Hi all! I apologize for the radio silence over the past two weeks. Unfortunately I worked myself too hard and got so burnt out and stressed that I got physically sick, and haven't had the spoons to write out an update. I am just one person so unfortunately things come to a standstill when I get sick, but I am working hard to rest so I can get back to work!! I am still dealing with this but finally felt okay enough to drop an update!

First of all, both Melon and Kelly have been unlocked!! I am SO SO grateful and happy that we were able to unlock all the goals!!! THANK YOU so so much for your support! I will get started on their samples ASAP!! :D Here's the full artwork for the both of them:

I also wanted to share a few sample updates! Most of the plushies are still in progress, but Ash, Tristan, Cy, and Luca are mostly done!! Here are some pics for them! I apologize that they're not all neat and cropped and in a collage but right now I don't have the spoons to edit them, I hope you understand!

For these four I am pretty sure we are nearly finished with their samples! The only changes that need to be made are the color for Cy (should be more of a teal) and Luca's L and R are on the wrong paws for the front. Other than those two details I am super happy with how these guys turned out!!

Now for some guys who need a little more work: Em, Sandy, and Jazz -

To start, Em is somehow all the wrong colors. I think they used the colors for Ash instead of the ones I suggested for Em? So we will need to fix this. Also, the gray line only goes down part of the face, instead of around the whole body. so that will need to be adjusted as well. I am assuming this plushie will be one of the ones that will take the longest to get right unfortunately.

Sandy is very close! But the color placement on her back spots keeps getting messed up and I'm still not confident about her ears. The face and paw embroidery look awesome tho!!

Jazz looks AWESOME from the side and the bottom!! But. I'm not sure what happened to xer face haha. So we will need to adjust that as well!!

Due to the number of conflicting suggestions I've been getting I'm currently not asking for feedback as I have a clear idea of the direction I want to take with these plushies.

Other things to note are that the campaign is ending soon!! Please be sure to adjust your pledges as needed before the end of the campaign!

I also wanted to mention the human-size hoodies - the samples are taking much longer than I anticipated, so it is likely that they will only be available as add-ons through the backer survey since it will take another two weeks or so before they are finished. If I receive updates I will let you know!

Thank you so so so so much for your support!! I'm so glad that we've made it this far and super grateful for your patience while I deal with sickness and burnout. I will update with sample pictures again once we have preliminary samples for Melon and Kelly! Please note it will be at least two weeks before we see them as my manufacturer will be on vacation May 1st through the 5th. 

Hope you're having an awesome day!!

- Han <3

Hi again!!! I come bearing exciting news today! The first preliminary samples of tristan, luca, and sandy have been shown to me! There are changes aplenty that need to be made, but I want to share that process with you!

I also wanted to remind you to vote in the next backers choice poll, attached to the bottom of this update!! :D

Preliminary samples don't usually include embroidery, since the goal of the first sample is to test for color and shape. So details like eyes, toe beans, noses, mouths, and some markings that will need to be applique embroidered are not included. My manufacturer puts these parts on paper and pins it to the plush so that they don't look so naked without their essential facial features. They look really wonky still!! Please rest assured that I will not declare the samples finished until I am satisfied they look how I intended them too!

Here are some photos:

As for changes that need to be made, there are quite a few.

For Sandy:
- The ears need to be a bit shorter, and closer to the top of the head!
- The markings on the right side of her back are swapped in color (the back spot on the right should be yellow, and you can't see the middle spot on the right but it should be orange.
- Her bandana will be added later on! It is being made by a different manufacturer that specializes in printed fabrics.
- I am not 100% sure but I may move the wings up the back, a bit closer to the head.

For Tristan:
- The lightest purple shade is much more saturated than I anticipated, but I am kind of in love with how it looks actually. I may change it but most likely I'll keep it this way! Let me know what you think.
- The hoodie is a perfect shape, but I want to check the color book to see if there's an option that will mesh with the other colors of his body better.
- His ears need to be shorter and rounder to look more raccoon-like!
- The tail I'd like to be a bit longer, fatter, and rounder, with less of a pointy curve towards the tip.

For Luca:
- Same with Tristan, their tail needs to be longer, fatter, and rounder, with less of a pointy curve at the end. other than that imo they're pretty close!! I love how their ears turned out and the colors look lovely to me!

I will be drawing out these changes and then sending the revisions for them to be adjusted! Ash and Em should have preliminary pics soon as well, which I will share as soon as I have them!

Onto some other things: The final design chosen for Em was the wavy gray stripe down the face and body! I finished up the design sheet for them and the sample is in the works. As mentioned in the other post, the only way this design is possible is by having the wavy gray stripe be embroidered to join the two fabrics. This is why I didn't want to make it too thick as I feel like having a really thick bit of embroidery down the whole body would be a sensory concern. Here are the top and bottom view to give you an idea of what we are going for!

I'm excited to keep developing these plush and share the progress with you!! :D

I also wanted to ask your opinion on a few add-on ideas I had!! Let me know if you're interested in them or if you think there's already too many add-ons haha.

These enamel pin designs for critter and bug would have little dangly collar charms! I'm not sure what size they'd be yet, but probably just around and inch for the faces? I'll have to get a quote to see how much they would cost, but I had the idea and then had to draw it out immediately. These would be hard enamel, black nickle pins with screen-printed detail!

