Back at the keyboard
over 2 years ago – Mon, Dec 13, 2021 at 08:12:50 PM

Hi everyone!

We're back from traveling -- sorry we've been a bit out of touch during the last days of the campaign. It was not planned, but we were happy to be somewhat present (through the mobile app) when the campaign wrapped on Friday! Once again, THANK YOU!!

Here are the next steps for the campaign. This one will have a slightly more traditional timetable since the books are just now going to print (unlike the last two campaigns where the books were already on their way... and shipping out next week!)

Here's the basic shpiel <cut/paste>:

• Kickstarter will start running your credit cards to collect your pledges this week. You should get an email from them about that soon (or may have gotten one already). If Kickstarter runs into an issue with your payment method, they will email you a notification to please provide an alternate payment method. They'll keep that up for about 7 days at which point (after a final notification), they will officially close the campaign. Anyone whose payment was unable to go through will be marked as "dropped/uncollected."
• At that point, everyone's pledge will move into Backerkit. All of your pledge information will transfer to Backerkit, even if your pledge was marked as "dropped/uncollected", so you will still be able to pay your initial uncollected pledge amount later (and still get your bonus stretch goal items) through Backerkit!
• We'll be using Backerkit for fulfillment again this time, and will start setting that up this week. By the time Kickstarter has finished collecting funds, we'll have the Backerkit surveys ready to send out. We are aiming to have those out around December 20th (next Monday), if not sooner. We'll keep you posted. These surveys will ask for your shipping address, but don't worry -- you will be able to update your address right before we ship, in case you aren't sure where you might be in that delivery window.
• We are proofing both books and laying out the slipcase with the printer now. Our goal is to send everything to the printer before December 29th, but the holidays could get in the way...  Regardless, our goal is to have everything in hand and ready to start shipping by the beginning of May. (Who knows -- if the shipping crisis improves by then, we might even be able to ship sooner!) All of the other items (the prints, bookmarks, and coins) are all relatively simple productions that we will begin in the next week or two, so we have no worries about hitting that date with those items.
• As mentioned in the campaign itself, we will be shipping all orders with our worldwide partner QUARTERMASTER LOGISTICS in an effort to keep those costs as low as possible. As each vendor seems to have different rate benefits in different countries, a few regions might still be a bit more expensive and/or other restrictions affected by current events. There will always be localized delivery issues somewhere in the world at any given point, just know that we're doing what we can to make shipping as smooth as possible for EVERYONE. :)
• Digital rewards will be distributed through Backerkit directly, with the digital books themselves being distributed through Gumroad. We will announce the release date for those when we are close to fulfillment so that all orders can be processed at once. To set expectations early: it'll be closer to when we are about to start shipping the books themselves, so expect those links in April. We'll keep everyone updated as that date draws near.

About Add-ons

While add-ons were offered through Kickstarter directly in this campaign, we will offer the same add-ons through Backerkit as well (including the remaining original drawings). We will also offer copies of some of our previous Kickstarter books, but believe it or not, some of them have sold out. We'll be checking to see what we have left.

We may offer extra copies of some of the stretch goal items, but not all of them. (The coins are a collectible we really hope to keep exclusive to backers and Ambassadors...) 

If you don't see something that you were hoping to add, just message us and we'll see what we can do!

THANKS, EVERYONE! Stay tuned for Survey News later this week!

THANK YOU!!!!!
over 2 years ago – Sat, Dec 11, 2021 at 10:02:25 AM

Hi everyone! Once again, THANK YOU FOR SUCH A GREAT TURNOUT! We are actually out of town right now and out for the evening with family but I couldn’t miss the final countdown. 😊 I’ll post a more detailed update with next steps and project status by Monday, so in the meantime, have a wonderful weekend!

NEW: Original Artwork Add-ons! Final 48 hour home stretch!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 08:24:57 AM

Hi everyone!

We're closing in on the final 48-hour push, and are adding an exciting new Add-on to the campaign:

16 Original Drawings by Bertrand Gatignol!

Bertrand was so grateful for the support you've all shown so far that he went ahead to produce 16 of these unique collectible original drawings which are now available on a first-come-first-served basis.

These are essentially the same as the exclusive, limited-edition offering in the $400 tier, but available to anyone at any pledge tier (including those fans who might already have the previous books who don't need the $100 slipcase set).  

