Beautiful and versatile miniature painting and hobby organizers that hold most popular mini paint brands, brushes, tools, your phone and even the Hobby Holder miniature holder! Shipping Now!
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Hello Friends!
WE ARE STARTING YOUR DESK WIZARD PLEDGE SHIPMENTS TODAY! HUZZAH!
I realize we are a few days beyond July (sorry), but in the large scheme of things, an in house production of a 2000% funded project starting shipments in less than 2 months still counts as a win right? XD The delay is partially due to the sheer volume of add-ons you all got :O Thank you so much for continuing to support Game Envy and the DESK WIZARD line this way. It means I have a clearer picture of what everyone is looking for and how to expand the DESK WIZARD line in the future. I am so excited to be able to continue to create for you all!
There are a couple of key items in regards to shipping I wanted to mention that I have been asked in our previous campaigns:
That is all the big items I have. If you need any further clarification just let me know and I will post that information. NOW... Off to packing pledges :D
Thanks so much for the amazing support,
XOXO Kit
Hello My Friends,
I hope everyone is staying safe and staying cool. We finally got some some portable AC units in the office which has definitely bolstered moral while we are running laser cutters, 3d printers, computers, lights etc. all while packing and lifting and moving DESK WIZARD goodness around! We actually feel like making coffee at the office again...
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The original date I was planning on locking completed surveys was the 6th, however, I wanted to wait a full two weeks to make sure y'all had enough time. We have about an 85% completion rate right now, but that still leaves ~150 folks who haven't selected their rewards yet. Tomorrow is the last day to make changes to filled surveys then we will lock them and process payments. Anyone who hasn't completed the survey please try to go in and do that! Once we start shipping, stragglers will be placed at the back of the shipping queue.
If you need to access your survey, visit https://deskwizard.backerkit.com/ and use your KS email address. If you need additional assistance just send me a PM.
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In the last few weeks we have been hard at work continuing to pack all the various bits and bobs and nuts and bolts. We have been spreading the packing across the whole line of parts so that as soon as the labels start spitting out of the printer we can start sending you your pledge rewards!
Speaking of shipping labels, can you believe our sweet little Dymo 4XL Label Printer has printed every label for our three Kickstarter campaigns, some others we helped ship, packing slips, retailer boxes, and all the Game Envy shop orders for the last three years! We are talking well over 30,000 labels this little dude has printed :O It also survived the rainstorm inside our office last year and numerous bonks... I'm impressed! But I digress.
I have also been improving on the super slicer and how I break down the 48x48" sheets to their 10x16.75" that we run through the laser cutters. More on that in "From Full Sheet to DESK WIZARD" below :D
The only other piece of the puzzle I am waiting on me on ;D is the instruction sheet which I am working on finalizing. It takes a little time to 3D model the parts to make the parts explosion diagram. Although, it's not as bad as it was since, through the campaign, we have standardized parts throughout the DESK WIZARD line. You will even be able to use your colored supports on the R1, R3 and R5 and vice versa!
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I wanted to give y'all a little look at the process and what goes into each DESK WIZARD until it comes off the cutters, so I took some photos while going through the stages! It is a small part of the story, but I am sure no one wants to look through the 562 files in the DESK WIZARD folder (and 4 in the DeskBuddy folder haha) on my computer or see the exciting world of packing bolts into bags XD
Step #1 is marking the matte side of the 48" acrylic sheets so we know which way to face them in the cutter. This step is probably the easiest and the only job we do in the office that requires crayons.
Step #2 is scoring and breaking the sheet into 10x48" strips. This process has gotten a lot faster as I improve the cutter and my technique. Instead of "score, flip, score, break, repeat x3" I have set up some measured stops so I can go "score, score, flip, score, break, score, break, repeat" which cuts the hardest part, the flipping, by 75%! It might not seem like much but it saves time and my knees :D
Step #3 is pretty much the same as Step #2 except it is a lot easier to work on the narrower strips. I installed two wooden stops on the cutting table so I can reduce the flipping step on this cutter too. In fact it is the exact same "score, score, flip, score, break, score, break" to process each strip.
Step #4 is just running the cutters. We have guides set up, so we can just toss in the sheet and they are lined up to start cutting. While there IS more room on the laser bed, it isn't enough to make a huge difference and this way we have as little waste material as possible.
Step #5 is scooping the various pieces into the right bin or sorting them onto the right stack ready to be packed. After that it is just sweeping the tiny scrap bits into a bucket and reloading the laser cutters. Rinse and repeat :D
I hope that was an interesting look into this part of the process. As more interesting stuff happens I will be sure to document them to share!
