Good evening, bird gang!

It's been 20 days since I came and disgraced your inbox, and I don't feel comfortable leaving you on radio silent for that long.

Unfortunately, there's not too much to report. Pin production is always going to be the slowest, most boring part of the process.

Vectors have been sent off to the factory, the first half of payment's gone with them, and we are rolling on production. I mentioned this on bluesky, but, our pin production costs are actually substantially lower than I expected.

I calculated my campaign funding based on a different factory's quotes, and was losing my shit that I'd need a line of credit to pay for everything. Turns out, we're within budget. Like... about $200 less, than our full funding amount. I'm not going to treat this like it's a huge victory, since it's still not great with everything happening, but, a break even is far, far better than a loss.

I don't know if we are within schedule estimates yet. It's a lot of files for my rep to finalize, and admittedly, I am using a new factory which is more known for above-average quality than their speed of fulfillment. You know how it goes, you can pick fast, cheap, or good. I picked good and cheap.

I'll give more updates on the pins as they come. Expect sample photos at some point!

Our vinyl sticker order is also placed and paid, and expected within a month or two. My manufacturer is still just five guys in a garage in Maryland and they are still so, so brave for taking on my 1,000 sticker orders. These clowns usually just make ten anime stickers at a time on an average order. Please clap for them.

Just like BIRD CRIMES, I'll probably pre-pack all freebies and order stickers long before pins arrive at my office.

As for personal stuff: my truck is home, and after a graciously-low bill, is up and running again. For a complete electrical FUBAR, $3k in work out of pocket ain't bad. Sentimental shit aside, this is good news for a lot of reasons.

The store stock and mailing supplies that were inside during the theft will probably be salvageable with some ionizer treatment. That's a few hundred bucks I can save, and spend on finally seeing why I can't stand up for more than twenty minutes without getting lightheaded!

Jokes aside, unfortunately, I am dealing with some health shit. It's nothing I didn't know about before, but it's something I thought I nipped with a good diet and better schedule. I don't want to go into a lot of detail, but, I have been lethargic and unfocused since November. There's a few nights I've had to debate going to the ER from work, and let coworkers know to call an ambulance if I didn't come out of the bathroom after feeling "off." It's clear this is affecting my art and business.

You guys have already been unbelievably patient with me thru all of this. I'm not asking for anything else, I just want to disclose why things have been even slower than usual. I just want you to know there is a cause other than "damn, Ken is fucked up this year," and that cause may have a solution.

I have abused the magical power of nepotism to finally get this dealt with, and I'm hoping 2025 is what gets rid of it for real.

Thank you for your patience thus far, and I hope we can finish GAP off with a good final inning.

That being said... I am moving on, and I am aiming to launch a smaller-scale project in February.

You guys gave me ample, fair feedback on GAP and its failures, and based on that, we're going to be doing CRITTER CRIMES.

CRITTER CRIMES launches February 25th, only on BackerKit.

CRITTER CRIMES is a sequel series to the jesus-christ-why-was-this-so-successful BIRD CRIMES. Instead of our avian offenders, this time, we're taking aim at some of America's most scorned wildlife - whether they're rightfully reviled, or not reviled enough.

We're launching with the raccoon, whitetail deer, and domestic cat. But you're special, so, I can show you a few sneak peeks of our other criminals...

Who do you think's responsible for these crimes?

"Ken, this is stupid! Why should I back another CRIMES project? I'm here for the birds!" Well, my friend, I'm glad you asked! I'm offering a FREE BIRD to all returning backers.

Any backer from either BIRD CRIMES or GOLDEN AGE PARROTS will get a free barn owl pin.

I'm also opening up some first-ever orders for our exclusive blue jay pin thru this campaign. Plus, considering our fulfillment timeline, there'll be some proud, bright-colored parrots available for preorder...

Give CRITTER CRIMES a follow, and join the email list for updates.

Good evening, bird gang!

This is going to be late at night for all of you, sorry about the Sunday red eye email ping. I've been trying to catch up on sleep between finally, for real, sitting down and getting GAP's vectors set.

All our 2" pins got finalized yesterday. The 1", 1.5", 2" custom, and GUNBIRD pins are having their turn tonight, after my four Korean coffees brewed in Red Bull set in.

