Sewing labels and fabric
over 4 years ago – Tue, Jan 14, 2020 at 11:56:54 PM

I just received a photo of the samples for the sewn in labels. I've approved them, with a query about adding fullstops to the first two lines (if it's going to slow things down I won't bother getting it changed).

I kept the copyright 2015, because the symbol is meant to be used alongside the original year of publication and the original dragon dicebag design came out in 2015. In the end I went with very simple cleaning instructions because there's too much info to fit in for other cleaning methods. For example, microfleece is typically fine in a washing machine, but getting the stuffing inside a soft toy wet can be a problem because it may not be completely dry inside even if it feels dry on the outside, and the tab at the back of the wings may react different to various detergents (I have no way of knowing which ones will be used by some one else) than the microfleece does. I'm happy to give advice to folks who feel they need to do more than spot clean their Dragon Bagon of course, but it will need to come with the caveat that I don't know the exact parametres of everybody's washing machine, soaps, etc.

The manufacturer has received some of the fabrics they've bought, and found that the blue that arrived was slightly different to the sample. They sent me some options. 1 is the original blue I approved that we can't get so I've approved 3. It seems more vivid than 2, and I feel like since it's going to be on a rainbow, bright is best.

Just a small update, but little by little we're getting there :)

On another note entirely, over the break, I wrote an RPG ^_^. It's a scenario generator for a one shot game where you're wayward kids/teenagers trapped in a haunted house. It's at the rough draft and playtesting stage. I've only run it twice so far and while there's still some kinks to work out, it's had good feedback. If anyone's keen to playtest it I can organise to send a PDF :).

Dragon Bagon sewn in label
over 4 years ago – Tue, Dec 31, 2019 at 12:48:33 AM

Sorry to bug you again so soon but I've got the first draft of the sewn in label for the manufactured Dragon Bagons. I made a typo on the hang tags for the Bagthulhus, so I thought it wouldn't be silly to see if you folks can spot any errors I've missed before we confirm.

These are the labels that will be sewn into the lining of the Dragon Bagons. They cover basic information like how to care for the item, age bracket, country of manufacture, and so on. The dimensions are 2.5 x 1 inches (I think kickstarter has changed that a bit where I've posted them)

What do you folks think? I had to narrow the logo a bit to make it fit into the space. 

Super quick update
over 4 years ago – Sun, Dec 29, 2019 at 09:07:08 PM

The manufacturers have confirmed that the fabrics (purple and orange) we have are the best match available, so I've given them the go ahead on that. Now I'm just waiting for the final samples to arrive, and hopefully the lead testing will be going on while the samples are shipping to me.

Happy holidays
over 4 years ago – Wed, Dec 25, 2019 at 06:42:44 PM

Happy holidays folks :).

Here's a quick rundown of what's happened since the last update

Several fabric colours were out of stock when the manufacturer went to purchase them. They've managed to source new ones. The purple is quite dark and looks almost blue in the right light, but to be honest I prefer it to the purple they had before, and I think it compliments the dark green/teal they found for the purple/teal dragons.

The manufacturer wanted to increase the price at the last minute. I can understand some of the reasoning, but it put the run outside of what I could afford with a loan.  After some negotiating they agreed to keep the price at a level that's more attainable right now, and we're waiting for the deposit to clear to their bank. The business account is looking somewhat deflated at the moment, but it's worth it for Dragon babies.

The manufacturer will be sending final samples ASAP, which I will get photos of to show you. Once that happens I'll give everyone a chance to swap their colour choices if the final version of the colour they originally picked isn't to their liking.

Since some of the fabrics have changed, there's a final round of safety tests to do. It's pretty basic, the labs just need to test each of the fabrics for lead content. It's not usually an issue anymore, but once upon a time it was, so it's sensible to test.

Some of the pieces are being handcut, some are being die cut (imagine a giant cookie cutter), some pieces will go directly to an embroidery factory, while others will be worked on by the manufacturer.

