The All New Pop-Up Rinse Cup, Magical Sinking Brush Scrubby and Go-To Detail Brush Set for Miniature Painters and Artists of All Kinds
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Innovative Painting Tools | BackerKit Surveys, Production Update, Cool Projects, Life!
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Apr 26, 2023 at 08:38:14 PM
Hello hello hello!
I hope everyone has been doing well. Over the last few weeks, we have been hard at work preparing the BackerKit survey, planning and preparing for fulfillment, and all the ins and outs of making cool stuff! Let's get right to it; there is some good stuff in this update :P
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BackerKit Surveys
BackerKit approved the pledge survey this evening! As of this update, we have started the "Smoke Test" in which the survey is sent out to 5% of the backers to insure everything is functioning. Within the next 24 hours, the remainder of the surveys will go out as long as it running smoothly.
In the pledge manager you will be able to select color and configuration options for your pledge and add-ons you may have added in Kickstarter, and complete your shipping information. If you were wanting to get more gear, we have added a plethora of add-ons and several bundle deals from the campaign for you to choose from in the add-on section of the survey.
With nearly 100 SKUs, shipping and weight calculations, packaging selections, etc. there was a lot of checking to make sure it would go off without a hitch, so fingers crossed!
I will post another update when we send the rest of the surveys!
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Production Update
The All New Pop-Up Rinse Cups, Magical Sinking Brush Scrubbies, Phalanx SQUAD Sets, Palette Shields and the rest of the newGame Envy gear is either in hand or en route! As soon as everything arrives we can finish setting up the fulfillment space and start preparing to get your gear in the mail.
Loaded up and on the way!
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Cool Projects
Two awesome people I am lucky to call friends have amazing projects in the works! Whether you are looking for a wonderful journey into the world of miniatures art in Dave Taylor's The Art Of... Vol. 7-9 or want to battle for your life in Malev's DEMON SHIP solo micro tabletop game, do yourself a favor and check them out!
In other news, we are expecting the arrival of our 4th child any day now! This week, while waiting in anticipation, I made him this walnut, cherry, oak and maple Jupiter wall art for his room. But wait, there's more! We also celebrated our wedding anniversary and our current youngest turned three!
Gas giant. Heh heh heh
That is all the news we have for now. Be on the lookout for those surveys, check out Dave's and Malev's projects, and wish us luck in the coming weeks :D
Thank you for the Support! Game Envy's 5th Kickstarter is in the books!
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Mar 31, 2023 at 11:07:24 AM
Welcome to the Cool Kids Club!
I needed a day to process the amazing support for this campaign... weseriously cannot thank you all enough for helping bring the new gear to life! It went well beyond what we expected, and most of us had to adjust our estimates halfway through... except my 8 y/o who was only $601 off :O Not to take anything away from him BUT his very first guess was $1,800,601 off until I explained things a bit XD
When I created the Hobby Holder, Game Envy was a VERY niche company, and while a lot of our products come from a need I see in my miniature painting, the last two projects have really helped us to branch out into the much broader art/hobby/craft realm. With your help, we can continue to innovate and make all types creative pursuits more accessible and fun! Thank you!
Next Steps
Right now Kickstarter is processing pledges and giving folks time to fix any payment issues. Once that is complete they will take their pound (love you Kickstarter!) and begin the transfer. While we are waiting, we continue to build out the BackerKit pledge surveys which we hope to be ready in about two weeks.
Production continues to proceed as we mentioned in the previous update. As we hear more I will share that as well as photos when we receive those.
Everything Else
If you didn't see my comment yesterday, I went ahead and unlocked the $200k stretch goal! I am speaking with a few painters to do tutorials on the Party Pinata in their different styles. This will be a good way to see how the different styles and techniques can be applied to the same model. I will share more info on this as we proceeded. While we are talking about the Party Pinata, Bobby Jackson who did The Order of the Miniature knight and like a million other miniatures, will be doing the sculpt for us!
