Yesterday I received the remaining pictures of the pins, most of which have now finished production and are being packed for shipping. Yay!
Unfortunately the bufflehead pin needs to be remade. I missed some errors on the proof (my fault) which resulted in the wrong colors being used on the pin. It's still cute, but the color of the water now doesn't match with my other water bird pins, and I intended the back to be darker grey.
Bufflehead on grey water
We also got the final grackle and hummingbirds samples. I think these look great!
Black-chinned hummingbird
Anna's hummingbird
Grackle
And here are the others that were missing pictures, but have now finished production:
Junco (Grey)
Wren
Catbird
Red-winged blackbird
House finch
California condor
Loon
Timeline: I'm expecting to receive the bulk of the pins in 2-3 weeks, with the exception of the bufflehead remake and some add-on pins that are being restocked (pigeon, barn owl). Unfortunately this coincides with the arrival of the final batch of plushies belonging to my budgie & cockatiel project. Those backers have been waiting for a good while, so I'd really like to get those out first. For now my conservative estimate is that we will start shipping in August, but I'll have a better estimate once the pins are in hand and once the plushie backerkit has been wrapped up. I'll write another update when the pins have arrived!
As we're waiting for the last pins to finish production I'm eager to share these two color tests with you. Note that the grackle is an unfinished sample - it has no color fill and no screen printed details yet. However I think the semitransparent enamel on rainbow metal looks super cool! I'm excited to see these guys in person. The same goes for the Anna's Hummingbird. Even though the picture's lighting is poor, I think the pink chrome plating really makes it pop!
Grackle - incomplete sample
Anna's Hummingbird
Current status: Waiting for color test: Black-Chinned Hummingbird Production: Grackle, RW Blackbird, Wren, California Condor, Anna's Hummingbird, House Finch, Junco (Grey), Catbird, Loon, Bufflehead All others have finished production!
My work is slowing down a bit so I'm getting ready to start some sketches for next Pintopia. Let me know in the poll below what subject you'd like to see most. And if mini plush are your thing, I'm working on a new project called Pocket Beeps. Feel free to check them out!
It's been a while! The factory has been hard at work, and I'm getting a trickle of pictures in, which I wanted to share with you. As always, factory lighting isn't very kind to the colors of the pins, so keep that in mind if colors look a bit dull or wonky! I'll update again when they've shipped :) See you soon!
I've been working on the surveys. They're with the BackerKit team now for a final review, after which I can send them out. In the survey you will be able to specify which pin designs you'd like to receive, and leave your shipping address :)
USA tariff information
Some tariffs were ruled unconstitutional. However, it is not clear yet how that will reflect in my shipping process. For now I've set the tariffs to the 35.5% that was reflected in the campaign description. I won't charge this until right before shipping. Since the tariffs were declared unconstitutional, hopefully between now and shipping I'll be able to reduce or waive them!
Combined shipping with Frogtastic Frogs
If you are a cross-collaboration backer, you'll be able to combine your Birds of North America and Frogtastic Frogs rewards into one package. You will pay shipping on this project, and your shipping will be waived on Frogtastic Frogs.
Design overview
Here are all designs in alphabetical order (NOT to scale!) The names you see here are also the names used in the survey. I recommend going through the designs, taking note of the names of the designs you want to select, then going into the surveys and use that list to select the pins you want.
Feel free to reach out with any questions you have!
Doreen
American Black Duck
American Kestrel
Anhinga
Anna’s Hummingbird
Bald Eagle
Belted Kingfisher
Black Vulture
Black-Capped Chickadee
Black-chinned Hummingbird
It's been a while since the start of the campaign, and I'm pretty late with announcing this.. But better late than never: All birdies have been unlocked! Every enamel pin design you see on the campaign page will be available to select in the survey. Thank you guys so much!
I'm currently busy fulfilling my last campaign and preparing for a convention, so there will be no additional stretch goals this time around. Other cool North American birdies will get their chance to shine in a future campaign.
Charity donation
I'd like to make a donation to a charity again. Last year with Birds of Rotterdam we donated 5 of each pin design to Vogelklas Karel Schot, my local bird rescue. If you know of any North American wild bird rescues who could benefit from a pin donation, please let me know in the comments and I will look into them!
Check out these other cool campaigns
With 7 days left in Pintopia, you still have a chance of grabbing some cool pins from other campaigns!
Challenge Coin Critters went hard, unlocked all their main stretch goals, and added some new ones, including a bunch of new birds!
Jurassic Peck is SO close to unlocking their crow design! If you like my birds then I'm sure you'll love their designs as well.
Check out these cute critters having a party - you might even find some garbage birbs!
The hyena lovers went feral for Henrieke's pins and she's working on a bunch of new pin designs now!
Appel unlocked everything and made some new designs too - we're headed towards unlocking some cute axolotls!
I'm a big fan of the perfect mix of cute and tech in this campaign!
That's it for now! I'll be back with another update towards the end of the campaign, including a more detailed production timeline. I hope you'll have a great day!
