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It's been a while since the last update, but for the most part I have been either waiting on items to arrive (Chinese New Year delayed production quite a bit), or I have been assembling the items I could.
I've also launched the next Kickstarter patch campaign, Cryptid Command 2 featuring Mothman, Chupacabra and The Kraken.
But as of last week, I finally received all the Order Of Krampus reward items. The patches I've already shared photos of, but the pins you've not yet seen.
They came out really cool, and everyone who's got one coming is going to like it.
I spent the entire weekend assembling the first stage of the limited edition rewards, and this week I'll be assembling the second stage as well as assembling the standard reward patches.
I'd show you photos of the process, but I want to save the final reward presentation as a surprise… I'll post those photos once you get your packages.
Once I have all the assembly finished, it's just a matter of getting the shipping process going. That's the least enjoyable aspect of these campaigns by far.
I'm also going to be working my artist table at Wizard World Cleveland this weekend (Friday to Sunday) and those are long days. I will likely not get the shipping going until the following weekend at the earliest.
That said, everything is on track and the Order Of Krampus rewards will be heading out to you most likely by the end of March.
Thanks again for backing the campaign, and making creative projects like this and future projects possible!
George
As of this update, all of the reward items and all other supplies for the Order Of Krampus rewards have been ordered.
There were some delays on getting the patches into production, as there was some confusion over the pricing for the metallic thread for the limited edition patches. I had planned on having those ordered a week or so ago, but they didn't go into production until this week.
And due to Chinese New Year, there are long production times for the enamel pins. I also had a mind-bogglingly difficult time trying to order these pins. The initial manufacturer ignored repeated requests to send and invoice, as did other manufacturers I contacted. Bizarre.
I finally found a responsive and prompt manufacturer and got the order placed. Never thought I'd have delays on asking people to let me spend money with their business! But I'm glad to be ordering from a more responsible company anyways. I just didn't plan on having to source a new manufacturer as part of the production process.
It's looking like I should have everything in-hand by the end of February or early March, and shipped shortly after that.
As I await the items, I'll be working on all the original art rewards and sketch cards so those are ready to go once the items are here.
From there, I plan on running the next Kickstarter campaign right afterwards in mid-March. That will be the Cryptid Command 2 patch set: Mothman, Chupacabra, and The Kraken — plus the Dogman and more to be revealed…
My goal is to have the Cryptid Command 2 patches in-hand by early May in time for my artist vendor table at the Ohio Bigfoot Conference. And I always like to make sure I ship backer rewards before I put items out for sale.
I've been revamping the art for the Cryptid Command 2 patches, as well as working on additional cryptid patches for the set as the stretch goal items. Patrons over at my ongoing Patreon artist campaign have exclusive access to the development sketches and artwork. the feedback on all the new art has been very positive.
If you're interested in being a part of the development process for upcoming patch sets, and extending your support of me as an independent artist, my Patreon artist campaign is set up just for that. It's like a virtual artist studio visit.
As I put the final touches on all the items and get these Order Of Krampus patches and pins into production, I'm reminded of how thankful I am for everyone's support during this campaign to make this a reality.
This is all a one-man operation. I don't have some huge social media following; I get ignored by nearly all the media outlets I contact; I'm not jumping on any artistic trend bandwagons, nor do I follow the herd of reinterpreting the characters and intellectual properties of other more well-known creators and creations.
My aim to to create absolutely original content. I want to make stuff you've never seen before, and could never predict. I want to surprise and delight with each new campaign. I want to push myself creatively as far as I can with each new Kickstarter launch.
Blazing this trail is a lot of work. It's not all fun, and it's easy to get temporarily discouraged. My creative process (and my personality) require a lot of solitude, which doesn't help with the marketing in this digital world we live in today. And fulfilling these campaigns is an enormous task that I don't always properly express in these updates.
Because of all this, your support is essential. It is the lifeblood of these creations.
I can't thank you enough for all the emotional, social and of course financial support in this and all the other campaigns. None of this would be possible without you. This is without a doubt the most creative and productive period of my entire life, and I have all of you to thank for this.
And it's only just getting started.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to make all of this happen and to share it with all of you.
George
It has been a little while since the last update, but things have been moving along. Most of you have filled out your BackerKit survey and did so quickly — thank you! That helps me get an accurate item count so I can place orders.
My time over the past couple of weeks has been focused on shipping the rewards for the previous Hallows Angels campaign. I wanted to clear that off the plate so as to remove as much overlap as possible. I'm not going to run campaigns so close together in the future.
At any rate, all my focus is now on the Order Of Krampus fulfillment. I have enough survey responses to place orders.
My aim for getting these Krampus rewards out in the mail is no later than the end of February or early March.
The patch sew-outs (the pre-production samples) were sent to me directly since I was unable to get a generic sample of patches with the red metallic thread before the campaign ended. That took a bit of extra time, but I wanted to make sure they looked good before I ordered them. They look good!
Both the standard and metallic thread patches look good and are ready to go into production once I get a few crossed wires worked out with the manufacturer this week.
For the limited-edition backers wondering if the side-campaign "Bell & Chain" patch would be metallic, the answer is YES! So if you ordered a limited edition set, all your patches will be metallic thread.
The pins have a short turnaround and I'll get those orders placed when the patches are ordered.
I am putting the final perfectionism on the design of the patch display cards after a bunch of work on them this weekend.
