Exciting news! The majority of the Derpies are on their way to you soon! (The packages get picked up tomorrow 😊).
Unfortunately, not all the Derpies will be loaded onto the magic carpet of the mail truck tomorrow.
The first group which have extended their stay within my dragon lair are the 6+ and all-in tiers. I decided to put them into little boxes to help protect them from getting crushed. Unfortunately, the boxes I ordered were a little bit too small for your hoards! So, I had to order more, slightly larger boxes. These are scheduled to arrive early next week, so it means that anyone getting 6+ pins will have their pins shipped by the end of next week, instead of tomorrow. But they are all sorted and ready to pack!
The second group which have yet to depart the lair are any failed charges. There are 5 of you who have error'd credit cards, so if you don't receive your pins, that is likely the cause! There are also 9 of you who haven't completed the survey! That means I can't get you your pins, even if I tried!
It's really important that you pay the shipping and complete the survey. Any unpaid pledges by the end of Dec, will forfeit their rewards and be considered a donation as I can't hold onto stock indefinitely. So please, I want to send your little treasures to you. Double check those cards. Backerkit sometimes keep expired cards on file, other times it's banks which block crowdfunding platforms. And only backers can fix these issues.
Caring for future generations of derplings
🌟You will find little popcorn stuffing surrounding your derpies.🌟
These are made of starch, and you can dissolve it in water, or use it in your compost! They are 100% environmentally friendly, and the dragons prefer snuggling in them while they travel across the globe to get to you! I also try to reuse packing materials whenever possible to help reduce waste. Things like boxes and bubble wrap might be reused and as such have someone else's branding on them.
I'm looking for other eco-friendly packing solutions in the future, but for now I'm doing what I can. Once I have used all my existing bubble mailers I'll switch over to mini boxes. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of plastic free options for bags to protect prints & paper from moisture yet. But I'm looking. So if you know of any solutions to help me make this more economical and environmentally friendly please feel free to add links in comments!
A special thanks:
My children have been a huge help in double checking and packaging these little treasure hoards. We had a little assembly line to sort and double check everything. Even my 9 year old helped! I just wanted to take a moment to thank them for their hard work. (They each got a full set as a reward for their help, and are already sporting several Derpy outfits) But I wanted to acknowledge the huge help they have been in helping bring your treasures to you.
✨I can't wait for you to get your litle treasures!✨
Now, I should add that I am unfortunately still a dragon trapped in the mortal shell of a human, and as such there is the possibility that mistakes can happen. If for any reason your pins aren't the right ones, you are missing items, or things arrive damaged, please email me at [email protected] so I can make it right.
Another note: the holographic super derpy sticker features the moon dragon art. Not a derpy dragon.
I can't wait for the next campaign to launch! In fact, I can finally reveal the finished illustrations for the dragons with you! Presenting the first 10 haunted dragon pin designs!
The campaign will be very similar to the Derpy dragons in that backers will vote on which designs to unlock! There are a mix of my regular dragons and derpies. Plus, I decided that I will offer stickers right off the bat this time around. I suspect that there will be even more derpies joining throughout the campaign. And ideally I want to make it up to 15 designs!
Oh, and not to mention the FREE mini pin when you back 3+ Pintober campaigns, just like Pintopia! That is 3 EXTRA FREE pins when you back at least 3 projects! And, there are many I know you will love!
On Monday, I will send all previous backers an exclusive early bird invitation to back the campaign. It's a chance to snag not only the early bird rewards, but also the SUPER EARLY BIRD tiers at a discounted price!
I will keep this tier open for the first hour to anyone who follows the campaign as well to back in the first hour after Backerkit sends the initial launch email to followers. So even if you haven't previously backed my campaigns, you can still take advantage of this early bird perk by following the campaign and backing early!
Now, the most exciting news of all. As a returning backer reward, I will create a sticker for all returning backers instead of a postcard. But, there is more. If we get 100 returning backers, backing at any tier, I will upgrade this returning backer reward to a commemorative mini pin instead!
I will work on the final design this weekend, but would love to hear your ideas in the comments!
There is one caveat. This pin would be made available for purchase to other backers during the pledge manager, as I will likely have some left over stock since I have to order in round numbers to the next 50. So the exclusivity would come that it is available to backers only and returning backers would get it for FREE.
I will likely do a minted pin similar to my Patreon exclusive pin, which I think is very pretty.
I can't wait to see all of you in the comments section of the Haunted Dragons campaign! I had so much fun with Derpy Dragons, and hope we can have just as much fun with haunted dragons!
Before I sign off for today's update, I wanted to highlight two more campaigns which won't launch until January as part of Pintopia, but which are near and dear to me.
I mentioned in the beginning of the update that my kids help me fulfill my campaigns. Well, my oldest son is hoping to follow in my footsteps as a professional artist. I believe that he is good enough to create his own campaign! So, he is doing just that. With me as his mentor, and guiding him every step of the way.
Artists are empowered by the community which support us. And so I wish to invite my weirdling tribe to give a new aspiring artist a chance.
He has done all the art himself, and is doing all the work. While I will supervise the finer details, this campaign is all his work. And his way to help pay for his education in pursuing his dreams as an artist.
As it is part of Pintopia, there will also be a FREE mini pin. You can follow the campaign by clicking the picture below!
But, there is more, I will be his collaboration partner! Together, we will bring you mushrooms and bookish derpy dragons!
I will be focused on all those bookish quotes you guys voted on during this campaign! Plus a FREE mushroom flavoured bookish derpy when you back both me and my son! (So you would get 2 FREE pins when you back us both!)
Admittedly, I don't have any designs for mine yet as I am currently focused on Haunted Dragons, but I will share the designs once I finish them ^_^
One of the perks of backing us both, is that you'll be able to save on shipping as well! So it is win-win.
I can personally not wait to collect his pins as I love mushrooms myself. And what an honour to collaborate with your own son! It's an incredibly proud mom moment to see him following his dreams and passions!
So many exciting things coming up! And I hope you will join us in all the quest for more treasure!