If you have any questions please email [email protected] and we will get you taken care of!
Thank you so much!
Kit, Ali, Derek and the whole Game Envy family!
Each of us celebrating in our own way XD I feel like I needed a break more than them but w/e
Final 48 Hours! Adepticon 2023, Production Update and More!
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 02:16:09 PM
Hiya Friends,
Here we are in the final 48 hours! It feels like just 28 days ago we launched the campaign XD As of right now this is our most funded AND most backer Kickstarter and it is all thanks to all you amazing painters out there! Let's see how far we can go!
AdeptiCon Was Great!
Last week flew by since we were at AdeptiCon. It was a really great time, and it was so good see everyone and show off the All New Pop-Up Rinse Cup, Magical Sinking Brush Scrubby and Phalanx SQUAD 3-Brush Variety Set. Some folks even spotted the new purple Exemplar Wet Palette! Hearing so many people mention they were following the campaign or were already a backer stopping by to check the samples out was amazing! We also gave a set of the production samples to You Got Me Monologuing's Charity Paint & Pass stream at AdeptiCon. You can check out the 40+ hour stream here and watch a whole bevy of miniature painters contributing to a great cause and see the new gear in action! Congrats to all the winners in all the tournaments and painting competitions!!!
Production Update
I spoke with our manufacturer yesterday when we got back into town and things are moving along nicely. The All New Pop-Up Rinse Cups are wrapping up production and they will be moving onto the Magical Sinking Brush Scrubby shortly. We also started production on the second batch of Phalanx SQUAD brush sets and Palette Shields to make sure we can start fulfillment ASAP!
Pop-Up Rinse Cups Preparing to be Pad Printed
Palette Shields being made made.
What's Next?
As we prepare for the end of the Kickstarter campaign we have started building the pledge manager in BackerKit. There are a lot of things that go into setting that up including adding all the add-ons into the system, weighing everything individually, creating proper SKUs for all the new items, testing the pledge management forms for every pledge level and more. Our goal is to have this done in a week or two after the campaign closes to insure fulfillment can start as soon as possible.
We will be adding the miniature add-on directly into BackerKit as well as some peripheral items such as bottle caps and cork variety packs for the Hobby Holder.
ANOTHER Game Envy Milestone, Production Update, Stretch Goals and "From the Painters"
about 1 year ago
– Sat, Mar 18, 2023 at 10:09:35 PM
Hello hello hello!
A warm welcome to all the new faces who have joined the party :D This was a great all around week for the campaign with the last two days being icing on the cake zooming us right past another funding milestone for us on Kickstarter; the second Hobby Holder campaign! Back in 2018 when I launched that campaign I had just been to NOVA Open and PAX Unplugged as an exhibitor for the first time fitting the entire booth into my Mazda 3 XD Because of the support of the community over the years we have been able to continue creating unique gear, and we thank you all so much for that opportunity <3
The All New Pop-Up Rinse Cup Before, After and During Overmolding.
Stretch Goals
This week we also flew by the Miniature Add-on stretch goal AND we got the illustration back so we can reveal it! We also decided to have it modeled so it could be painted with or without the Painting Pal rider and at a scale that would be fun to paint for all skill levels.
Meet your STL miniature the Paint Party Pinata with and without Painting Pal!
$65,000 - (UNLOCKED) Free STL Miniature - This is a fun miniature I have been wanting to make for a while, and I thought this celebratory occasion would be a great opportunity to bring it to life.
$75,000 - (UNLOCKED) Brush + Shield Sticker Resurrection! - An old sticker from the vault will be resurrected and included with every reward tier pledge!
$100,000 - (UNLOCKED) Miniature Add-On - We will get molds made for the miniature and make it available as an add-on at a discounted price.
$155,000 (LOCKED) Get All the Stickers! - We will combine all the unlocked stickers to an upgraded sheet design and create as many custom stickers to fill the sheet. These will be revealed as I finish the designs for them!
