Shipping Update (and new card art!)
about 6 years ago – Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 11:16:35 PM

Esteemed Madonnas and Madons,

Just wanted to give you a quick update - at present we are aiming for a shipping date in mid May! Right now, a few artists are still finishing some of the remaining cards in their suits. We've got a few rounds of revisions to go through, and then finalizing details on packaging. 

After going through samples, we've settled on some card details too! These have a great look, some great hand feel, and are going to look gorgeous on your tables, altars, places of business, or wherever you keep your decks!

Tech specs:

400-450gsm art paper
High quality soft matte lamination
Foil pressed butterfly back design
Foil pressed gold front border
Gold edge gilding

John will be visiting the manufacturers to personally oversee production in April, and should bring back lots of stories and pictures of the production process for those interested in seeing how the sausage of a tarot deck gets made. The visit coincides with a manufacturing convention, which is part of the reason for extending the timeline, so we can have that personal oversight, and because we care so much about getting it right!

Reminder that we are locking in surveys on April 10th!

Now, what lock in means - on April 10th, we'll send a final update and anyone who has not altered, changed, or updated their pledge since the beginning of the Kickstarter will have their original details locked in. Anyone who has been using BackerKit to modify their orders will have their cards charged at this point. 

Pre-orders will still be open, but any additional items you purchase from that point onward will be counted as a new order. 

If you are a slacker and miss this deadline, or have to get out of Dodge and change shipping addresses after that point, no worries! We can still manually update your details, after some good-natured ribbing and light shaming. Once we've got product in hand, we begin the gargantuan process of importing that database into our shipping software and start shipping you your goods! 

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for:

All this talking! Let's get to the good stuff!

THE FIVE OF WANDS!

 

The Five of Wands, another beauty by the magnificent Sarah Barrie Fenton. This card indicates being in the midst of conflict, tension, and competition, which is impacting one's ability to move forward with one's goals. True enough - write that man a reference and get out of Amalthea's way. Time to make way for some vagrant, nameless, clownish new opportunities!

That's all for today! Congratulations on completing your Monday - time for a cold one! 

Pins Have (Mostly!) Arrived!
about 6 years ago – Tue, Mar 13, 2018 at 07:50:18 PM

The pins have arrived, and they are pretty glorious! We're still working on The Cat, The Unicorn, Haggard, and Mommy - the color scheme needs a little reworking, but should be following close behind. If you haven't added one (or a full set e) to your order, make sure to do so!

 

Important Date:

We are making April 10th the lock-in and card-charging date for the surveys! We are going to start reminding people a lot more obnoxiously after March 24th (once we're nearing the two week mark), but we're letting you know early so you can update your BackerKits and breathe easy. There's still plenty of time, and a handful more updates ahead, but we're putting the word out there so you can start getting (even more) excited!

Scarves n' other sundries
about 6 years ago – Thu, Mar 08, 2018 at 11:37:46 PM

Scarves!

The scarf samples are in! 18 x 60" in a luxurious silky poly-satin with a vibrant print, they are majestic, silky soft, and tie into beautiful knots. If you were on the fence about them before, do yourself a service and get one. 

Use it as a belt, a scarf, a tie! Set your fashion to stunning, with your new Last Unicorn toga wrap, sarong, and loincloth, all in one! Wrap your valuables in it! Bundle your worldly possessions in it like a hobo bindle and be on your way. Pictures just don't do it justice. 

 Our next two designs will have the unicorns emerging from the ocean, and Amalthea and the Unicorn on opposite ends. But this one is available now!

Charity Fundraiser!

Our CEO at Geekify is a man with a peculiar sense of adventure, and he has decided that getting hit in the head for charity is a reasonable use of time and effort. As part of Boulder Startup Week, the annual Founder Fights event pits CEOs and company founders against each other in boxing matches. Each CEO champions a cause, and raises money to support it, and John has chosen Child's Play as the cause, a geek themed charity that seeks to improve the lives of children in pediatric hospitals and care facilities. He's raising $5,000 from friends, family, onlookers, gawkers, and charitable donors who love The Last Unicorn. 

More details can be found here on the Crowdrise for the event. 

If you support the company, support the cause, support the charity, or just want to see the zero-to-hero transformation of a young man embarking on his destiny to be the geekest, please consider donating! Even a few dollars gets us closer to the goal!

May 18 is the fight date - if you're in Boulder, you're welcome to come see the fight. Thank you in advance for all your support. We love giving back in what ways we can, and celebrating our togetherness in the geek community.

That's all for the moment!  Stay awesome, and we'll be back with more news before long!

Card Line Art - Ten of Cups
about 6 years ago – Mon, Feb 26, 2018 at 12:16:24 AM

Good evening, all you shining stars in the night sky,

The finish line is in sight! Every day we sit down to review new art and give it the thumbs up, or make a checklist of some revisions and kick it back. The stack of completed art grows ponderously heavy (...digitally speaking), and the final renders are nothing short of gorgeous. 

