Thank You!
over 3 years ago – Sat, Oct 10, 2020 at 11:45:01 PM

Thank you everyone! 

You made it happen. Yesterday I couldn't do anything except stare at the screen all day. I'd take breaks and go for walks or work on other stuff but I kept coming back to the screen. For a while there it kept teetering back and forth on $22,000. Someone would pledge and it would hit $22, 000, we'd celebrate and then someone would cancel and it would go back to 21something. We did that cycle a couple times towards the end. Don't get me wrong, I was happy with $21something but when we were just $1 shy if $22,000 your OCD kicks in. It can't stay at $21,999. It's like pumping gas and it stops at $19.99. You know you have to squeeze another penny in, you can't leave it like that. 

Thankfully, a couple last minute people came through and we broke through that barrier.

What's Next?

You'll be getting an email early next week with a link to the survey. We'll be using Backerkit to do our survey's. In the survey you'll be able to pick colors, add extra's if you want and confirm your address. You may have noticed we're out of original size blank sketchbooks on our webpage. I'll be getting a small batch in and will make them available to you as add-ons before the general public in case we run out. We hit our stretch goal so we'll be adding a heavy-duty sticker to everyone's rewards.

Thanks again, stay tuned for your surveys!

Stretch Goal and Manufacturing Update!
over 3 years ago – Sat, Oct 10, 2020 at 01:24:38 PM

Hey y'all,

Things are going great, I'm truly grateful for each of you who backed the new wallets. 

Couple things:

1. Manufacturing is underway and things are progressing nicely. 

We're still on track to ship in October! It will be late October if all goes well. The photo is some of the cut fabric taken a few days after we started manufacturing. The silver fabric is the RFID blocking material.

2. Stretch goal! 

The "QuickStarter" idea is wonderful for getting backers their rewards quick but it has some drawbacks. When you start manufacturing after the Kickstarter is over and you get the money and then get all the surveys back that's typically two months after you launched. We on the other hand started manufacturing when we hit our goal (first day). The downside is there's no room for add-ons like additional color or style  options for wallets or paper because all that has to be ordered up front. So any stretch goals have to be something you can make in a two weeks like stickers. So, let's hit $18,000 and we'll throw a free sticker in every reward. These are high quality heavy duty stickers that can be used on your water flask, car back window, laptop, etc. If we blow past this goal then we'll throw another stretch goal up. Let's keep the momentum going!

Thank you for sharing the Kickstarter! I'll check in again soon!

Great First Day!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Oct 06, 2020 at 01:09:43 PM

In the first 24 hours we raised over double our goal - Huzzah! Of course, this happened because of you and I'm deeply grateful. What now? 

1. Factory was notified and work has begun on the wallets. This Kickstarter (or Quickstarter) is an experiment in cranking out your rewards as fast as possible. A normal Kickstarter goes a month or more. After it's over it takes a couple weeks for the money to arrive and then production begins. To be honest this is probably the smartest and safest plan but I havent' been known to make the smartest or safest decisions :-P I made this about 2 weeks on purpose and worked out a deal with my factory to begin production as soon as we hit the goal. Thanks to you, that was the first day. I'll keep you posted an how things are going.

 2.  I'll start working on a stretch goal. I have some ideas but am open to hearing yours.

3. Keep the momentum going! Thank you for all the generous mentions and shares - It means a lot!

Check out Stephen Silver's Kickstarter going on now! I met Stephen last year at Ground Zero Animation Expo and was surprised by how approachable he is. He's designed characters for Disney Television Animation, Sony Feature Animation, Nickelodeon Animation, and many more - establishing the style of shows such as Kim Possible, Danny Phantom, and Kevin Smith's Clerks, the Animated Series. In my eyes he's a rockstar in the industry, yet he takes the time to talk to fellow artists and young students alike and has no grand airs about him. Just a down to earth nice guy. He an amazing teacher and has been blessed with the gift of teaching in a way anyone can understand. I reference his book all the time.

Now he's created the SilverDrawingAcademy.com, where you can watch tutorials from his book come to life. SDA is an online platform where you can develop your skills, expand your mind and connect with artists like you. There are over 300 video tutorials with exercises using his personal approach to Character Design, and Drawing, to help you improve your techniques with clear instruction. You can grow at your own pace, rewatch the lessons as often as you’d like, ask him direct questions, submit your work for review and join in Monthly Live Drawing Sessions.

 Go visit his Kickstarter, you won't regret it!