From the Painters
If you know BrushForHire you know ;D He is an amazing contributor and supporter of the hobby community and all around awesome guy! If you haven't stopped in for his stream on Twitch or taken one of his classes, you are missing out and should correct that...
"Game Envy's wet palette continues to keep me wet, the copper weights help keep my wetness pure, and the pop-up cup with brush scrubby help hold my excess wetness."- BrushForHire
Remember, if you are going to be at AdeptiCon later this week, be sure to stop by Booth #200 to say hey and to check out the production samples of all the new gear!
"From the Painters," Stretch Goals and Another Game Envy Milestone!
about 1 year ago
– Sat, Mar 11, 2023 at 08:39:13 PM
Hats off to ya, friends!
I hope everyone had a great week :D Things here have been progressing nicely, and we have been hard at work making sure everything is lined up so that fulfillment can begin per the timeline or sooner!
I mentioned in the last update that the material orders were being placed, and after speaking with our wonderful manufacturer, they let me know they had preordered the bulk of it since they saw it was a little harder to get at the moment! It will be arriving this coming week and then they can begin production.
Last truck unloaded! It looks warm out but IT WAS NOT!
Other great news is that nearly 6,000 lbs of Exemplar Wet Palettes arrived last week via UPS including the new PURPLE version! We knew that UPS had sold their freight arm, so we weren't sure how they were arriving until three separate brown trucks came filled with cartons XD Luckily, we have spare palettes and a jack now otherwise it would have been a lot of trips with a hand cart. Next step is packaging them with their paper and sponge packs!
"Game Envy has quickly become integral to my hobby enjoyment, and their latest accomplishments are no exception! It’s clear that Kit hears what painters are looking for and makes their dream products come to life.
The new pop-up rinse cup has a flared bottom perfect for a klutz like me, and I really love how the height is adjustable. Paired with the Magical (magical is the right word) Sinking Brush Scrubby, my brushes are nice and clean without being damaged! I love how the Scrubby can fit into any cup, though… It's also fun to play with. Be careful your dog doesn’t think it’s for them!
Oh, did someone mention brushes? (it was me, I did a couple sentences ago). The Phalanx line is expanding, and the new kolinsky sable has been my new go-to from the minute it was in my hands! The small dome drybrush gets an A+ from me, I can achieve a much better level of control than I had with other drybrushes in the past. Really, I can do basically anything with the three brushes included in this latest kickstarter.
And last but not least, while I’m using my nice new brushes, I’ve really been loving how neat and tidy my Antimicrobial Wet Palette weights keeps my beloved Exemplar Wet Palette. The weights are a handy addition already, but the antimicrobial properties on top of have ensured this is a product permanently in my repertoire!
All in all Game Envy’s latest kickstarter is a round-up of products that are well crafted, thoughtful, and incredibly useful. And I love how put-together I feel looking at all my beautiful goblin green goodies on my paint desk. Heck yeah. Wittle Goblin approved." - Wittle Goblin
Stretch Goals
Reworking the druid art to fit better into the sticker design.
While we wait for the first draft of the illustration for the new miniature, we wanted to share the start of the Druid sticker. I might switch her brush out for the new Phalanx SPEED brush then it's onto color!
$75,000 - (UNLOCKED) Brush + Shield Sticker Resurrection! - A sticker design from the vault will be resurrected and included with every reward tier pledge!
$100,000 - (LOCKED) Miniature Add-On - We will get molds made for the miniature and make it available as an add-on at a discounted price.
Another big milestone for this project happened last night when we passed the original Hobby Holder campaign funding! It has been a long journey to this point, and we really appreciate the support and enthusiasm for the hobby and the growing collection of Game Envy gear.
If you are inclined to share the campaign on social be sure to tag @hobbyholder and use #gameenvy #projectwelove on the post to help spread the word :D
