempt at capturing its awesome glittery-ness. More to come soon!
Mini bard cupcake pin (and the closest picture I've ever seen of my own hands lol)
Hello, Adventurers! I'm popping in with a super quick Mythical Bards 2 production update before we head into Pintopia later this week.
As you've seen, surveys have been locked and cards charged.
If you haven't completed your survey yet, I'll be checking periodically and locking surveys (with a 48-hour notice) as they are completed.
If you did complete the survey, please double check that your payment went through. A couple pledges ran into errors. I can't send you your pins without these crucial steps completed!
Production Updates
A couple quick updates on production:
All pins have officially been ordered! I always order extra to account for any production goofs and ongoing orders. I'm hoping to have all proofs approved by the end of the month. We'll see how it goes!
Stickers have already arrived and are looking great!
It's going to be a little quiet on the Mythical Bards 2 side while we run through Pintopia, I approve Mythical Bard pin proofs, and the pins head into production. I'll let all of you know if any changes come up for any reason, but otherwise you may not hear from me until the pins have arrived and we're ready to get packing, hopefully mid- to late-February!
I had initially asked for surveys to be filled out by January 25 because I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time but nearly all of the surveys are completed already! Thank you all so much for promptly completing these!
I would really like to wrap up notifications on Mythical Bards 2 ahead of Pintopia launching next week, because there is always a FLURRY of messaging around the Pintopia event and I don't want important messages about this campaign to get lost, so a few updates:
I will be locking surveys on Friday, January 16. Any surveys completed after this point will be locked as they are completed.
Cards will be charged on Monday, January 19. It's only about a week earlier than originally planned, so I'm hoping that disruption is minimal.
Production Updates
Production is kicking off!
I have ordered all Mythical Bards 2 stickers and approved proofs. Huzzah!
I am cleaning up files for the pin order and plan to order pins late this week/early next week. I'm hoping we'll be able to fully approve all pin proofs before the end of January!
Reminder: Con Adventurers 2 Starts January 22
Pintopia is coming soon, and with it the return of my Con Adventurer series of pins, which celebrates all the fun adventures that happen at conventions! If you want to make sure you get a reminder when the campaign launches, please make sure to join the launch party. I've revealed the first of six new designs so far, plus my artist cross-collaboration freebie pin. More to come soon!
Thank you so much for your patience while I navigated the last burst of busy con season and the holidays. The pre-order store for Mythical Bards 2 is officially OPEN and I've officially requested a setup review for the surveys, so we are rolling along!
So, what's next?
Once my pledge manager is reviewed and approved, I'll send out smoke tests, which sends the survey to just a small group of randomly selected people to see if we run into any survey errors. This may take a bit longer than normal as folks come back from holiday breaks, but I'm hoping for approval during this first full week of January.
Once the smoke test is complete (roughly 24-48 hours after being sent, or after a certain percentage have responded and any errors have been fixed), surveys will go out to everyone!
We're running a little further behind on my timeline than hoped, but are still roughly within expected timeframes and still (pending any mishaps) should be able to complete shipping by the end of March. I'll be reviewing pin designs, prepping to place pin and sticker orders, and starting to place orders while we're working through the survey process, but, in order to make this process as smooth as possible, I'm asking for surveys to be complete no later than January 25.
If you made a pledge during the campaign, please ignore the pre-order store. You will have access to all the same items as add-ons when you complete your survey.
If you missed the campaign, the pre-order store is open and ready for you! Any orders placed in the pre-order store should follow the same timeline as campaign orders, which should get you your pins/stickers by February/March.
Looking for more?
I have two more enamel pin campaigns tentatively planned at the moment:
Con Adventurers 2, adding even more convention adventures as part of Pintopia in 2026, launching in just a couple weeks on January 22!
I'm partnering with Robot Dragon Studios - who is running Piles of Plush - Buster and Murphy Frankencorgi Edition, featuring the cutest plush frankencorgis - for some extra collab pin fun for Pintopia! I'm a huge fan of their pins and plush myself, definitely check them out and follow both of us for updates!
Mythical Bards 3, as part of Pin Quest 2026.
Round 3 is (tentatively) the last round of bards planned! I've loved bringing these bards to life, and would dearly love to add a few more to the band, but then I think we'll be taking our adventurers in a new direction.
Both are still tentative/in progress, but if you follow me here or on socials you should get updates when they go live.
I'll let you know when we're all approved and heading into smoke tests/surveys! Thank you all, and we'll talk soon!
We are in the final 40-ish hours of the campaign and all the pins are UNLOCKED!
I had initially set the goal for the Wolpertinger a little higher, but we've been hovering so close to the unlock amount that I didn't want anyone to feel concerned that they might miss out on this one, so we're going to make it work.
Which brings me to the Wolpertinger pin reveal! It actually turned into one of my favorites, I hope you love this drummer as much as I do!
The kitsune, kraken, and kelpie were all popular in the last poll, thank you so much for your input! With us being in the last few hours of the campaign, I'm likely moving all three to the top of my list for the next time we dive into this theme again (possibly next summer?) rather than trying to squeeze one more design in now. If I'm very lucky, I'll try to add one or two as an extra unlockable stretch goal in the pre-order store/survey stage. We'll see where I land on time.
In the meantime, here's our full set of five spooky bards, all designs complete! These have been so much fun to bring to life, and I'm so glad they're resonating with so many of you, too. Thank you all so much for your continued support!
