WE DID IT! (Now what?)
about 4 years ago – Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 11:15:28 PM

The 'I SHIP IT' Campaign has Officially Ended!

The timer has ended, we are 407 backers strong, and 5919% funded! I've been reeling at the sheer number and feel so honored and blessed to have found such an awesome, amazing community. In the last two days of the campaign, we managed to surpass my wildest expectations and passed 400 backers. 400 folks that wanted to see this project succeed!

Pledges

If you follow me on Twitter and Instagram, you saw that I announced that if we reached 400 backers, that BOTH potential freebies (mini envelope pin and the 'I WILL GO DOWN WITH MY SHIP' sticker) would be added to all pin pledges. Which we did! Horray!

Only, we had a few pledge payments not go through. 31 pledges to be exact. That puts us below 400, but still above 350. I've kept an eye on it, and six folks remedied their payment with a seventh who reached out to me. That still means 24 pledges are stuck in limbo.

If that's you, Kickstarter should have sent you an email about how to fix the problem (conversely, you can get those instructions here). You have seven days from the project's end to enter a correct payment option. After that, you will be dropped from the project.

That being said! If you found you couldn't participate in the project anymore, that's okay! Life takes priority and if you need those funds for something else, I completely understand. All I ask is that you drop me a note so that I can factor that into the numbers. :3

The silver lining in this is that I saw how even the split was for the final freebie. I have decided that, if the number of dropped pledges goes below 400, I will let you choose which freebie you would like. I want everyone to love what they get <3

Still here? Awesome. Y'all are amazing.

Now let's talk surveys.

BackerKit & Preorder Store

After the pledge amendment period has ended, I will send out surveys for which pins you would like. This is also where you will be able to add any additional items that you would like to purchase! Payment options will be Paypal and credit card.

If you missed out (or know someone who missed out), the preorder store will be open to all! I will be adding the items from my Etsy shop, that way you can snag some of my other products without doubling shipping! Horray!

Also, because Kickstarter isn't letting me edit the main page any longer: if you were interested in adding a lanyard to your pledge, it will be $10 USD in the BackerKit store. :3

Tl;DR

The Kickstarter's over with overwhelming success. Double-check your emails to make sure your pledge went through. Surveys will be sent out next week after the fix/drop period has ended. You are awesome, amazing human beings.

I'll be reaching out to the remaining errored backers tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll be talking to y'all as soon as I have the freebie designs finalized :3

<3 Emily

FRIDAY UPDATE 4: Final Decisions & 48 Hours
about 4 years ago – Sat, Feb 15, 2020 at 11:16:49 PM

TWO DAYS LEFT

First of all, I want to say that yes, I am aware that it is no longer Saturday haha. I was working on getting the last few graphics for the project together and didn't want to post the update until they were complete. It seemed like only yesterday that I launched this project on Kickstarter, and man, y'all have made it my most successful Kickstarter to date! With a little over 48 hours remaining, I just want to thank each and every one of you for making this project a reality 💙

A few housekeeping items: 

•  In the shuffle of the last days of the project, keep an eye out for Early Bird slots if you missed them. There are a couple of higher-up EB slots available at the time of writing and I'm sure others will appear as folks switch around. I'll post them when I catch them on my social media pages.
•  I have done some work in Backerkit and you will have the option to purchase add ons with PayPal! This has been one of the most frequent questions I have received, so I'm glad to have some good news regarding it!
•  There is an optional Backer poll in update 11 for future tropes. This will help me determine future projects--including another trope Kickster!--so if you'd like to see more trope pins, stickers, and merch in the future, go there to let me know which ones you'd like to see!

The final sticker and lanyard designs have been added to the main page, so go check them out if you were interested in either!

LAST PUSH FOR 350

For those of you that have just joined the project, be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for future projects. And if you haven't done so already, please consider spreading the word on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr! If we pass 350 backers (we have 339 at the time of writing), I plan on adding an extra freebie to every pin-pledge tier!