Here is a peek at the available pieces (work in progress -- line art still awaiting watercolor tones):

You can update your pledge to add one of these hand-crafted beauties by clicking "Manage Pledge" at the top of the campaign page and stepping through the tier selection process again to reach the Add-on page. Let us know if you have any trouble making any adjustments.

A note to those at the $400 tier:  These are the same price as was factored into your complete tier, so you are still receiving the best value when all items are added up (including all digital editions and what is essentially a "free" copy of Pistouvi). And you will get first dibs when selecting your piece. Also of note: these are only the 16 being offered as Add-ons; $400 tier backers may instead choose to receive a drawing not shown here (not yet created). 

If you add a Drawing to your pledge, please message us with your top 5 selections by number, in order. We will sort the requests in order of receipt when the campaign has ended to determine the final reward assignment.

If there are any pieces left when the campaign ends on Friday, we may offer the remainder through Backerkit, but no guarantees. We highly recommend you hop on these exclusive originals now!

In a matter of ill-conceived timing, we find ourselves traveling today for an unexpected family gathering, so we may not be immediately responsive to comments or messages, but we will do everything we can to respond while on the road (thanks, iPhone app!), and will definitely make a point of being here for the campaign wrap in... 51 hours! Yow!

In the meantime, please spread the word, and let's see if we can push this thing past $50k!

Thanks, everyone!

FIRST BORN + Slipcase Box upgrade Tier added!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Dec 01, 2021 at 10:12:36 PM

Hi everyone!

As promised yesterday, we've added a new tier to the campaign:

FIRST BORN Hardcover + Slipcase Box

This is for those of you who may already have your own copies of Books 1-3 and only need Book 4 to complete your own Limited Edition Boxed Set. 😎

If you have already pledged at the FIRST BORN Hardcover-only tier, you can switch to this new tier by clicking on the green "Manage your pledge" button at the top of the campaign page, then clicking the blue "Change your pledge" button at the bottom of your pledge summary. You can then select any different tier you'd like, including this new upgrade tier.

We will only be printing 250 extra boxes!

Ever! Just for this campaign and only once! So make sure to get one while you can! They will make your whole set shine...

(One more note, in case anyone is wondering: the box is designed to fit our English language edition published by Magnetic Press -- the French editions from Soleil will not fit!) You have been warned. 😊

We're getting more content ready to share so stay tuned for more news!

Thanks everyone!

Coin unlocked! Final Stretch Goals Revealed!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Dec 01, 2021 at 02:32:47 AM

Hi everyone!

WHEW! We made it to $40k! That admittedly took a bit longer than we expected it to, but that's quite understandable -- this past week was full of all kinds of other outside distractions like Thanksgiving travel and a bajillion other Black Friday sales filling up everyone's inboxes and screens... a lot of competing messages vying for your attention this past week! We're just happy that you fine folks have found your way here through all of that noise! 😊

So with the Coin unlocked and 9 days left to go, we have decided to reveal the rest of the planned stretch goals -- check 'em out!

The 32-page field journal should be safely within range (we hope?), and while the patch and pin might seem impossibly far out, they aren't necessarily unachievable... we've built projection models based on our previous 14 campaigns, and those averages show that we could still end up anywhere between $50k and $98k... Yeah, that sounds like a pretty wide margin, but we want to be prepared for surprise success ahead of time, y'know, just in case... 😎

We also want to point out that today is the last day to qualify for the third FREE bonus print! So if you haven't pledged yet, pledge today -- tomorrow it will no longer be available!

If you missed any of the earlier prints in the 4-print set (including the Pre-registration and Day-1 bonuses), they will all be available as Add-ons in Backerkit afterward, but for a small fee.

Big news coming tomorrow!

For those of you who have been asking about adding a slipcase to your standalone copy of FIRST BORN, we may have you covered! We will be adding either a new tier or an Add-on upgrade so that you can indeed get a slipcase to contain your existing copies of Books 1-3 that you already own with the new Book 4. 🤩

We're figuring out which method makes the most sense -- new tier or as an Add-on -- but will have that set up TOMORROW! 

We will also be adding more preview pages from the other 3 books in the series to the preview page, as well as sharing a sneak peek at the original sketches Bertrand is offering, so STAY TUNED!