Some folks upgraded to handmade items, and we got those away as quickly as possible on the faster shipping services, but they were held up repeatedly in transit with not much communication or explanation. I'm not especially happy with the courier services right now, but I realise the holidays can be hectic. I'm hoping those fabric babies will get out to their new humans as quickly as possible if they haven't already.

In terms of making up the shortfall in the budget, we've made good progress so far (due in no small part to you lovely folks), but every little bit helps going forward. The more preorders, wholesale orders, and regular sales we can make between now and the completion of the run, the better off we'll be and the less we'll need to borrow, so any help spreading the word is very much appreciated.

I'm sorry this is a fairly brief update. It's been a rough holiday unfortunately, with stuff unrelated to the project that I can't really go into detail about (to protect the privacy of others). I don't have a lot of headspace at the moment, but I do hope whatever you believe and however you celebrate, that you're safe, happy, and surrounded by loved ones.

The long awaited update
over 4 years ago – Wed, Nov 20, 2019 at 10:13:28 PM

Hi folks,

First of all, I owe you all an apology for the silence. I've been waiting on a few important pieces of info to be confirmed, but I should still have added updates to touch base and let you know I haven't disappeared.

I am in the process of paying the deposit on the manufactured run of Dragon Bagons, production will start ASAP.

Quality Control

I've had to accept that the manufacturers are not able to control some elements of the design as much as I do, but I'd like to believe that they will do their best all the same. The main issues are that the inner wings may be less evenly placed and the jaw lines may not be completely rounded and smooth.

The inner wings issue is because that piece is being die cut rather than laser cut. Die cutting is the fabric version of cookie cutting. The fabric is layered up and a shaped blade effectively stamps out the piece. This means that small movements in the fabric, especially at the bottom of the stack, can cause small variances in shape and size. We went with die cutting because laser cutting was creating rough scratchy edges on the fabric, which usually isn't an issue unless you have cut edges showing (which we do). In previous updates backers had given feedback that they preferred cuddly over precision, which I agree is more important.

The jaw line is something that I've found always varies a bit with the handmade Dragon Bagons, it's influenced by the fabrics we use (there's a lot of different weights of microfleece, and some colours only come in different weights). You might have noticed that Dragon Bagons in hot pink have a slightly more square look, versus the more curvy heads of those in black and white. That's down to the thickness/weight of the fabric and how well it flexes. The manufacturers are using lighter fabrics so the definition on the nose and brow ridges is very nice, but they're struggling to make the jawline perfectly round, and I think it's something I have to accept (within reason).

I realise the QC and sampling process has been long and frustrating and I apologise for that. It's mostly involved a lot of emails back and forth about measurements. I feel it's very important to do my due diligence, to try and pre-empt as many potential issues as possible, because after such a long wait having them turn out poorly would be devastating. I still can't control the future and there's no doubt things I haven't predicted, but I'd like to hope I've at least done my best.

The Rainbows and money

We are struggling money wise. All the additional costs over the past two years have hit us hard.

Having to change manufacturers for the Dragon Bagons made the minimum order quantity 4 times higher than originally budgeted for, though it did almost halve the unit cost.

Having to change manufacturers for the Dragon dice meant buying multisets rather than singles, with a minimum order quantity more than 5 times the original quote.

For some time I have been funding the additional costs through my personal income and through regular sales of items I have in stock (Bagthulhus, Dice, Handmade items, etc), additional preorders have also helped immensely and I had the option of finance to bridge some of the gap.

But then there's the issue with the rainbows: We originally weren't going to have the rainbows manufactured. We had the handmade option available, with the possibility of shifting them to manufacturing if enough were ordered in time.

Then we made a deal with another business. This deal entailed that I would make Dragon Bagons to match their products, and we would both sell and promote each others products both in a bundle and separately, wholesaling to each other at a discount. They gave me estimated order numbers for the Rainbow Dragon Bagons that made them viable for manufacturing. This is when I made manufactured Rainbow Dragon Bagons available to order publicly.