Limited Edition backers will be receiving an exclusive design for their patch display cards, in addition to them being signed and numbered, along with some other exclusive flourishes. These will be my most elaborate and exclusive limited-edition set to date, and I plan on pushing this further for each and every campaign going forward.
If you want to pick up both versions (standard and metallic) for your collection, you'll need to order the standard versions of the patches as add-ons in your BackerKit survey. The metallic patches are only available to limited-edition backers.
There are a few Limited Edition rewards are left, if you'd like to upgrade. That is something I'll have to do manually for you if you are interested. And I need to know soon, before I place orders later this week.
Once I get these Krampus patch orders placed, I'll be able to get back into finalizing the art and the campaign page for the next Kickstarter patch set: Cryptid Command 2 — featuring Mothman, Chupacabra and the Kraken!
I've been reworking the art I had in place for these last autumn, and the new designs are not only much better, but I was inspired to work on a brand-new patch for this set — the Dogman!
I am aiming to launch this set in February/March 2017. I think going forward I will primarily be doing 2-week campaigns on Kickstarter. It worked great for Order Of Krampus.
After Cryptid Command 2, I've also got some campaigns featuring mythological and legendary creatures, as well as dragons, ancient civilizations, and much more. I've been working on the development art for those (and more) and sharing the process with patrons over on my Patreon page.
I've also been tinkering again lately with my ambitious Cthulhu campaign concepts and sketches…
Again, thank you for your support of the Order Of Krampus campaign. Your pledge supports me directly as an independent artist. It allows me to be able to get these patches made and build the merchandising aspect of my art business.
My long-term goal is to be able to earn a living directly from the art I create and the merchandise based off of that creativity. Each one of your pledges for my campaigns helps me get a step closer to making that a reality.
I can't thank you enough for your support!
George
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Greetings initiates,
The backer surveys will be heading out shortly, and as mentioned they will arrive via the third-party BackerKit service which I will be using once again to help me fulfill the rewards.
BackerKit offers you the opportunity to purchase additional items, upgrade your pledge, upgrade your patch backings, or get items from previous campaigns. All of this is optional. If you just want what you pledged for, you just need to pick your options (patch backing, and choice of stretch goal item if applicable) and confirm your mailing address.
If you do not want to use BackerKit for some reason, let me know. However, it makes everything a lot easier for me (and for you) if you use it.
A few potentially confusing things to be aware of in the BackerKit survey process:
1. If you pledged extra during the Kickstarter campaign for patch backing upgrades (Velcro or pin-back), as you choose those upgrades in the survey, it will notify you that it will require an additional payment — but your pledge will already have covered this cost. Just keep on with the survey, it'll make sense as you get to the checkout.
2. If you contributed for either of the side-campaigns on Tilt, your pledge should have a credit attached to it which covers the cost of the item(s) you pledged for. A few of you I have messaged to get further details, so I still need to add your credit.
Your credit will be for the (higher) cost of the items in BackerKit, not the amount you pledged on Tilt. That is because your pledge got you those items at a discounted price. I hope that is not too confusing.
If your credit seems to be incorrect, just drop me a line or use the BackerKit help.
As always, the sooner these surveys are completed, the sooner I can place orders. I am hoping to have these surveys completed by no later than January 26, 2017.
The funds are on their way to my bank account, and the merchandise orders should be ready to be placed in the next week or so. The only thing that I'll be waiting on is the competed surveys!
If you are an international backer, please see the post script at the end of this update for detailed information about possible customs and/or VAT fees on your package.
Another backer update is another opportunity to thank you for your support of this campaign — and for many of you, and thank you for your ongoing support many times over.
This campaign was right on the heels of one that hasn't even shipped yet. It's so great to know that I've established a level of trust where you all know I'll come through on these campaigns.
Also, I'm really liking this 2-week campaign timeframe. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing at least all the future patch-based campaigns as 2-week durations (yep, there are non-patch concepts in the works too).
I don't plan on doing these back-to-back campaigns though. It gets a bit mind-scrambling to keep it all on track. This was a special case where the Krampus concept had to be done in December, and I didn't want to wait another year to do it.
So, thanks again for making this campaign a success, and keep an eye out for your BackerKit survey.
George
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Subscribe to my monthly email newsletter to stay in the loop on all my artistic activities and more.
Become a patron on my Partreon campaign for exclusive insider access to my creative process.
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If you are an international backer, your reward may incur customs and/or VAT fees based on your country's postal laws. When you pick up your package, this is when you may be required to pay the custom/VAT fees.
I have set up the rewards so that they are listed as an "item", priced at your pledge amount. This will be listed on the customs form.
If your reward includes stretch goals, those too are included in your reward "item". They will not be listed separately on the customs form.
If you order add-ons, those will be listed individually on the customs form at their listed prices.
I cannot list your reward items as gifts; everything I have researched says this is not a legal way to list Kickstarter reward items on a customs form.
If you have any questions, issues or problems with this, please let me know so we can find a resolution before your package ships. I do my best to follow what is both legal and in the best interests of the backers when I ship these internationally.
Some international backers are unaware of the customs/VAT situation for merchandise ordered from outside their country. And it seems some Kickstarter creators mark rewards as "gifts", but from everything I've researched that seems illegal and risky and the fines and sentences are harsh. This is not something I am going to risk.
As always, I do my best to do what is right, and what is best for the backers. Please keep in mind that these Kickstarter campaigns are not "stores", and that I am constantly learning — especially as I grow and use new tools and services to help fulfill these campaigns.
I appreciate the patience of those of you who've been understanding of this situation as I learn and grow.
George