BATPACKS: Wearable Nocturnal Companions

hi guys!

just wanted to give you all a little heads up that there was an error with how my sales tax rules were configured in backerkit pledge manager, and the option wasn't turned on when everyone initially paid for their pledges/preorders. i've turned it on now, but it does mean that i'll need to retroactively charge sales tax on all previous orders, per my state regulations! (you'll only be charged sales tax if the state you live in has sales tax.)

so, if you get an additional charge from the campaign, don't be alarmed! just wanted to give you guys a heads up beforehand just in case :)

thank you all so much for your continued support! remember, you can always reach out to me with questions about your pledge or preorder at [email protected]. Have a great rest of your week!

hey guys! just wanted to give yall an update that I'll be (officially) opening the preorder store later today. it's been open since the end of the campaign if you had a direct link, but I was hoping to do some tweaking to available variants and such before promoting it publicly. it doesn't look like I'm able to do exactly what I want it to do, however, so we're just gonna for for it 👍

there IS one big update, however; the price of the batpacks will be changing, and ill explain why...

at their current backerkit price of $75 USD, the batpacks are priced at a little over double their unit cost. I figured double would be acceptable since it's still technically a "profit" (not counting for shipping costs/sampling/storage/error rate...), but i realized a bit into the campaign that if I sold batpacks for wholesale (the average wholesale pride rate is 50% of retail), i... would basically be selling them at-cost, which just isn't sustainable. it also doesn't give me a lot of wiggle room in terms of funding future production costs, accounting for error rates, basically anything beyond just the base cost of making the initial order of batpacks.

i talked to a lot of my artist friends about this who also make merch, and they shared that they generally price things around 3x the unit cost; 1/3 to pay for the price of production, 1/3 to help pay for the next one, and 1/3 as profit/to handle all the other added expenses. but I also didn't want to immediately jack the price up for preorders since I'd been saying since the end of the campaign that you could wait for preorders to get a batpack for the same price if you couldn't get one during the campaign!

so, here's the deal: the preorder price for batpacks will be going up to $80 USD, and once preorders are over, the standard retail price will be $95 USD. this way, you guys still get a nice discount for preordering, but it gives me juuuust a bit more of a cushion to work with until preorders are over!

as to how long preorders will last... im not sure yet! with the sampling period taking longer than estimated, it pushes the time until production out as well, and I only need to secure concrete numbers once we begin mass production. so it could be a month or two until preorders close! we'll have to see.

thanks to all of you for your continued support (and for listening to me prattle on about production nuances, lol). i always strive to be as transparent as possible when it comes to my work, so I hope that comes across well here!

have a great rest of your week 🦇

BIG NEWS!! the new batpack samples are HERE and they look amazing!

introducing: the honduran white bat & the dreamy bat! these little guys turned out AMAZING, and alongside the obvious new designs, we've had a couple of hardware upgrades as well!

so... what's different, you ask?



1. we have a new and improved backstamp location on the back of the bag! originally, there was going to be a small screenprint detail on the back with the backstamp on the back pocket, but i didn't think the design read very well so I decided to nix back screenprinting altogether and just so the backstamp. i think it looks clean and classy!



2. we have a new and improved zipper! in the original sample, the zipper was pretty flimsy and the bag would completely open if you tugged on it with even a little bit of force. these new zippers are a HUGE improvement!

we have a few changes to make still -- id wanted to try a double leather layer on the faces & I'd like to change the yellow in the honduran white bat's face to match the yellow of the wings, but so far so good!

SO.... WHAT'S NEXT? 

we have another round of 3 new sample designs coming your way hopefully by the end of the month! keep your eyes peeled! 🦇

a very happy new year's eve, everyone! I have a few very exciting updates to share with you all today as we head into 2025.

first: our total donation amount to lubee bat conservancy for 2024! through charity sticker salss alone, we were able to raise $828 to donate to lubee for this year!

ive already made the donation, and will be continuing to donate any additional funds raised + will be sending any excess stickers to lubee afterwards as well. thank you all so much for helping to make this happen!

second: right as we head into the new year, our new samples have finally been completed!

first up, we have dreamy bat...

and, next, we have the honduran white bat!





both of them turned out SO cute and perfect, and i cant wait to see them both in person!

we also had another sample of brown bat made to try out a different zipper, stronger head construction, and a new location for the logo on the back. 

once i receive these guys and confirm the structural changes are what we want going forward, we'll launch directly into our next round of samples: vampire bat, cupid bat, and tangerine bat!

now that i have a better idea of about how long it takes to do each set of samples, im going to be re-evaluating our production timeline to take the longer sample time into account. during this next round of samples, im hoping to also get all of the remaining enamel pin designs made, so that i can start shipping out everyone's campaign rewards ASAP while we wait for the batpacks themselves!

i hope everyone has a wonderful new year's eve + new year's day, and im so excited to dive into 2025 with you all