Unfortunately after a little while, communication became an issue, and despite my efforts to make contact, I did not hear back for a long time. Eventually I was able to secure enough of their product to fulfill the preorders I had taken. Unfortunately as far as I know, they did not advertise or take orders for any of my product, and with communication as it is, I have to assume it will not be happening. With the sampling process was taking so long I could afford to wait and hope things would change, but I'm now in the process of paying the deposit, so I can't wait any longer.

Unfortunately this leaves me with a large hole in the budget. We would be in a better position to absorb it if we hadn't already had so many other escalated costs from having to change manufacturers for both the Dragon Bagons and the dice.

Before I go any further I need to be very clear. This is NOT a call to arms, this is NOT me taking a shot at another company, I do NOT want to start a war or hurt another business, I just need to be honest about where we're at.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned a name in this situation. I'm not trying to be mysterious, I just don't want to incite anyone being brigaded and I don't want anyone feeling like they have to choose between that business and me. I'm aware that anyone who wants to can work out more details, but I'm leaving them out in the hopes of avoiding a flamewar. I realise this situation may cause frustration and disappointment for many folks, but if you're so inclined, please don't go looking for a fight on my behalf, it won't make the money appear. I genuinely believe there was no malicious intent, things just didn't work out.

Moving forward

I had a couple of options in terms of how to deal with this.

• I could cancel the manufactured rainbows and refund those orders. After the refunds we would still have lower manufacturing costs, but it would be a hit in the short term as well as alienating a valued group of backers, as well as significantly upsetting the manufacturers, which would be reasonable on their part because they were operating on the assumption for some time that we would be manufacturing the rainbows, just like I was.
• The other option is to get a larger business or personal loan to cover the shortfall. We won't need the funds until the run is actually finished, so we have time to organise it. I've been in contact with several banks, we have a reasonable (but not perfect: crowdfunding is not well understood) case and an excellent proposal (my business mentor is frickin amazing, by the way). I would be personally guaranteeing the loan (that means if the business fails, I'm liable), and I can demonstrate the surplus income to service the debt if it comes down to it.

I've decided to go with the second option. The rainbows are important to me personally, and so are the people who asked for them. I want to do everything in my power to honour my word.

So what now

I am in the process of paying the deposit. This locks the order in and production will begin ASAP.

In terms of the delivery timeframe, this is what I know:

• We are aiming to have the run on it's way to me and the fulfillment partners before Chinese New Year (near the end of January). I realise it will miss Christmas, and I realise that's frustrating and disappointing, and I apologise.
• After that, delivery timeframes will vary depending on how long customs in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the US, and the EU take. Depending on Brexit we may need to split the EU shipment further to honour the VAT committment.
• After customs has cleared the shipments and we've paid any taxes and duties, I will quality check my shipment, and send info for spot checking to the fulfillment partners. Assuming all goes well, fulfillment will begin. 

If anyone wants out

I 100% understand if anyone wants out. As I have offered to folks who were unhappy with the situation in the past, if you've ordered a manufactured Dragon Bagon and other items, we can refund the Dragon Bagon and get the other items on their way to you, and if you ordered just a manufactured Dragon Bagon we can refund your entire order, or we can swap your manufactured Dragon Bagon for another item we have in stock, and the option to upgrade to a handmade Dragon Bagon at the old backer price is available too. I realise these options aren't perfect, but I hope that they will at least allow a resolution for most folks who aren't happy to continue waiting.

For those who are still on board, I need your help again if you're willing to give it.

The more we sell in the next 8 weeks, the less we need to borrow. I'm not asking backers for more money, but if you are willing to spread the word about preorders when we're officially in production, and especially about the products we have in stock now, it would help us a great deal. If even half of you amazing backers shared something from us on social media, or asked your FLGS about stocking some of our items, shared info with any reviewers, media sources, and celebrities you know of, it will make a big difference.

This is our etsy store

This is our preorder store

All up, we're further along the road to completing this project. It's rocky as hell, but I am grateful to walk it with you.