Campaign Update 6 ~ FINAL HOURS, $200 AWAY FROM 10K UNLOCK!!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Oct 30, 2020 at 07:35:37 PM

We're nearly at the finish line!! It's the last hours of the campaign (deadline is Oct 31 @ 11:29AM PST), and then we get these guys MADE!❤️😭❤️

I'll keep this brief, since I've been saying much of this since the beginning... but thank you. Thank you all so much for backing this project. I've seen so many campaigns absolutely knock it out of the park, but so many others fail, even with amazing ideas or beautiful work! This whole month has been a blur, but I haven't been this inspired and productive in so long, and it's a WONDERFUL feeling! 😊🥰

A special shout out to @BasiliskOnline who's been an enormous support and rally call through this whole month!! You absolutely ROCK❤️❤️❤️ (he also has a line of Paleo-themed pins, yall!)

Updates

There are several updates to the kickstarter, make sure to check in again if you haven't already! Two new reward tiers that are sticker only, all three released Main sticker designs, as well as a whole PACK of the pins designs as stickers! These are available in Add On's as well.

There is also the finalized poster artwork, and all 22 Pin designs, 100% complete!

Surveys

I mentioned in the last update that we now have Backerkit!! This means streamlined and much easier surveys! I already have them all just about ready, just waiting for the last of the Kickstarter info and last minute tweaks before they go out. Expect the survey email in you inbox within the next few days :D

⭐Remember, you MUST fill out the survey in order to receive your rewards!

⭐⭐You will be able to use Backerkit's post campaign Add On system as well!!

What's Next?

This campaign has absolutely blown me away with it's success, and the response to the designs has been more than I could have ever hoped for. There are a lot of small things I would do differently, but this whole process has been a huge learning experience and I'm taking it in. My goal right now is purely focused on getting out this current set of pins, and which will probably be 90% of my work load over the next 2-3 months. 

But then? I want to expand this set with a whole new line next year! I haven't decided what that will be yet, but my current top two:

• Modern Avian Dinosaurs (birbs)
• Paleo Oceans

Do you have a favorite? Or a different recommendation? I'd love to get some feedback!

As a thank you for being AWESOME, all Pin tier backers will be receiving another email  with some sketch concepts of the new line 😄 Look out for that in the next few days!

One last BIG HUGE THANK YOU to all of you!!! I can't wait for you all to start receiving these rewards!!

~Meg

Campaign Update 4 ~ It's the FINAL week!
over 3 years ago – Wed, Oct 28, 2020 at 12:22:22 AM

We're finally here!! It's the final week of the campaign, just 5 days left!🔥😶🔥

In this update I finally have the poster art reveal, as well as the final THREE stretch goal announcements! I've added two variant colors and a wearable add on. Also big news, we've got Backerkit!!

First, the poster!

I know many of you have been waiting for the reveal of the poster art, and I'd love to say it was my dramatic sense of theatre making you all wait this long for the reveal, but the truth is I just wasn't happy enough with the result. I let myself take the month to wrestle with it though, and I'm so happy I did! I'm really pleased with what finally came out, and I feel like it represents the feel of the pin collection much better than any of my previous attempts 😊

So here it is ~ 11x17" heavy cardstock archival paper, Gold Foil ~ This is a mockup up of the final piece, which will feature gold foil on the skeletons of the Spinosaurus and Coelacanth as well as delicate touches of it on the plant life. Apologies for the roughness of the mockup, this will be getting quite a lot of hours of delicate cleanup before it's ready for print ;)

Final Stretch Goals

First off, the new skull designs that have been unlocked! As of writing this, we're just $6 away from unlocking the last in line ~ Dorygnathus, the adorably terrifying pterosaur with a face full of teeth 😁

Next up, the first new stretch goal is the Glow In The Dark Variant Color unlocked at $8000. I had SO many requests for this one option, I decided to put it in as an easier goal to hit, as we're already nearly there! When unlocked, this variant color will be available as an option in all designs and to all backers.

I have two types of Glow to choose from, I'm still a bit torn...

Next up, unlocked at $9000 is another one that I got quite a few questions about. This goal will unlock both the Ammonite and Trilobite designs as wearables! A jewelry set, earrings and necklace, they will be available in the Add On's section under Manage Your Pledge. Check back in tomorrow for the mock up designs!

