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PROJECT UPDATE
A L Raden
CREATOR
15+ projects backed in 2025
2 months ago
Project Update: That's a Wrap on Mythical Bards!
Happy New Year, Adventurers!
I'm so thrilled to share that all Mythical Bards pledges (round 1, as part of Pin Quest 2025) that completed the survey/payment process have been shipped and I'll be officially closing out the campaign on March 31, 2026! Thank you all so much, again, for your support, and I hope you all love these pins as much as I loved creating them ^_^
❗❗If you haven't received a tracking notification or a package for your pledge, then you still have unfinished tasks to address - either an unfinished survey, missed payment, or you're a UK backer that has not reached out to wrap up your pledge. I'm unable to send you your rewards if these steps aren't complete. If your survey is not completed and payment processed by the March 31 date, your pledge will be considered a donation to the campaign and rewards can no longer be redeemed.
I'm so thrilled to share that all Mythical Bards pledges (round 1, as part of Pin Quest 2025) that completed the survey/payment process have been shipped and I'll be officially closing out the campaign on March 31, 2026! Thank you all so much, again, for your support, and I hope you all love these pins as much as I loved creating them ^_^
❗❗If you haven't received a tracking notification or a package for your pledge, then you still have unfinished tasks to address - either an unfinished survey, missed payment, or you're a UK backer that has not reached out to wrap up your pledge. I'm unable to send you your rewards if these steps aren't complete. If your survey is not completed and payment processed by the March 31 date, your pledge will be considered a donation to the campaign and rewards can no longer be redeemed.
Looking for more?
If you missed my spooky Mythical Bards 2 campaign in October, the pre-order store is now officially open! We unlocked five more bards and they add some fun, slightly spooky vibes to our existing bards!
- If you did back the Mythical Bards 2 campaign, please ignore the pre-order store. You'll have access to all the same items through your surveys, which are being finalized and approved now and I hope to send early this month.
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!
- 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.
And with that, we're a wrap on our first Mythical Bards! Enjoy the music!
And with that, we're a wrap on our first Mythical Bards! Enjoy the music!
PROJECT UPDATE
A L Raden
CREATOR
15+ projects backed in 2025
4 months ago
Project Update: Mythical Bard (Series 1) Pins Have Arrived - Addresses Locking November 1!
Hello, Adventurers!
I know you've been hearing a lot from me about the current spooky Mythical Bards campaign, but I wanted to pop in here quickly about the original series to share that all of the pins have fully arrived! I've just taken a quick look at this point but I'm happy with how these little bard pins turned out ^_^
The backing cards should arrive on Saturday and I'll be diving into grading the pins as soon as those arrive (and the spooky bards campaign has wrapped up). I'm sending out a 48-hour notice now to lock addresses and I can't wait to get these in your hands! (Apologies for the super quick photos below, I know the lighting is horrible but I wanted to share a quick look!)
I know you've been hearing a lot from me about the current spooky Mythical Bards campaign, but I wanted to pop in here quickly about the original series to share that all of the pins have fully arrived! I've just taken a quick look at this point but I'm happy with how these little bard pins turned out ^_^
The backing cards should arrive on Saturday and I'll be diving into grading the pins as soon as those arrive (and the spooky bards campaign has wrapped up). I'm sending out a 48-hour notice now to lock addresses and I can't wait to get these in your hands! (Apologies for the super quick photos below, I know the lighting is horrible but I wanted to share a quick look!)
In the meantime, the spooky bards campaign is ending in a bit over 48 hours, we've unlocked four new bard designs and keep hovering around unlocking a fifth (the wolpertinger). If you're interested in more bards, there are just a few more hours to back!
Thank you all for your support so far and I hope you love the pins!
PROJECT UPDATE
A L Raden
CREATOR
15+ projects backed in 2025
5 months ago
Project Update: Proofs are APPROVED!
Hello, Adventurers! We're well into the production process, but I wanted to share a couple quick reminders and updates:
- If you have not filled out your survey, please fill it out as soon as possible. I can't send you your pins if the survey isn't done! As soon as I see surveys done at this point I'll send out the 48-hour notice to lock them, followed by a 48-hour notice for charging cards.
