Hey everyone!

There's nothing of significant notice in this update but I wanted to do this for fun to show you all some zippers paired with the new bag samples I have in-hand now! Mass production has already started so this is just to give you an even better idea of how bags and other items will look.

As always, if you need any help with your survey if it isn't completed or if you need to get any help with items etc. please reach out to support or to my customer service email: [email protected]! I'll be happy to assist you :)

A general note on card charges: there were about 40 failed card charges but there will be a 'retry' on the 14th. If you have any issues that you need to inquire about, again, please reach out to BK support :) They've been so extremely attentive and helpful in this whole process.

Without further ado:

I couldn't be happier with how these look all together! The pixel inserts get me so inspired to keep designing pixel merch :D

Here's some previews of how the zipper colorways will look against their respective bag colorway:

The pink turned out so perfect! The hot pink outline/pleather color matches the outline and accent printing on the front of the bag. I think the contrast is so nice in-person!

I'm also in love with how the silver set turned out! I know some were unsure of the inverted color printing but I hope that you all can see the vision I was going for now!

As a general note on the zipper accessories: they are not intended to be super sturdy or meant to withstand a lot of pull weight, I would recommend being a bit gentle with them or pulling from the main zipper mostly.
Additionally, the zipper samples sent to me were single-side printed- this is ok because I just needed to see how the material looked in person but I have triple-checked with the manufacturer to make sure the actual product will be double-side printed :)

Here's a look at the color-match for the canvas materials for the laptop bags! I'm also really pleased with how these look in-person :D
Another tip/recommendation from my usage of the laptop bag sample: due to the texture of the canvas, it may pick up some fibers and lint over time so lint-rolling every now and then will fix this! :)

The wallet turned out exactly as I wanted- the new cursor zipper is extremely satisfying to touch in my opinion- has a good smooth metal texture feel that scratches an itch in my brain haha. If you are familiar with the 'version 1' from a long time ago, this is the same size and dimensions. The upgrades shine in the design and the materials, the pleather is super soft and has a smooth surface and is a lot more scratch-resistant (but of course, I am going to recommend gentle handling overall).
For other wallet colors, they will match exactly with the bag colorways! :)

The bulk of the bags, wallets, and bag accessories have been put into production! Still working out some mass orders for pins and the photocard holders. Things are moving along smoothly!

Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm! Hope you are having a wonderful July thus far :D

- Tori

Hey everyone!

I've sent out notice to all completed surveys that within 48 hrs all survey answers will be locked (minus any missing surveys or surveys with issues/incomplete sections). I am going to wait until the 7th to charge cards though!

Here are some supplier photos for the retro colorway canvas bag and zipper sets and some completed inserts!

I'm super happy like before with how these turned out :) The samples have been shipped to me and I'll be able to preview a lot of different combos once they are in hand.

This update isn't really juicy but I did want to add some of those photos for fun!

Thanks for yall's continued enthusiasm!
- Tori

Hey everyone!

We are missing 69 survey responses! If you haven't received your survey, try this retrieval link or contact Backerkit support if you are experiencing issues still:
https://mx-paint-ita-bag-v2.backerkit.com/

I'm pitching June 30th as the survey/order lock date as that will also be the date that the preorder store closes!

This would be a Monday, and that following Friday, July 4th, would be the day that cards are charged for the shipping and any add-ons separate from initial pledge amounts.

I wanted to pitch this here to see if anyone has any issues with that being a lock date! Ultimately, nothing is last-chance but to ensure I can get every mass order sorted sooner than later, I would need some more accurate numbers overall. For people who haven't finished surveys by then, upon completion, they would be able to be locked in shortly after. I've also been able to sort individual pledges and add-ons via email so nothing is absolutely last chance and I can help with errors and swaps etc. :)

If there's anything super wrong with the above dates, definitely let me know what's up in the comments here! If there's enough concern, I'll definitely try to shift those dates around.

ONTO THE FUN PART :D

Here's some print tests on the fabric for the inserts! the lighting is a little low in the photos but they look so crisp and bright! I can't wait to see them in the bags :D

Also I know a lot of people were wondering about the pink and silver zipper variants, these aren't completed but here is a better example of the colors of the pleather + print here:

Silver is getting somewhat of an 'inverted' look because the shine of the silver pleather would flush out a white print overall.

Also from the previous WIPs of the wallet sample, the custom zipper was missing but here's a photo of what it looks like!

I think it turned out so perfect!
I'm still working with the manufacturer on some small changes on the retro canvas bag but overall, everything else has been given the thumbs up!

I'm so pleased with this process, I hope you all are excited as well! :D

- Tori

Hi everyone!

The survey has been sent to 5% of backers for the smoke test to catch any errors before sending the survey to everyone! Please check your email to see if you got a survey but don't panic if you haven't received one yet.

I've received a few photos of the sample process, the front panels of the new colorways have been printed and I really wanted to show off the retro colorway because it uses a silver shiny material that they were able to show through-

The printed colors are SUPER accurate to digital files I sent and I couldn't be happier with the results!!
For the wallet prints- there's a couple measurement and design changes being done on those panels but I wanted to include them here as well so you all could follow the progress with me :)

I'll give another update here when 100% of surveys have been sent out!
- Tori

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the update spam, I wanted to let you all know that we're at about 63% survey completion and I've been seeing some of you guys say that you didn't receive your survey. There is a recovery page I've learned about that you all can use to get your surveys if you didn't receive an email.

Please be sure to answer your survey ASAP, it will help get production started sooner and keep things on or ahead of schedule :)

And now for the fun part!

More bag photos are in and the color matching is INCREDIBLE :D I couldn't be happier with how these turned out! Even the interior padded lining is matched to the colorways:

The wallet is a bit more of a WIP at the moment: the zipper is still getting its custom part.

The entry pocket for the clear window also changed from the side to the top because it would be easier to access and swap out photos.
If you're familiar with the V1 of this wallet, the size and style is pretty comparable but the pleather and the printing are where more significant changes happened. The surface is smooth instead of textured!

The pink canvas bag is also completed but the retro colorway is getting some light changes before debuting in photo-form.

Things still in sample progress: pink and silver zipper pull sets, custom wallet cursor zipper, retro colorway for canvas bag, pixel design inserts.

Here are some digital mocks for the zipper colorways though! The interior part is a print and the exterior is the pleather color:

The photos of upcoming samples will do a lot more to show in better detail how it is supposed to look, especially against the bags themselves :)

As always, thank you all so much for your patience and support with all of this, I've been having such an awesome time with Backerkit so far. Their services are top-notch and I hope to use this platform again in the future for more projects!

See you in the next update!
- Tori