We always deliberate what to share and what not - the finished, the concept sketches, or the line arts. It's fun sharing a mix of it all, and as much as we'd love to share everything in the updates, the unboxing is going to be so much more magical when you see all the surprises we've cooked up for this deck. It's a tricky line to walk of knowing when to stay true to some of the original tarot art and concepts, what to play with, and when to forge your own path in creating something altogether new. The end result is a deck that's recognizable for the old, but full of new creation and interpretation. 

For tonight, the line art of the Ten of Cups!

 
Symbolizing the emotional fulfillment that comes with having it all, the Ten of Cups is a card of bounty, contentment, and satisfaction, often in the context of relationships. Molly and Schmendrick take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the world at their feet, a unicorn running across an open meadow reflected in the pool behind them, the sign of transcendental beauty and grace, with everything in its place. 

(Shhh...the logic of the angle of reflection doesn't need to be questioned!)

Each artist has a lot of freedom to create the cards of their suit to their own unique and specific vision, and it's fun to see the evolution. In the above line art, the tone, palette, and implications of the card will change based on what's not shown just as much as what is. Will it be a sunrise? A sunset? The onset of dusk, as the pair watch the stars come out? Or a bright sunny day, as the two survey all the beauty in front of them? We'll never tell! Each option would work well, and the card would be beautiful for it, but it's interesting for each card how we can explore the message we want to convey, as represented in physical form. 

As we tweak and revise, we're constantly amazed at what a de-saturation or adding a hint of gradient can do to a background, or what the changing of the placement of a hand ever so slightly relative to another character can impart to the overall meaning. We go back and forth on first impressions, deeper meanings, the body language, even the angle of the glances and gaze. A furrowed brow imparts intensity that might amplify the card, while a hint of a smile can lighten the mood of a card altogether. The Temperance card has Lir staring with such fixed intensity that, the more you look at the card, the more you can see his thoughts forming and processing in his mind.

It's definitely been an amazing journey and a very rewarding one as each card unfurls like a beautiful blossom. We're pretty excited to take this art into production in the coming months.

And now for your viewing pleasure, a Mommy Fortuna keychain, to bless your old husk of a car.

Some housekeeping:

We've got a bit of time ahead of us still to complete the artwork - we can't go to print until every last card is finished, so you're still free to make adjustments on your surveys. We'll probably start to think about locking in surveys around mid / late March (hard to believe that's almost here!)  and we'll post a number of updates starting about 10-14 days out from the lock-in date.  

Some people have asked about some of the add-ons and if/when we'll see completed prototypes. Because we're focused on the tarot decks for this specific Kickstarter (but still advancing the others projects), the emphasis is on having those accoutrements ready to go. Right this second, we're looking at definitely having scarves (at least one design), pins, reading cloths, decks, boxes, and guide books. Thanks to everyone for your input on the reading cloths - we'll be doing them in a fine velvet, with a silhouette design; they're going to be so pretty! Mugs we've got underway and are finalizing designs for. Keychains are a little more iffy, but we'll see what time allows. Blankets will probably be a separate thing altogether, as will plushes, but those will probably be ready in the June / July time frame. We'll continue to update other projects here, for those interested. 

Book Rebinds:

As one of our specialties is book binding and book making, we're also working on a design to rebind Last Unicorn books in leather (or faux leather, if you're animal friendly). If you check out our main page at Geekify Inc, take a look at The Silmarillion, Neverending Story, Dark Crystal, Princess Bride, and Labyrinth to get a general idea of what we go for (in style, quality, and price). We're still finalizing the designs, but if you're interested in getting your Last Unicorn book rebound, shoot us a message!

Spread the word!

Please do continue to spread the word, if you've got anyone that wants to get in on the action! This link will take them to the goodies:  

https://last-unicorn.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

That's all for now! Stay awesome, and catch you all in the next update!

Reading Cloth Poll
about 6 years ago – Thu, Feb 08, 2018 at 11:42:45 PM

A quick question for the audience and the hardcore readers in the group. We're beginning our designs on the reading cloths (yay!) and had some questions on preferences.

We can go a thinner material with a fully digital print - we're thinking something geometric with a great scene we'll devise, reminiscent of something like this with appropriately Last Unicorn motifs, on a cotton fabric:

 
Or we can go something on a heavier fabric. A little more simple, but regal, and something velvet with a design (the unicorn's silhouette for instance) embroidered in the center, with a brocade border. 

 Whichever direction we go, we'll make sure to make it epic. We'll start doing designs and prototypes over the next month so you can see the finished result before we ship (and choose if you want one after all), so inputs and feedbacks are welcome, as are any other considerations we should keep in mind for making them! Thanks in advance!