A Quick Update & Extension on Backerkit
almost 4 years ago – Sat, May 30, 2020 at 06:27:11 PM

One more week!

Hello everyone! I wanted to apologize first off, I was hoping to get this update out a bit earlier this week but my daughter fell and needed stitches for her lip, which took a bit of my attention away from Kickstarter. She's a champ, and she's doing well, but family comes first, hope you all understand.

Because of this, since I wasn't able to give an adequate advance notice, I'm extending the Backerkit preorders one additional week so that everyone has an adequate notice before things get closed, and you are charged for any add-ons you have selected. Once this preorder store closes, that will be it for the initial order, and I'm off to finish producing vaults for the first wave of shipment which is due out by the end of next month.

Make sure to visit the preorder store to purchase your preorder or to fill in your backer survey if you have not yet!

COVID-19 Delay Updates

As I mentioned during the previous update, my supplier has still had supply line issues with Ebony wood due to COVID-19. I am co-coordinating with them to attempt to resolve this, as well as searching for additional vendors who might be able to supplement my wood supply in order to fulfill orders on time. If I can get this resolved in the next couple weeks, we're in the clear. If not, I will be reaching out to backers who have selected Ebony individually to see which method of resolution, whether that be a delay or a substitution, they would prefer.

Remember to check out the previous video update for some more information here:

I am extremely sorry for these delays or issues, but the pandemic is something that I never could have  seen coming. I appreciate your patience here as I get this figured out.

Sawdust & Sparkles

I'M DONE WITH THE DICE SETS! This means that the last things I need to handle are the vault production (once the wood order comes in), as well as ordering the Holographic stickers, which are basically on lock, just waiting on hitting the purchase button. As always keep an eye out on Twitter and Instagram for more information regarding the Kickstarter, as well as an upcoming dice set sale & website upgrade!

Until next time, be good to each other.

- Michael

May Project Update: The Time Is Almost Here...
almost 4 years ago – Thu, May 14, 2020 at 12:39:52 PM

Hello Everyone!

It's been a busy few months in the world, and I'm not going to lie- things have been hard. It's crazy to see how the world is reacting to things, but it's a new month and I wanted to share the progress so far on making the boxes!

There's a lot to talk about, so I wanted to get it all down in a video! Don't worry- I'll catch up on certain things in text form as well, but check it out:

Final Checks

Proofing emails are on the way over this weekend! If you don't see an email coming from [email protected], check your spam, OR you could go to your "Review" page on Backerkit and find your proofing doc here:

Once you proof your order, so I can be sure which personalizations go with which vaults, we're on to the final steps!

Knock On Wood...

I've submitted a wood order for almost everything from my supplier, and barring any delays due to COVID-19, I'm expected to received that sometime during the next few weeks. Once that's arrived I will be able to start in earnest on the final boxes!

With current supplies, there was a slight delay on the Ebony wood portion of the order, so that might have an impact, but I'km working with my primary wood vendor and also looking into alternatives to try and supplement supply from multiple sources to have everything available. When I started planning this, it was before COVID, so I really apologize for any potential delays this might cause, but I'm working on it!

My efforts the past few weeks have been getting orders finalized and making all of the handmade dice sets for the Kickstarter. Those are almost done, so I'll be in the workshop a lot over the next few weeks once woods arrive! If you wanted a sneak peek at how I do the dice making, why not check out this video?

I've really enjoyed making all of the dice for the Kickstarter, but honestly- I can't wait to get into the woodshop to bring this one home and start in earnest in making the vaults!

Staying Safe

I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe during everything going on right now. It's been a crazy time and I just wanted to say thank you for your support and patience as I've gotten this all figured out. 

Thanks, as always.

- Michael

Pledge Manager Proofing, New Videos & Vaults in Production!
about 4 years ago – Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 10:23:37 PM

Hello Everyone! I hope you're staying safe!

It's been an interesting couple of weeks in my evil castle of do- I mean, the workshop. I was able to get in an early wood order for some of the materials needed to get started on some early entries from the pledge manager, and while I don't have everything- this is a solid start to being able to ship everything as expected.

Pledge Manager Progress

The pledge manager had been going great for arranging shipping and allowing you all to grab your personalizations, dice sets, and some extra vaults- but there's one place where it was a bit lacking, and that's proofing the combinations of vaults, felts, and messages. This is something that's going to require a bit more of a personal touch, but I wanted to give a quick peek into how this will work.

