Now, with that aside, the fun stuff!

• We raised $2,674 with 88 backers, far exceeding my goal for this campaign! I have to say thank you a million times for this -- art is my full time job, and as a partially disabled person, it truly means the world to have so much support. It allows me to not only keep a roof over my head, but continue doing what I love, and for that I will never be able to express my full gratitude.

• I'll be sending smoke tests for surveys in the next few days! Basically, this will be a trial run of surveys to make sure everything is set up properly.  Only a few of you will get these!

• The main surveys will be sent MARCH 1ST, and due MARCH 14TH. Please keep an eye out for the survey to hit your inbox!

• The preorder store will open early next week. There are three pin designs avaliable to be funded post campaign -- Choccy Chip Teddi Graham, Peppermint Magnet, and Swedish Fish Wish. Each pin requires 12 backers to be funded. I had previously stated this would require 10 backers, but I realized I didn't calculate in the cost of platform fees into that number, my bad! These will be avaliable in both the survey and the preorder store!

• We did hit the $2500 incentive goal for a free sticker for everyone! Unfortunately, around 17 of you have failed payments currently. This is common with Pintopia as many pledges pull at the same time, which can cause banks to flag it as fraud. My request to you all is to fix those card issues as soon as possible -- As soon as we get back to $2500 with cards being resolved, I'll let you all know and the sticker incentive will continue as planned! I'll be emailing those of you whose cards have had issues early next week.

Can you believe it? It's the last 48 HOURS for Pintopia, and this campaign!

As a reminder, by pledging during the campaign, you're getting the best possible price for these pins -- My standard pin price is $15, and during this campaign you can get the pins for just $13 each! And, the more pins you pledge for, the more of a discount you recieve!

Additionally, if you pledge for 3 or more pins, you'll get a Konpeito Wooloo pin for FREE -- and your choice of the regular or shiny variants was unlocked thanks to YOU lovelies who've backed the campaign so far. If you're sitting at 2 pins right now, I'd highly recommend adding on one more -- you'll get 4 for the price of 3!

I'm also officially announcing that... ✨ CREAMSICLE BUIZEL IS UNLOCKED! ✨

Also, don't forget that I am cross-collabing with Itty Bitty Mini Made -- if you pledge to both of our projects at any physical reward tier, you'll get both of these super cute pins for FREE! You'll get Gengar with your order from me, and Sprigatito from IBMM! Check her campaign out HERE!



One last thing -- Some of you have asked about the other three possible designs I revealed during an earlier poll: Choccy Chip Teddiursa Graham, Peppermint Magnemite, and Swedish Fish Wishiwashi. I wanted to let you guys know ahead of time that these will be avaliable as post-campaign stretch goals! Essentially, during the period I'll be collecting surveys from you all, you will also have the chance to help fund those designs! All you'll need to do is pledge for them via your survey or on the preorder store. I'll have more info on that when the time comes, but for now here's a sneak peak! (Yes, each pin needs just 10 backers to fund!)



That's all the housekeeping I have for you folks! Let's end this last 48 hours on a strong note -- the Sweets will be on your doorstep before you know it!

Thanks again for all the support,

Katze

Hey folks! We're officially under the one-week mark! This campaign has really flown by for me -- and that's because you all are so lovely! 

From here on out, I won't have any more updates for y'all until we've got 48 hours left on the campaign. My big hope is to continue to stay above $1750 so Buizel can be unlocked -- and if we can end beyond that, my heart will be so full! I am a full-time artist, so any additional funds go straight into living and business expenses, like restocking other products!

In the meantime, I hope you'll take a moment to vote on my latest poll (for backers only) linked below! I want to know; what's your favorite of the pin designs? This info is not only just nice to see, but helpful for me planning order quantities ahead of getting post-campaign surveys. So cast your vote! The poll will remain open til the campaign ends.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

Katze

Hey guys!

There’s a little over a week left before the campaign ends. It’s gone so quickly 😵‍💫 But now is the time to celebrate — We are that much closer to the pins going into production! 🎉

My first announcement for you guys this week is that the Wooper design has been finalized with… the updated sprinkles, which won with a whopping 88% of the vote! 

Next, I wanted to poll you guys on another change is that I am considering. For Pancake Mantine — I’m thinking that maybe the highlights are overkill and an unessecary detail. Do you guys like this pin better with or without the highlights? Vote in the poll below! 

Additionally, as we are in the awkward middle stage of a campaign where I am getting a lot of cancellations, I’m holding off on announcing Buizel as unlocked despite us currently being past the goal, just in case it does go down again. I’ll announce that once we exceed it by a bit more, but so long as the end of the campaign is over $1750, he will happen! 

Lastly, I wanted to address the current US political climate regarding tariffs. This is a very… uncertain time for artists. For those of you who aren’t aware, enamel pins CANNOT be produced in the US due to the capability of the machinery to create counterfeit coins. So, your favorite artists get their pins, acrylics, plush, and many other products made overseas — mostly in China. Under the new tariffs, that will now cost more, by anywhere from 10-30% (again, we’re not entirely certain until we get clarification… ugh.) As far as that pertains to this campaign — I don’t plan on letting it stop me, but it’s possible that these regulations may cause shipping delays with the pins getting from my manufacturer to me. It’s also frustrating to plan a budget for production in a campaign like this, only for extra, unnecessary fees to be tacked on completely out of your control. 

I want to assure you guys though — no matter what happens, I’ll keep you posted and if any delays happen, I will post an update here letting you all know as soon as I do. 

Additionally, to anyone feeling overwhelmed, I encourage you to take a moment to unplug from social media and breathe. My escapism of choice lately has been Hello Kitty Island Adventure, highly recommend. 

All of this to say, take care of yourselves this week, Trainers! Here’s to crossing the finish line! 🍻

Much love,

Katze