And last my very favorite, unlocked at $10000, is the Rose Gold and White variant! Like the GITD variant,this color option will be available in ALL designs and to ALL backers. 

Backerkit

Since reaching over 100 backers (now almost 150!) I've been researching Backerkit. It's a backer management system for project creators, and came highly recommended by several friends with successful campaigns under their belts. It's an additional cost, but it will streamline and support the after-campaign management, including and most importantly ~ Surveys! This means the surveys in which you make your final selections will go out within 36 hours of the campaign ending and be processed much faster when I get them back. Faster and easier surveys mean I can get to the ordering and manufacturing stage much quicker. The other awesome part is that Add-Ons will be available for purchase with the surveys!

I'm really excited about using this. I've already signed up and been using it for the past two days, and it's a huge relief. The survey's are nearly complete, just polishing that apple now ;)

What to expect

The Paleo Pins campaign officially ends on Halloween day, the 31st, at 11am pst. After that time, all pledging ends and Kickstarter will begin charging Backers for their chosen tiers and Add-On's. Individualized surveys will be sent out asap to every single Backer. The survey will have all of your pledge information, including the number of pins designs you have pledged for and the full list of available skull designs and color options. 

If you have any questions or concerns about the process, let me know! My email is [email protected] and I'm happy to help :D

That's it for now!! This was a big update, and I've still got lots of work to wrap up before the end of the week! I hope you're all having a lovely October and enjoying that Autumn chill <3

~Meg

Campaign Update 3 ~ 450% FUNDED!
over 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 19, 2020 at 01:51:55 PM

Halfway through the Campaign run time and already over 450% funded, I am absolutely blown away by the wonderful response to these designs so far! Thank you all so much!!

❤️❤️❤️

I've really been kept on my toes by this whole experience, and I've never been more excited to be overwhelmed hahaha 😄 I've been keeping up with everything though and I'm really pleased with all of the new designs that have come out because of the stretch goals!

Goal Update:

There are currently 18 unlocked and available pins and we're less than $100 away from the next goal of SPINOSAURUS!! The largest known land/semi-aquatic carnivore, it's one that I've been most excited to get to!

Stickers

I'll be able to announce all three of the designs in the next update, but here's the first sticker to be included in the reward tiers! It's also available as an add on if you'd like to get more than one.

Color Variant

Voted on across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, the biggest goal for the campaign has been decided! The $10,000 goal is a Color Variant that will be an available option for EVERY SINGLE TIER and on all of the standard designs!

What's Next?

There is still about two weeks left on the Campaign, just under, but we've very much hit the "Kickstarter Mid-Campaign Streeeeetch". It's the part where naturally pledges slow down, there's lots of pledge adjusting happening, and inevitably that means the campaign funding dips now and then. That's OKAY! It's perfectly normal for every Kickstarter in the second and third weeks of funding. 

 ̶I̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶'̶v̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶w̶a̶t̶c̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶e̶s̶s̶,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶i̶c̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶S̶p̶i̶n̶o̶s̶a̶u̶r̶u̶s̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶l̶o̶c̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶r̶i̶e̶f̶ ̶m̶o̶m̶e̶n̶t̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶'̶r̶e̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶u̶s̶t̶r̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶w̶a̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶(̶m̶y̶s̶e̶l̶f̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶l̶u̶d̶e̶d̶!̶)̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶d̶o̶u̶b̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶'̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶!̶ (EDIT: I wrote this last night before bed, and woke up this morning to see just two amazing pledges absolutely blew through this goal! You know who you are, thank you so so much, you made my morning so much brighter!!🥰) I have the artwork for Spino well under way, here's the sketch so far:

New Goals

The next two goals are Spinosaurus and Deinonychus (the real star of Jurassic Park!), then there are three place holders for new goals. I don't want to push myself too far by adding too much more design work on top of what's already on my plate here, but I do have a nearly endless list of skulls I'd love to do. I'm still working out the details (have to be very careful about not miscalculating stretch goals) but I'd love to make some unique additions, as well as more skull designs, as the larger goals, including some jewelry designs. 

I'll be updating on social media, and perhaps polling some more opinions, and I'll have a solid update in next week's email!