I also plan to make bandanas available as an add-on. I will infidelity offer Sandy and Ash's designs, but I thought the AuDHD pattern I've been using could make a cute one as well!! Let me know if you're interested in that one :)

I will also ask my manufacturer about this but I've had a few people ask me for tristan's hoodie as an add-on for other plush! That would be fun, so I'll see if it's doable.

The other main add-on I am considering are pull-over hoodies! (For humans lol.) If you follow me on twitter you've seen them already, but I designed some critter + bug inspired hoodies and started some samples for them! I'm really new to making and designing clothing, so I'm anxious about how they'll turn out and will wait for the samples to be done before I put them up most likely. But let me know if you're interested in them! They would be about $55 USD. (A lot of people have suggested adding ears/antenna, but for my first clothing project I want to keep it a bit more simple, plus this would add at least $15 onto the cost just for complications.)

Let me know about how you feel about add-ons and what you're looking forward to!! I love hearing from you all :)

- Han <3

YAY YAY YIPPEE We've reached another goal!!! Em has been voted as the next plush to unlock, but their design still isn't finalized, so I'd love your feedback so I can know which one most people would be interested in getting!

Please note that it is literally impossible to make a design that everyone likes, a fact which torments me daily 💔 but I value your feedback and want to make a design that the most people will feel happy about!

There is also a poll to choose the next goal! I will make another update about this after we have chosen a design for Em.

Here are the three designs to choose from:

Option 1: wavy with a gray stripe

This option would employ applique embroidery to create a thin line of gray embroidery between the cream and black, down the middle of the face, through the middle of the stomach, and down the back. The inner ears, brows, paw pads, and muzzle would also be gray. The tail would still be black and cream only.

Option 2: straight gray stripe

This option would have the middle gray line be fabric, as opposed to embroidery. The line would extend down the back and tummy as well. Similar to the first option, the inner ears, brows, paw pads, and muzzle are also gray, and the tail would be black and cream only.

Option 3: black + cream only

This is the original design, which I know some people still prefer, so I wanted to include it!

This poll will go until this evening, at which point I will arrange the sample to be made based on which design is chosen!

I've already chosen the fabrics, including the light gray, should we land on an option that has that color in it! Here's the color swatch:

And the original artwork for their full design, which I will edit to match the decision we make:

Thank you again for helping us unlock this goal, and for your feedback on this design!! :D I'm excited to see what we land on and get started on making Em real!!

Have an awesome day!

- Han <3

YIPPEE!!! Sandy the OCD Kitty has been UNLOCKED thanks to your help and votes!! <3

We are now marching on to our next goal at $35K, I know we can make it!! Be sure to vote in the poll below to help us choose who will be unlocked next!!

Here's Sandy's full artwork, and the fabric color swatches we'll be using!!

My original plan was for her bandana to have this hourglass infinity symbol pattern on it, since I've seen the symbol associated with OCD a lot! It would be a really subtle pattern, so nothing too bold, just a nice nod to the symbol. We could also go with just a plain teal bandana, so let me know which you prefer!

I also wanted to ask those who've backed my puppy campaigns or gotten bandanas and puppies I've made before - what are your sensory experiences with them? I've gotten one negative review before that they didn't like the material (it's a slick, smooth polyester) but that's just one review out of hundreds of bandanas that went out. I'd be getting the bandanas made the same way as before unless it's common for them to cause sensory concerns, so I want to be sure! If you have fabric suggestions for the bandana accessories feel free to let me know!

I'm really happy to see people resonating with Sandy and so glad we were able to unlock her! We'll get started on a sample of Sandy as soon as we can!!

Luca the Dyslexia Fox has now been UNLOCKED thanks to your support and votes!! I can't wait to get this creature made, I just know it's gonna turn out so cute :3c

As is the trend, we're moving right along to our next goal at 41K! A new backers choice poll is up so you can help us choose who will be unlocking next :)

Here's Luca's full design sheet, plus their fabric swatches!! We will get started on making a finished plushie asap.

I also wanted to say THANK YOU for 500+ backers!! I'm so excited to have you all with us and so thankful for your support in bringing these characters to life!! :D

As a thank you, I wanted to send out a special reward with each pledge!! I will have another poll up hopefully later today for you to decide, but wanted to give you a closer look at each of the designs I have.

The first set of designs is for an icon sticker sheet for each of the characters! I don't have the design finished for Em yet since they aren't finalized, but I will add them for sure once we've settled on a design!! These are in the same style as my phone charms I've made before, and I will probably use the artwork for that later on as well :)

The second idea is for a pin of critter and bug together! This would be a dyed metal pin, with printed details! similar to this pin I did for the colorful puppies campaign. I might need to adjust the design so critter's tail isn't so close to her head, but the general idea should be the same!! (also, for this option, those with sticker only pledges will get a sticker version of the design, so you don't have to pay more for shipping!)

I had a few other ideas, one for a group photo print, one for a dash pin, and one for a critter and bug collar pin set! I will work on these designs since we might use them when we hit more goals like 1000+ backers!!

Your support truly means the world to me!! Hope you're having an awesome weekend!!

- Han <3