On track to ship in Feb as promised!
about 9 years ago
– Tue, Apr 07, 2015 at 04:25:30 AM
Hey there,
Hope Santa was good to you and more importantly that you saw out 2014 in style!
Apologies for the radio silence but for the last two months I’ve been free diving the endless stream of emails that is the minutiae of producing real stuff. We’re super close to being finished and everything is still on schedule for despatch in Feb as originally promised. However it wouldn’t be Kickstarter if there weren’t a few hiccups on the journey...
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CANCELLED COLOURWAYS
Frankly I launched with too many styles, too many colours and too many sizes for a small production run. I knew I couldn’t compromise on the size range but something had to give. So after many weeks of negotiating with the factory I made the tough decision to cancel some colourways: the Navy Blazer, the Black Jacket and the Oxblood Chinos.
About 70 backers were affected and I still feel sick in my stomach having over promised to them. Only one person wanted a refund and one other a store credit, and knowing that over 97% of you believe so strongly in this project that the colour doesn’t really matter means the world to me. I want to say thanks again (and again, and again!) to those affected backers and I hope you make good use of your free Goldstein Notebooks (more on those below).
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THE COUNTER-INTUITIVE LOGIC OF PRODUCTION
During the campaign I also said that we’d produce exclusively to demand. Had we hit the minimum order at the factory this would definitely be the case. Unfortunately having so many styles fragmented the orders and even with limited colourways we still fell short of the minimums on every style. Between the dye, weave and wax surcharges and the increased unit cost it was actually less money to produce more (and hit the agreed minimums) than it was to make only the preorders. Unbelievably nuts but true. Once again I humbly apologise for over promising and this is another lesson well learned.
The good news is that the 1984 stealth fashion collection remains hyper-limited edition. The total number of pieces across the entire world numbers in the low hundreds and I can guarantee that you’re not going to get papped by Hans Eijkelboom. In fact we exist as a brand specifically so you don’t get papped by Hans!
The remaining stock goes up for sale after we’ve despatched all preorders. The RRP will be ~50% higher than Kickstarter, so if you’ve got any Xmas dollars burning a hole in your pocket then head over to Backerkit now and grab the clothes whilst they’re still discounted.
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HIDE MY ASS VPN
Your logins are coming soon I promise. I’ve been waiting and waiting for Hide My Ass to upgrade their systems and we’re just trying to figure out the most elegant way to get the 1000+ unique codes sent out. ETA late next week.
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UPGRADE: UNPOCKET
As promised I’ve updated and elongated the UnPocket to fit most phablets including the iPhone 6 Plus. Trying to keep a list of every new phone released that will or won't fit is nigh on impossible and so the easiest way to check is any phone less than 6.25 inches / 160 mm tall will fit UnPocket.
I’ve also slightly increased the amount of wax applied to the canvas for even better weather protection. It’s a little hard to see in the photo, but after a few minutes the water has begun to soak into the original sample on the right whereas it's still sitting on top of the upgraded sample on the left.
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UPGRADE: OUTER PARTY JACKET CANVAS
Apart from upgrading the UnPocket, the biggest change I’ve made since rolling into production is to use a heavier and better quality canvas on the Outer Party Jacket. Check out the comparison photos below and you’ll see that it’s got a more distinctive coarser weave and is also slightly more vibrant, both of which highlight the contrast waxed collar and yoke.
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GOLDSTEIN NOTEBOOKS
Must say I’m chuffed with the way our first paper product has turned out. Final samples below and if you haven’t added some of these onto your order yet you’re crazy! They're the perfect complement to time spent off the grid with UnPocket, plus you get to explain to other people what 'oligarchical collectivism' means ;)
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Phew! OK that’s it for now but as always if you have any questions or comments don’t hesitate to get in touch in the comments below or by email.
Zoltan
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PS - There are still about 50 people who haven't completed their colourway / size / address survey. Please take a few minutes right now to finalise your details on Backerkit otherwise I can’t fulfil your reward!