Everyone will be receiving an email over the next few weeks with a link to a personal google sheet with your vaults, engraving options, and felt options all listed out. All you have to do is match the right message and felt with the right vault, and you're good to go! Everything should be selecting from a drop down, so it should be super simple. An example proofing sheet is below.

NOTE: You're only going to get this if you ordered more than one vault! If you only have one vault, the combinations are much easier to suss out, so I'll be going with those without proofing! As always if you have any questions, please email me at [email protected], and be sure to include your backer number or email to get assistance!

New Videos!

I have been busy with some Instagram livestreams, as well as producing two videos detailing the projects I've been undertaking to make the CNC work better for batch processing! Check them out here:

A custom threaded table:

Along with some matching CAM clamps to help hold vaults in place!

I'm also working on some more videos detailing the dice making process, as well as a feature on making the vaults themselves, beginning to end! That second video is going to a bit more highly produced than the normal how-to videos, so expect it in a couple weeks.

I've been doing everything I can to make sure I can communicate updates out, so keep an eye on Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, or here for more information!

Onward & Upwards!

I've just finished up all the potion vials for the whole Kickstarter, as well as received over 3,200 MAGNETS to make sure everyone's vault seals nice and securely. I'm also about one third through all of the Kickstarter dice sets- so progress is ongoing in the face of all the difficulty in the world.

Once we lock in the final wood orders, which will likely be in mid-May, I'll be securing the remainder of the wood shipment to finalize production and get your vaults ready to go! I'll purchase some small batches of woods between now and then to continue making incremental progress until it's time to ramp up to 100% production.

I have some other fun projects being announced to Loot Tables soon which aren't from the Kickstarter as well, so keep an eye on the website to know more!

Until next time, stay safe & stay awesome!

- Michael

The Pledge Manager & Late Pledge Store is Live!
about 4 years ago – Fri, Mar 27, 2020 at 01:56:01 PM

We're LIVE!

Real quick update, the pledge manager & preorder store is now live! Check your email for your link!

Also, if you missed the campaign but still want to get the Vaults at campaign pricing, you can check out the preorder store HERE. This will not include the free personal engraving, but WILL include the Kickstarter logo variant.

Check out this video for more information:

Let's Chat

To celebrate this launch, tonight on Twitch we'll be live to talk about the Kickstarter and show off some of the design elements and process, as well as making some KS dice sets! Time in Tonight at... sometime after I get my kids to sleep, so about 6-ish hours from when this post went live I'll see you there!

Small Clarifications

Some quick updates / clarifications based on feedback from early testers:

For some vaults, for example on the Wenge vault (the Tier 3 image), the engraving is there but I would say anything darker than that would not take the engraving well. I will have more examples once I get the first shipment of all exotic woods, as I did not have all of them on hand during the campaign. You'll have a chance to see that before locking in your pledge, barring some things I mentioned in the last update.

When it comes to multiple Felt/Engraving sections, I'll be reaching out to people for this over email, as I didn't have a good solution via Backerkit to associate a vault with an add-on directly.

If you purchase the Personal engraving you get asked after hitting the Checkout button but before confirming payment. Again, I will email you to finalize & verify which message goes on which vault.

I hope that helps! If you need anything else feel free to reply or to email me at [email protected]!

Thank you all for your continued support and patience as I'm dealing with COVID-19 impacting the campaign, as well as getting all of the information needed to continued development!

Thanks

- Michael

The Pledge Manager & An Important Update Regarding COVID-19
about 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 09:41:59 PM

Hello everyone!

The pledge manager is almost live! Things are running a bit behind as there is a lot going on in the world right now, and I wanted to talk about that and also finalize what the pledge manager will look like going forward!

Here is a big video update:

Important COVID-19 Update

Now, to talk about the second, slightly more worrying, part of that video. I hope that a hopefully slight delay in fulfillment will be something that you could work with me on as I and many others around the world continue to deal with the rapidly evolving situation regarding COVID-19. I have been on the phone with my vendor and while nothing is certain, I am doing everything in my power to continue progress.

If there is a way for me to get the wood order and maintain social distancing and keep my family safe, I am 100000% doing that, and I want to do that as soon as I can, which is why I'm sending out the backer surveys as soon as I get final approval from Backerkit to do the smoke test.

I hope this delay in fulfillment is something you can bear with me on, if not please email me at [email protected] and we can discuss our options. I am continuing work on everything I can do, and expect a new YouTube video on some Shapeoko setup & enhancements I have made within a week or so. We're going to get through this, it's just going to take a bit more time.

Thank you for your support up to this point, and hopefully going forward.

- Michael