Elemental Tea Time 2: Garden Party

Happy Friday! 

Hope you all are doing well! I've been quite a bit under the weather but this lychee oolong tea I picked up is certainly helping! 

Tonight is the second survey lock so I will be locking all completed surveys and charging attached cards are around midnight MDT. There's two more lock dates - May 24th and May 31 - so plan accordingly! 

Pins are in the mold making phase now. My company usually tries out the mold with a basic silver nickel plating first before starting mass production so if I get pictures of that I'll make sure to share. I don't see this being a reason a delay would occur, but I was told this morning that the cost of gold has gone up so that is going to effect the per unit price of the gold plated pins. There's no further action on your end, I will eat the cost, but it is worth mentioning that some of the more complicated gold plated pins might go up in price after fulfillment is over. I will keep the current prices in the pre order store as-is though. 

Have a great evening and catch you next time! 

Cheers, 
Lachlan

Hi all, just a super quick update since I'm sure you're all tired of getting these daily updates from me! 

1. I've contacted BK Creator Support about the missing returning backer question so I'll hopefully hear back soon!

2. I've manually added returning backer rewards for everyone who's reached out so far. Sorry it took so long - there was *a lot* of you and I'm no closer to figuring out how this happened! For an insight on the shenanigans, about 40 or so saw the question in their surveys and at least 14 of you didn't. The only insight from BK I've gotten so far is even people put in the returning backer segment were having this problem??? Which is very wild because the survey question is supposedly attached to that segment. I don't understand tech at all D:

3. We're past the 75% mark for completed surveys so now that I have a more accurate item count it's time to start production! YAY! Now in the past it has taken my company about a month and a half to make a large amount of new pins (mold fees have to be made first). I don't know if that's exactly what we can expect, but it's at least an estimate. I'll share production photos along the way if you're interested - I'm ESPECIALLY curious about the Terrarium production since it has stained glass!

4. If you're a returning backer and haven't been able to select your freebie, or if you have any other questions about your surveys, please let me know! I'm happy to help you all out :)

5. The next survey lock and card charge is this Friday May 17th @ 11:59 pm MDT! 

6. Refund deadline is May 18th! I will not do any refunds after that date. 

7. All surveys are due by May 31st @11:59 pm MDT! I will cancel any incomplete orders on June 1st with no refund. 

8. Thank you everyone who hit the survey snafu for being so patient and kind about it. I know it was out of my control but I still feel terrible about it, and everyone was super nice when messaging me about it so gosh, thank you! You're all very nice and wonderful, I'm so glad :'D

It's full steam ahead, let's make some pins!!!

Cheers!
- Lachlan

This is an update for returning backers having technical difficulties with the incentive question (or lack thereof), so if you're not one of the backers affected please disregard! Please open the update in BackerKit to read on. Have a lovely night! Catch that aurora if you can, it's stunning.

Hey all! WOW! Thanks for being so efficient in getting surveys filled out - we're already at 57%! Just a little more and I'll be able to make the pin order!

Also, all stretch goals are unlocked!!! Mona is ecstatic to be made into a pin at last!


Just a reminder - tonight is the first survey lock and card charge. It'll happen in 5 hours from now. If you haven't finished your surveys, don't worry! You still have time to do so. This is just to make sure I'm able to collect the funds needed for the extras we just funded. 

Take care and see you in the next update!

Hey all!

Apologies for the delay but smoke test surveys have just been sent! Haven't received your survey yet? No worries, just check back in 24 hours! The smoke tests are just a small first wave to make sure the survey is working before it is released to everyone.

For sake of transparency, I was advised to wait a little bit to make sure all of the data from the campaign imported correctly. The timing was a little weird though because I had a convention when everything got imported and then I got pneumonia when I got home. Oops! But all's well that ends well.

When doing the survey, you should notice that:
1. If you backed both my and my partners' campaigns, the cross collab tea cup will already be in your cart.
2. If you're a returning backer, you will be prompted to choose your bonus set - don't add it on the add-on store unless you want an extra set!

For the cross collab pins, the other collab pin promised to you will be fulfilled by my partner so you will receive one through me and another through my partners.

ALSO!!! I have some fun extra add ons!


This ginger cat enamel pin is available in the add-on shop! It was inspired by some of the stories you all told me about how you enjoy your tea! (and also people have been begging me to add a ginger cat to my arsenal!)
- $20 USD
- 2" with 2 backing posts
- Gold plating
- Hard Enamel
- 6 colours and screenprinting

Also available for pre order is SWORDS!

This was going to be my pintopia campaign but I just couldn't come up with the designs in time. Each pin is $20 and we only need 10 pins of each set (animated set and JRPG set) to be pledged to unlock them! Make sure to check them out in the add-on shop to see the exact specs of each pin!

ONE MORE THING! Shiba Inu Recolour [Mona's Version]

Returning backers will recognize this as the Shiba Inu tea set - a set available for the original Elemental Tea Time campaign on Kickstarter - but now it's recoloured to match my darling Shiba Mona! As with the other new pre order pins, we only need to have 10 pins (cup or pot or set - doesn't matter!) pledged for this to unlock! We already have my husky as a tea set - let's get my Shiba made into one too!

I hope you like these extra goodies! I'm personally very excited about the swords, they were SO MUCH FUN to design and the final artwork for them turned out so well!


Alright, time for the technical stuff...
It's survey time, so it's also technical manufacturing, charging, shipping, and fulfilling time.

How's Manufacturing Going?
Very good! I'm ready to pull the trigger on every pin here at a moment's notice. I will make the official order when I receive 75% of the surveys back. All artwork is finalized and ready to produce (even the new add-ons).

What About Timing?
From the last pin campaign I did, it took my manufacturer about a month and a half to make about 10,200 pins with minimal issues. We're definitely not making that much this time but I'd still expect that timeframe as a minimum. We're trying new techniques I haven't done yet in pins, and while my manufacturer is very experienced in all these techniques I don't personally have experience with ordering them, so I can't say for sure if it will take less time or not. Either way, I will keep you all updated on any delays that might come up.

Icky Sticky Terms And Stuff
Yeah I hate this part too. I've mentioned these before on the campaign page, but here are some important terms and conditions concerning the surveys, payments, and such.

When Will Orders Be Locked and Cards Charged?
Surveys that are completed will be locked every Friday until the final lock date: May 31st. Cards for these surveys will also be charged at the same time. (And yes, this Friday counts! So if you're on the fence about a pin choice, go ahead and wait a couple days!) I will lock orders around 11:59 MDT to give folks the whole day to ponder their choices. I am based in the US so for some of you orders will lock on Saturdays. Yay time zones!

You have until May 18th to request a refund if you absolutely need one. I will not offer refunds after that.

You have until May 31st to finish your surveys, otherwise your rewards will be forfeit. There's a lot of you here and I want to make sure you all get your pins asap, so please be considerate to your fellow backers and complete your survey at your earliest convenience! I will not order the pins until 75% of surveys are completed.

I have enabled BackerKit Support for surveys so if you run into any issues you can contact me via support. I definitely want this experience to be as easy as possible and am here to help!

If I order a pin from the new pre-order pins and it doesn't unlock, will I still be charged for it?
Nope! If any set or pin fails to unlock, that's it! You will only be charged for any unlocked pins you add on.

What am I paying for in the survey?
Just shipping, unless you add any add-ons! Shipping estimates were outlined in the campaign story page so check that out if you want to know what to expect.

Think that's it for now, happy survey filling!

Cheers!
~Lachlan