- I am closing the pre-order store on October 31. If you missed the campaign and wanted to place a pre-order, please do so as soon as possible!
Production Updates
Proofs were approved for some of the pins a couple weeks ago, but ALL proofs have now been approved as of last night! A couple updates:
- The bards will be 2" tall! I was a little worried they would need to be enlarged, but the approved proofs are all at 2" tall and about 1.4" wide.
- The mini storytelling pin didn't need any changes (theoretically). I had some concerns about it needing to be larger or with a different font, but I think we've made it work with the original design, and at 1.25" wide.
All stickers (except for the journal sticker sheet, which is the last sticker I need to order) have ARRIVED, pins should be shipping to me before the end of the month, and we're on track for everything to arrive by the end of October/early November. I'm working on the backer cards next so we're ready to go when the pins arrive!
Reminder: Mythical Bards 2 Launches Next Week!
If you need more Mythical Bards, I have a spooky edition of this Mythical Bard series launching on BackerKit as part of Pintober on October 21! Designs for the first three pins are well underway:
- will-o'-the-wisp (with woodsy theremin)
- cat sith (with spooky organ)
- haunted two-headed dragon (with courting dulcimer)
A poll is going up today to determine the unlock order, and we'll have another poll soon to help determine possible additional stretch goal pins! There's also a spooky sweet bardic cupcake as a special Pintober pin and a new storytelling pin in the works for early backers.
If you're interested, please feel free to follow the project now so you can stay tuned on more bards and add your voice to the early polls!
That's all for now, Adventurers! More to come soon.
PROJECT UPDATE
A L Raden
CREATOR
15+ projects backed in 2025
6 months ago
Project Update: Surveys Close TOMORROW + Production Updates
Hello, Adventurers! We're coming up on the September 30 deadline for surveys, so a couple quick reminders and updates:
- If you already filled out your survey you should have received a 48 hour notice earlier today that the surveys are locking soon. This is your last opportunity to make any changes or additions to your survey. No action is required if you're survey looks like you want it to!
- If you have not filled out your survey, please fill it out as soon as possible. Any surveys filled out at this time will head into the 48-hour notice to lock as soon as I can after they are complete. I can't send you your pins if the survey isn't done!
- If you placed an order in the pre-order store, I am unable to send a 48-hour notice directly through Backerkit (sorry!), but your orders will be locked on September 30 with all the other surveys.
- I am leaving the pre-order store open until the pins arrive. I expect this to be sometime in mid- to late-October. If you missed the campaign and wanted to place a pre-order, please do so as soon as possible!
As a reminder, cards will be charged on Friday, October 3. I believe I'm able to send a 48-hour notice for that, as well, and will if I can. But if I can't, please note that that's the charge date.
Production Updates
We unlocked the dragon (thank you!) and ALL SIX pins (four bards + two mini pins) are running through the proofing process right now! A couple updates:
- The bards are coming in at 2" tall right now. I was a little worried they would need to be enlarged, but they appear to be doing okay. If they have to be bigger, I'm hoping we can stop at just 2.25" or 2.5" at most. But fingers crossed at 2"!
- The mini bard music box pin - the reward pin for backing 3+ Pin Quest campaigns - has been lengthened to 1.25" tall instead of 1" tall. Most of that height is in the lute neck above the music box. Both the blue swirl and all gold spots are glittery and it's looking so good!
- The text on the mini storytelling pin may require some small changes. It was a particularly jaggedy font that I chose, which is causing complications. I may try simplifying the font a little so that the pin can still be small, and the pin itself may still need to be slightly larger. This pin is automatically going to people who backed in the first 48 hours but I know a few folks ordered this pin directly, too, so I wanted to make sure you were aware that there may be some changes. More to come as we work through that. I'm hoping to keep the pin to 1.25" wide but it may go as wide as 1.75" wide, and the blue and gold on this pin will also be glittery!
All stickers (except for the journal sticker sheet) have been ordered, proofed, and should arrive here later this week! The 4"x6" journal sticker sheet needed a few updates to account for the cut lines around the stickers, namely removing one of the quill scrolls (it was close but just couldn't fit in with the cut lines) and adding a couple extra stars. I've also added some additional texture to the parchment pieces.