What is it you may ask? Well, that's up to you to decide! Would you like a mini-envelope pin or a 3-inch nautical sticker that says 'I WILL GO DOWN WITH MY SHIP'? Let me know in the comments below!

<3 Emily

SPOTLIGHTS

What could be the final set of Friday Spotlights for this project! My good friend Charmed&Cozy is running her first Kickstarter! She's a wonderful gal who's been featured in Buzzfeed and has some awesome pins! A great collection for those who love the more fanciful Disney buildings.

My friends know I'm a huge honey hound, so how could I not love these pins? VectorPenguin is a phenomenal designer with 14 successful Kickstarters under her belt. If you like the cute and the kawaii, be sure to check out her latest project!

SUPER SECRET BACKER POLL #2
about 4 years ago – Fri, Feb 07, 2020 at 08:57:06 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

FRIDAY UPDATE 3: Stickers, BackerKit, and Moving Forward
about 4 years ago – Fri, Feb 07, 2020 at 10:30:28 AM

STICKER DESIGNS (AND FREEBIE STICKERS)

Alright y'all, time for a proper Friday Update! Thank you for being so patient while I work towards getting the last parts of the campaign ready. I've been working on the sticker designs and those should be ready by Sunday, so keep your eyes open for that.

I also have a prototype for the Freebie Sticker Sheet that I hope y'all will love :>

(Please note that the design/colors for the stickers are not the final versions and things may change or tweak slightly)

I'm still working on the lanyard design, and that should be ready to reveal by the next Friday Update.

BACKERKIT

For those of you who were wondering: Yes! I plan on using BackerKit to help organize and streamline the shipping process. What is BakerKit? It’s a program that allows surveys to be sent out and items to be added on easily after the campaign. That includes all unlocked designs as well as any products that currently exist in my shop. That way you don’t have to try and calculate the additions on your own, it does that for you! it also gives multiple options on how to pay for the add-ons.

MOVING FORWARD

I've gotten this question a few different places, so I thought I'd take the time to answer it here: What has unlocked here will be all that unlocks for this campaign. The support For this project has been wild. Like. I can't even express in words what everyone's support and belief has meant to me. This is something I want to make into a full-time career in the furure and y’all are showing me that this is possible. But, as of right now, I'm the sole employee of my small business. I want this project to be successful start to finish--not just at funding, but in timliness, manufacturing, and shipping too. Quality is important to me and I want y'all to love what you get.

So what about the other tropes?

I plan on making more trope pins! I have a few more projects planned for this year and a part 2 of the 'I SHIP IT!' Enamel Pin Collection is definitely in the cards. But I need your help. This Update will be followed by a backer-only post where you can vote for what happens next!

If you haven't done so already, please consider spreading the word on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr! We have a little over a week left and I'd love to do something fun if we somehow manage to pass 350 backers. Thank y'all again for all your kind words and support, it means the world to me.

<3 Emily

SPOTLIGHTS

New update means new spotlights! This week we have two lovely projects from two friends of mine. The first is an adorable Animal Crossing Mini pin set! They have several stretch goals and already have the first set funded, so go take a look at all their goodies! Great for the new game coming out in a month X3

 The second is an adorable Sailor Moon inspired project! Luna was always my favorite in the series and the designs by FourSeasonsFox are adorable! Only Diana is left to unlock <3

MINI UPDATE: Two Weeks Left!
over 4 years ago – Mon, Feb 03, 2020 at 09:29:24 PM

TWO WEEKS LEFT

Hullo hullo, thank you all for being patient! I wasn't able to get a proper update together last week due to work-related responsibilities, but do expect a Friday Update to show up this week! I've been working on some behind-the-scenes items and should have some exciting things to share with the next update.

That being said, we have two-weeks remaining until the campaign is over! I post any Early Bird slots that open up on both my Twitter and my Instagram, so go give them a follow if you would like to be notified! I also post my work, future plans, and thoughts there too :3

Hope y'all had a lovely weekend, talk to y'all soon!

<3 Emily