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Thanks so much for all the support!
XOXO Kit
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We had a chance to chat with the great folks over at Mini Master Werks who are running their own Kickstarter campaign right now for the Studio X, a cool painting travel case about the hobby and miniature painting innovation. Be sure to check it out; so much cool stuff is still being made right now! If you were wondering, your Hobby Holder does fit nicely into the Studio X ;D
Happy Day Friends! (Idea for kid's show?)
Thank you all for waiting patiently for them :D There is a lot that goes into building the survey so that it makes sense to me and the team here but most importantly you! Where you need to easily be able to select a Desk Wizard - Rank 14 with an Original Top Plate, an Oversize Device Stand and Royal Blue Supports. For us a SKU like desk-wizard—rank-14-original-top-plate-oversize-device-stand-royal-blue-supports is neigh impossible to read and pack quickly, so we need to hand input a SKU like 14-original-oversize-royalblue FOR EVERY OPTION! While the 120 DESK WIZARD combinations + more add-on options are less than the Hobby Holder's 14,000+ combinations, it is still a feat to get things to work smoothly for everyone! That said, if you have ANY questions feel free to send us a PM.
We are asking everyone to try to respond to the pledge manager survey in the next two weeks. We will begin shipping as soon as possible on a rolling basis. While the survey won't hard close then, it will just mean your reward will be sent later.
If you did not receive your survey link email you can visit https://deskwizard.backerkit.com/ and you will be able to access it with your Kickstarter email address.
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We had late pledges open while we completed the survey, and we would like to welcome the new adventurers to the party! Now that surveys are out we have activated the pre-order store where folks can pre-order the new DESK WIZARD Organizers and other great Game Envy products. Feel free to share the link https://deskwizard.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders with your friends!
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Other than working on the survey and office work, we have been preparing a lot behind of scenes!
Since the campaign went beyond the goal we got another acrylic freight delivery. This time they sent it in a full size semi-truck instead of a straight truck, and he couldn't get into the alley to the freight elevator, so they dropped it in the parking lot >.< We then had to load it onto a drywall cart and roll it all the way around the building to the main entrance and into the basement XD
To help speed up the production process I build a 5' straight cutter jig to help break down the 48" sheets of acrylic faster and more accurately. So far it has been awesome!
We also got a freight shipment of boxes and envelopes to start packing! Shout out to Uline and their great customer service. We had a hiccup with the delivery and they pick that phone up on the first ring and solve things! Plus, we got a free pair of pajamas from them :D
In addition to packing orders and helping me around the office my sister has been putting shipping boxes together and packing bags nuts and bolts and extras for a few days (sorry). Like they(?) say "If you work with Kit long enough you get excited when things like tape and boxes of bolts come in the mail" XD
The weather has been nice here, and I had a wonderful father's day. It had all the good stuff like building stuff, playing outside, naps and even Taco Bell! I hope all you father's had a good one as well <3
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Thank you all for the amazing support!!!
XOXO Kit
FRIENDS! WOWZERS!
Thank you all so much for the interest in and excitement about the DESK WIZARD - Rank 10 and Rank 14, all the cool options we were able to make available with your support and the future of the DESK WIZARD Hobby and Miniature Painting Organization System! Even though this is now my third Kickstarter I still had no idea how the campaign was going to turn out. I don't know if this will ever change, but three weeks ago if you had said we would go over 2000% funding and 1,000 supporters I would have said "Sounds about right" XD Just kidding... this was crazy! Thank you all so much :D
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We have already started things moving from Day 1, but still have a lot more to do.
The first big item on the schedule is finishing up the BackerKit Pledge Manager. This is where you all will be able to select your colors and options for your DESK WIZARDs as well as select your add-ons and get shipping squared away. I am planning on having the smoke test done early in the week, so start thinking about what colors you want! I will post another update when the surveys go out to everyone, so keep an eye out for that. We will be moving pretty quickly to get shipments started!
I will have more to share about everything and the process in the next update, but for now, I just wanted to let you all know what was happening RIGHT NOW :D
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Don't worry if you missed the campaign! We have a Late Pledge Request Form set up. This is a really simple form that will bridge the gap between now and when the Preorder store launches in BackerKit. If you missed the campaign submit in your details there and I will add you to the BackerKit Pledge Manager once the surveys go out. If you still need some time, everything will move into the Preorder store and then be available on the Game Envy website after fulfillment.
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Thank you all so much for the amazing support! I can't wait until your DESK WIZARDs arrive in your hands!
XOXO Kit