Returning BIRD CRIMES backers might remember this step, where we have to assign pantones to every color of every pin before sending them off to the factory. BIRD CRIMES backers might also remember, this was an absolute clusterfuck, and it's what held us up for three months.

This time, hopefully, we are on point, because I am cannibalizing pantones from some other bird artists. I know these work, or, at least, there's a little bit more wiggle room.

(thanks, Doreen, Rachel and Iggi!)

There is one more custom pin that needs a revision, and if that's you, I have sent you a preliminary followup email - your artwork is fine, but, it's not up to my standard currently and I'd like to give it a second pass before we send your army of little guys off to the factory.

The deadline to substitute cut designs has passed, and orders have been re-locked. I will be charging credit cards on the 31st.

Please go in your Pledges and Surveys and make sure you've got the right one on file.

Until I get production updates: it's time to move on.

It's no secret that 2024 wasn't a great year, and GOLDEN AGE PARROTS didn't meet my expectations. In typical stubborn fashion - not resilient, stubborn, and spiteful - I am looking ahead. I can't sit and marinate in misery that my project I took unnecessary risks on didn't do the best.

Due to personal circumstances and professional conflicts, I pulled out of Pintopia 2025, so you won't be seeing me there. However, to stay on track, I do need to run a project in February 2025.

My weighted cockatiel plush are still a little bit underbaked, so we aren't going to see them for a little while. However, I have a few other ideas.

I know it's, like, the third one I'm sending you guys at this point, but I have to ask you to fill out a backer survey for me. This is the last one, and it's asking about two things: how to improve from GOLDEN AGE PARROTS, and where to go next.

It's anonymous, and you can fill it out whenever: it's not going to affect much until mid January.

I have a few ideas on the chopping block right now. You can tell me how much you hate them by clicking that link up there.

That's all for now. Thanks for being here this year, backers.

Good evening, Bird Gang!

If you celebrate, I hope you're having a peaceful, restful Christmas. And, if not, I hope you in the Northern hemisphere are staying warm, and the Southern ones staying dry.

I'm checking in before cracking my art waitlist: you have one day left to update your surveys, add additional pins/sticker addons, update cards on file, or remove items you no longer want.

You have all individually been emailed. Surveys will re-close on the 26th. 

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or need anything else. You can reach me at [email protected], as always. And, again, our preorder store is also open until the 26th.

That's all for now. 

Good afternoon, bird gang!

It's about a week since I announced the design cut for GOLDEN AGE PARROTS.

I've individually emailed all backers. You either got a general "you're good to go," an email with instructions to swap out pins, or a notice that your card failed.

First off, you guys have been extremely kind in your responses to this situation. It still sucks, horribly, but, you've been gracious, and had a lot of good words and great advice for me. Thanks for going above and beyond just swapping your cut pins.

Unfortunately, as much as I love the responses I got so far: we don't have enough.

I'm missing a lot of replies from people who need to swap out cut designs, as well as backers whose initial credit card charge failed on October 25th. We've got about half a dozen of you guys, with a range of $40 or so, to an eye-watering $200 pledge failed.

If you ordered any of the pins we are dropping from the campaign (announced here), double check your spam and trash folders for a message from [email protected].

This is a list of all affected pins. If you purchased one of these, please look for that email and follow the instructions laid out there.

For everyone else: go DOUBLE CHECK that your credit card for your original pledge (not addons or shipping) went through properly, and check that your survey got done.

You guys have until the 26th of December (four days) to fix any mistakes, or add any more pins that you'd like - my loss is your convenient chance to right any wrongs, before I have a chance to go individually harass failed charges again.

I will not be refunding or late-fulfilling orders for GAP. If you don't get your survey in by the 26th (you'll have had another month and a half, due to the design cut), I don't know what to tell you.

Did you miss out on GOLDEN AGE PAROTS? The preorder store is also still open until the 26th.

That's all I'm gonna bug you guys about for now. I'll hit everyone the afternoon of the 26th, with one last chance to change surveys before we lock for real.

Thanks for being here this year, everyone. Happy holidays.