Week 5
about 4 years ago
– Wed, Apr 15, 2020 at 08:42:40 PM
Hey folks...
This will be a quick update as it's been a busy week in the shop. I'm behind on some responses to comments but promise to get to those by tomorrow. There has also been some confusion about add on's for extra coins which I will also address but, in the meantime...
Jason and I continued to be blown away by the support of this campaign. I knew this design would be well received along with Jason's amazing tutorials but it's always a humbling experience.
Stay safe out there!
Anthony
p.s. Am I the only one that watches the tutorials over and over just to listen to the music? Jason created that too. What?! I should stop hyping him up.
Tutorial 4 and a little tip.
about 4 years ago
– Tue, Apr 07, 2020 at 04:14:41 PM
Week 4 already. Strange how time drags and flies at the same time. That's a topic for another campaign.
This weeks tutorial might be one of the coolest in my humble opinion. My favorite part is Jason's steady hand when he draws that spiral. Nice work buddy.
I also wanted to take a moment to share a little connection between Jason and I that may help in these challenging times. What most of you don't (and couldn't) know is that Jason and I met at our martial arts school around 12 years ago. I was about a year ahead of him so I was given the task of sharing the etiquette with he and his wife. I'm sharing this with you because part of that training that we continue to do is meditation. I'm certain that all of you are familiar with meditation and it's various forms but I wanted to point you in a helpful direction. Sifu Paul McIntyre was our Sisook many years ago until he left our school to start his own (a truly sad day for many of us) and offers a variety of virtual classes.
The wonderful difference about his meditation and Qi Gong class is that it's not just an hour of virtual meditation. It's a class where he gives amazing instruction and you're able to ask questions during the hour and share how you're feeling. I try to attend this class at least twice a week to grow my practice and interact with Sifu McIntyre and the other students. If you're having issues with stress, anxiety or any other challenges, I highly encourage you to check it out.
There's no obligation, you can purchase one class and never come back if it's not for you but I think you'll be surprised at how addicting it can be. Maybe we'll see you there!
As this wacky time persists and begins to peak, the daily challenges may become more overwhelming. Whatever you do, please take the time breathe and know that this will pass.
Anthony & Jason
Division of a Rectangle
about 4 years ago
– Tue, Apr 07, 2020 at 04:14:25 PM
I recently saw a quote..."March was a long year". That about covers it. I'm getting the sense that April is going to be a longer year. Jason and I both hope that you are all well and, again, are overwhelmed by the support you're all giving.
Week 3 means the 3rd tutorial is now released (scroll down or click through). Enjoy!
I also just realized that the "Small Set" pledge is sold out! I just another pledge option for a Small Set that will ship a month later. Feel free to adjust your pledge if that's what you were hoping for.
Tutorial #2 and a little story.
about 4 years ago
– Tue, Apr 07, 2020 at 04:06:21 PM
Hey everyone...hope you're all safe and healthy. What a difference a week makes during all of this madness. Your support on this campaign is most appreciated in this surreal time we are all dealing with.
As promised, Tutorial #2 is now live! We hope you enjoy. Don't forget to share with your friends. :D
If any of you use ear protection check out this campaign. Psi Earplugs
So why am I cross promoting with an earplug guy?
Some of you will already recognize the manufacturer and know the story behind our connection but, for those of you that don't, here's the short version.
In 2014 I decided to launch my first Kickstarter campaign. My dad and I had been making spinning tops for a couple of years by then and, at that point, there had only been one spinning top campaign on Kickstarter so decided that was the way to go. The difference between mine and the previous campaign was that mine were machined manually and had a tungsten carbide ball tip for longer spin times. I figured this was enough to get me a little edge. I launched with some success but hit a stagnant point around the second week. This is when I decided to reach out to Jason from Prometheus Lights. I had backed his Beta QR flashlight campaign the year before and messaged him about how impressed I was with the design. He responded by the next day and I was surprised to hear that he knew who my dad and I were! This is the reason I felt comfortable reaching out to him to ask if he would promote my spinning top campaign to his backers. It was a big ask but figured since he made flashlights and I made spinning tops, it wouldn't be stepping on his toes. I didn't hear from him for a couple of days but when I finally did, I was devastated. He was about a week away from launching his next Kickstarter campaign...a CNC machined spinning top with a RUBY tip and was more affordable then mine! I hung up the phone and destroyed a couple of things in my office before a cooler head prevailed. First thing I did was make sure he wasn't stealing my concept. Nope. Just a crazy coincidence. He had posted youtube videos about it weeks before. His suggestion was that we do a cross-promotion instead of trying to compete with one another. My first thought was, "no thanks buddy!" because all I pictured was my backers jumping ship to go over to his more affordable and precision machined version. I just knew that this was going to destroy my campaign and felt completely defeated. The next day, however, I had a different feeling. Maybe, just maybe, this could help rather than hurt. He wrote up an amazing update/newsletter explaining the situation to his backers and mine. We both sent it out to our backers and the response was overwhelming. The amount of backers that supported BOTH of our campaigns was incredible and my campaign ended up doubling within a couple of weeks. I'm forever grateful to Jason over at Prometheus (not to be confused with my current partner Jason at JB Studio) and love to promote him whenever I can. It's not difficult when you see the quality of his products. Check him out when you get some time.
Thank you and add ons.
about 4 years ago
– Wed, Apr 01, 2020 at 02:55:59 AM
Hey all!
Thanks to all of you, we hit our goal in 10 minutes yesterday! I'm pretty sure that's a new record. We are overwhelmed with the response and positive feedback. These are some crazy times we are all experiencing so your support on this campaign means that much more.
There have been a few questions and comments that I'd like to get to here rather then post on the comments page.
The Silver coin is 1 Troy oz. Before you ask why one ounce of Silver is so expensive, please keep in mind that this isn't an investment in Silver. You have to think of these coins more like buying Silver jewelry. You're paying for design and labor, not material cost.
Add ons
Yes, you can add more coins to your pledge (see graph below) but you can just as easily add them through Backerkit after the campaign ends. We promise to get you all of the coins you need. Either way is fine for us.
That's all for now but can't wait to share Jason's next tutorial with you guys on Monday!
Thanks again for the support and keep those hands clean!
