Greetings Hoarders,

I just wanted to reach out about some exciting news and questions that might arise from the survey.

I have submitted the surveys to Backerkit staff to review everything, and once they approve them, I will send a smoke test. We do have a custom pin for this campaign as well! I am trying to reach the backer so we can get it designed, and hopefully I can add it to the surveys as an option for you to get for yourself ^_^ 

You might wonder why I have delayed surveys until now, a large part, other than summer being chaotic and busy, is that I had to wait for more "Pay over time" pledges to come in. Unfortunately, there was a large chunk of failed pledges in this campaign, and I was already cutting it close just to pay for manufacturing. We are good now 💗 or at least good enough that I can cover the rest out of pocket.

For transparency, here's the costs/charges from the campaign:

Each pin design costs me between $1300-$980 to manufacture. So as you can see, with 7 designs (including incentives) I am still having to pay out of pocket. This is the risk I take when I unlock designs, but I wanted to be transparent with you guys about the delay and one of the reasons I haven't ordered the pins yet.

I will place the order for the pins once I have at least 80% of surveys completed as this will help me know which designs to prioritize.
 

These were "automatically" added to qualifying carts; however, you might not see them when you complete the survey.

I have double-checked; they are there. Because I didn't link them to a SKU during the campaign (it exists for returning backer/early bird/reservation pins etc.), collaboration rewards had to be manually added through creating segments (Since these numbers are only known post-campaign). Backerkit staff informed me that this means you won't see them, but they are there!

This is what I see for the packing list on qualifying orders (Only items would be for the "Relics & Ruin" vs the pride campaign):

Some of you may have noticed an item that says "upgrades" when you complete the survey. These are the pins added during survey questions.

You see "upgrades", I see the actual SKU:

Unfortunately my US backers have to pay tariffs and will see those in their carts. Tariffs are calculated per item based on value, where they are manufactured, item type, and estimated arrival date in the US since it's variable and can change on a whim. Which means each item has different rules and rates (setting it up is a headache). What this means is that unfortunately even of you backed multiple campaigns with me, even if I shipped it together, it won't lower the cost. I wish I could do this, but this is something out of my control.

Since tariffs are fickle and might change closer to fulfillment, you will see an estimate now based on the current rate. Should this change by the time I start shipping, I will unlock US orders and make an update so no one is surprised about what is coming before I charge cards. (Lets hope it goes down again!)🤞

I miss the free-trade agreement.

Hopefully this helps clarify some questions. 

I don't get notifications when you comment on posts and I might miss something. I also don't check it as often as my email.

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
Yours in art,
Therena

Greetings Hoarders,

I haven't forgotten about you! I promise!

I have several pieces of news to share today. First, an apology for not making an update sooner. I have been trying to juggle several projects and commissions among things like grad/school year shenanigans, etc. Things just didn't happen as quickly as I would have liked, thanks to too few spoons. I also lost my hard drive a couple of weeks ago (losing all my art/data) which has set me back on several things. And, since it's summer, I have been taking a few days/weeks to spend time with my family camping. 

All the designs have been approved by me. Here are some sneak peeks at the 3D mockups so you can see the textures!

The War Horn:

Overall I am so happy that we were able to preserve much of the original art in these designs while still making them 3D 

We didn't quite get to unlock this little guy during the campaign, so he will be available in the surveys as a stretch goal:

He will only be 2" instead of 3" like the other pins. But I think he would be an adorable addition!

I will try to get surveys set up over the next two weeks before I go sailing for a week, but if not, I will likely have these to you in September once I fulfilled my other Derpy pin campaigns. 

I have pushed my next Derpy Dragon campaign back until I have fulfilled this one, but I would love if you can follow it!
 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!
Yours in art,
Therena

Greetings Hoarders,

We are in the final hours and have unlocked all 4 designs! Thank you!

But we still have time to unlock the 5th design:

Meet Scuttle, the adorable animal companion rock-muncher.
If we can get the campaign to $7500, we can unlock him too!

(Don't worry if we don't get it in the campaign, I will add him as a stretch goal in the pledgemanager)

Yours in art,
Therena

Greetings Hoarders and Adventurers,

I have some treats for you today! (Namely, spinning sneak peeks at the 3D mock-ups of the designs ^_^)
***Important: these are digital mock-ups and final variations are inevitable***

But before I share them, have you read the first part of the story that inspired the relics yet?

Below are two character illustrations of the main characters that inspired these relics. 
The books came to be when we were playing D&D and discussing what our real life class/races would be and my husband determined that I was a dwarven barbarian. Initially I wasn't too happy by this, because there are no female dwarven barbarians in my favourite book genres! 

My husband's response? Write it....

So I did! I wrote book 1-3 last year (over half a million words!) and are currently halfway through book 4 (the final book in the series)

I also leaned very heavily into some D&D stereotypes when I created the original character concepts. Naturally they took a life of their own, and very little of the original concepts remain exactly as I imagined. But the core is there. A bard and a barbarian--only not like you're used to seeing them. 

White Raven and Legendary axe

Legendary Horn:

I am still tweaking the flying raven design, and will hopefully be able to share some more details of that one with you soon!

And last but not least, the mini raven head pin!

Returning backer mini pin version:

And don't forget the free mini pin when you back 3+ Pinquest campaigns!

Well, I think that's plenty for today. Hope you love it! 

Yours in art,
Therena

Greetings Hoarders,

Today I will share the drawing process of the Horn of Summoning. For this one, I used elements from existing art to create the design. Throughout the story, I like to weave a lot of symbolism and imagery into the story itself. And because I want a cohesive look, I like to reuse elements I have already drawn.

I originally drew this horn to be a cover element, so many of the elements were sourced from Book 1. This horn is featured on the 3rd or 4th book cover (I can't remember😂)

The horn itself is crafted across 3 different books in the series. It's harvested in book 2 from special Spiritwood trees, in book 3 it's crafted both through carving over weeks while travelling across harsh conditions and using magic for the metal elements, and finally in book 4 it gets used in the climatic battle against the villain. I actually just wrote the battle scene this past week, and honestly, I wish I was already publishing these books so I can share it with the world so I'm not the only one crying with my characters.

You're probably wondering why I am running a pin campaign before I have even published the books. Simple—I'm impatient and the art was done even if the books aren't yet. Anyway, I hope you love these updates with the behind the scenes and WIP art. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEzMIBZ_HTA

Don't forget to vote your favourite pin to unlock for number 3/4!

Yours in art,
Therena