Reminder: More Mythical Bards Incoming!
If you need more Mythical Bards, I have a spooky edition of this Mythical Bard series launching on BackerKit as part of Pintober on October 21! Designs for a will-o'-the-wisp (playing a woodsy theremin!), cat sith, and haunted two-headed dragon (possibly amphisbaena?) pin are already underway AND I'm planning to post polls for additional bards and to determine the unlock order. There's also a spooky sweet bardic cupcake in the works as a special Pintober pin!
If you're interested, please feel free to follow the project now so you can stay tuned on more bards and add your voice to the early polls!
If you're interested, please feel free to follow the project now so you can stay tuned on more bards and add your voice to the early polls!
That's all for now, Adventurers! More to come soon.
PROJECT UPDATE
A L Raden
CREATOR
15+ projects backed in 2025
6 months ago
Project Update: Surveys are Sent! Production Updates, New Sticker Sheet, and What's Next
Surveys are officially out! We passed through the smoke test without any errors spotted so I sent out the remaining surveys late yesterday, but if you still find that you're running into something unexpected please absolutely feel free to reach out to me.
A few notes, as a reminder:
A few notes, as a reminder:
- If your initial pledge payment failed, you will still have the opportunity to correct it during the survey. You can check to see if your payment had gone through by going to "Your Pledges & Surveys" and clicking on "View Pledge" next to the Mythical Bards campaign.
- You will not be charged for any additional add-ons or shipping right away. They will be charged after surveys are locked. Right now, the goal is to officially lock surveys on September 30 and charge cards on October 3.
- The pre-order store is also now open. If you missed pledging during the campaign itself, now's your chance to guarantee access to your favorite pins or stickers! Pre-orders are also not charged immediately and will follow the same locking and charging schedule as the campaign pledges do.
- Please note: If you pledged during the campaign, you can ignore the pre-order store. You have access to all the same items as add-ons through your survey.
Heading Into Production
My goal is to move pins into production while we're still running through surveys so that I can do my best to stay on track for fulfillment in November. I always order a bit more than needed to account for any flaws and ongoing stock, so we shouldn't run the risk of running out even if you answer your survey later in the month! So, a few points:
- I'm hoping to place pin and sticker orders within the week. I'd like to see us reach roughly 60-70% of surveys answered so I can get a solid understanding of what we're looking at for numbers, but we're already at over 40% of surveys filled out, which is amazing! I'm expecting the proofing process to take some time due to the complexity of the designs, which is why I'd like to get these started sooner than later, but I'll be sure to keep you all in the loop as we move through proofing!
- The new dragon pin is almost unlocked! We just need three more dragon pin orders and our dragon bard will be moving into production, too. The dragon feels like such a good addition to the other three bards, I'm so thrilled with how all four came out and I'm glad that you're all loving them, too!
- One more add-on sticker sheet for the journal fans. When I was thinking through sticker sheets, I really wanted to design an option that could be on theme and fun but also practical. As storytellers, I figured the best way to support our bardic friends would be to support the storytelling (or writing) process itself! This 4"x6" matte sticker sheet has a few different options for supporting your journaling, writing, or storytelling processes (including some pointing arms/fins/wings from each of our mythical bard friends). There might still be some minor tweaks to some of the colors and layout (and please let me know if there's a journal-related sticker that you find super helpful!), but take a look!
More Mythical Bards?!
One last note! If you need more Mythical Bards, I have a spooky edition of this Mythical Bard series launching on BackerKit as part of Pintober on October 21! Designs for a will-o'-the-wisp (playing a woodsy theremin!), cat sith, and haunted two-headed dragon (possibly amphisbaena?) pin are already underway AND I'm planning to post polls for additional bards and to determine the unlock order. There's also a spooky sweet bardic cupcake in the works as a special Pintober pin!
If you're interested, please feel free to follow the project now so you can stay tuned on more bards and add your voice to the early polls!
If you're interested, please feel free to follow the project now so you can stay tuned on more bards and add your voice to the early polls!
That's all for now, Adventurers! More to come soon.