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Lastly, I need your help!

I have a few more campaign blasts planned and ready to go out soon, but I've been so busy keeping up with the artwork that I haven't been able to be as active with that as I hoped. With over 250 people receiving this email update, the potential social reach is enormous, but I can't do it without your help! Forward this email to a friend, share the campaign link ( https://bit.ly/2EQuweh ) with a Group chat, Tweet/Blog/Story your favorite design so far, etc. Every single mention has the potential to make a HUGE and very real difference! 

Anyway, I think this is long enough, I think! Thank you again, this has been a lot of work but the BEST kind! It's been a source of encouragement for me every single day and I'm so excited to be able to make this happen. 

~Meg

Week One Update: Stretch Goals DEFEATED 😂
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 08, 2020 at 11:10:54 AM

As of writing this, we have blown through nearly every. single. goal. There are just FOUR stretch goals left in (what I thought) was a very ambitious list! Thank you all SO MUCH!! For pledging, for sharing, for talking about this campaign and spreading the word, THANK YOU!❤️❤️❤️

*oops I was too slow, just three stretch goals left now!! Smilosuchus has just been unlocked :)

Early Bird tiers end tonight!

Today marks the 7th day of the campaign, and therefore the very last day of Early Bird reward tier access. All of the Tiers will still be available after today, but the Early Bird prices (which approximately equate to wholesale) will no longer be available. If you were considering upgrading your pledge, you may still do so at any point in the campaign, however the you will not be able to upgrade to Early Bird priced tier after tonight (Oct 7) at midnight PST

NEW stretch goals!

I’ve been asking some questions and taking some polls and the consensus is narrowed down to two great options, and I’ll be doing both! First, I’ll be adding more skull designs, with lots more species diversity and a bunch more favorites. I have a very long list I’d love to get to, but I will be reaching out for final decisions as well suggestions. If you’d like to be involved in those choices, the polls and write ins will be going up on Twitter as well as Instagram Stories.

Secondly, I’ll also be adding on a much more ambitious goal of a whole new VARIANT COLOR! Woohoo!! This goal will mean that every single pin design in the collection will come in a second color option besides Gold/Black. I haven’t made any decisions yet on what that color may be, although I’m working on mockups for several options which I’ll be presenting to social media for opinions :D If reached, the variant colors will be an option for all backers of every tier that includes a pin (*Variants will not count as new designs in the Master Collector’s tier, but will be available as a choice).

What's next?

I need your help! With expanded stretch goals to reach for, I need to get the word out about this campaign to as many people as possible, but there's only so much I can do on my own. Word of mouth is the life line for Kickstarter campaigns - Do you know someone who might be interested in these pins? A friend who loves science, a fb group or twitter followers? Spread the word! There have already been a a few of you who have been shouting this campaign to the heavens, and I have no doubt that's a big part of how it's come so far so fast already.

Thank you all again! I'm still blown away by the progress made in such a short time and I am so excited to make this collection a reality!!

~Meg

FUNDED
over 3 years ago – Fri, Oct 02, 2020 at 09:52:12 AM

So I had my email all ready to go out, about my goal of $400 (30%) in 48 hours. You guys absolutely BLEW through that and funded the whole base campaign in under 3 hours.

Absolutely amazing.

We're now at 145% funded, and three more pin designs have been unlocked!

Ammonite (this one has now been added to all 5+ pin tiers!!)

Dimetrodon

Ceratosaurus

The next design to be unlocked will be the Pachycephalosuarus!

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As for Campaign updates, I've added the second page of stretch goals with eight more potential designs, as well as updated the current list to reflect unlocked goals (also I fixed that awful font lol). There is now an FAQ section which I will update throughout the campaign as I get more questions. The Ammonite pin has been added to the Reward list graphic to reflect which tiers it is included in (all 5+). The example graphic for the Kickstarter Exclusive 3" Quetzalcoatlus has also been added to the story section.

That's all of the current updates!

Thank you all SO MUCH for backing these pins, and for backing them early and pushing this straight through to funding!! I was absolutely bouncing in my seat yesterday watching all the comments and reactions to the campaign. I am so excited for the opportunity to create such an enormous collection of pins, and it's all thanks to YOU

Less than three, yall :,)

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The next campaign update will be next week!