Cats & Devilbats Preorder Store

Created by KeikiiART

Many cuties to accessorize your fashion! All attachment sets can be mixed and matched onto any bag!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

A Message From Violet & Keikii;
3 months ago โ€“ Sun, Sep 08, 2024 at 09:29:29 PM

From Keikii;

After 10 successful kickstarters under my personal belt, I wasnโ€™t prepared for the worst that could happen- just because I didnโ€™t think it was a possibility. In the campaign we kept unlocking more and more than we could realistically afford with the mindset that we could โ€œmake up the fundsโ€ with my vending at conventions. We had no idea just how much in downturn the US economy was right around the corner from this campaign.

Every show that I vended at last year ended up in loss of money rather than gaining funds, which in turn lead to me facing the threat of homelessness. On top of this, after my third round of covid I was diagnosed with long covid and as a symptom of that- brain damage & memory loss. Itโ€™s been extra hard vending this year, especially as I lost all of my regular helpers in vending and have been doing everything solo & disabled. In addition to this, in years' past my etsy was consistantly bringing in close to $3k a month, but since June of 2023, it's only been bringing in an average of $250 total a month.

Violet and I have been working hard behind the scenes - in between bouts of both mental and physical illness and stressors - to figure out the best way to resolve everything. There is truly nothing we want more than to fulfill this Kickstarter as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Thank you to everyone who came to see me at matsuricon over the weekend! You were all incredibly nice, and we genuinely appreciate it! Matsuricon marks the first convention Iโ€™ve done since this campaignโ€™s funding period ended where I wasnโ€™t in the negatives at the end of the weekend.

This update is made to be clear and honest with everyone, and to elaborate more on things mentioned in our previous update. We really appreciate everyoneโ€™s patience and kindness while we navigate this insane campaign fulfillment segment!

Several of the ideas weโ€™ve had to get everything up to snuff have been failing due to the downturned economy, so hopefully weโ€™ll get an idea that sticks soon.

We both truly believe in the product we are creating, its potential, and how much everyone who sees the bag falls in love with it!!

The other monster in this campaign has been marketing. Of course, algorithms are everywhere and they hate small artists. The most views any of our TikTokโ€™s got for the campaign was around 500, which is extra disheartening when we have a combined following of 8k just on TikTok. Tweets and Instagram posts went no where. Facebook is extra hard to navigate.

We have looked into getting lines of credit, both as business credit cards and small business loans- even quick cash loans from predatory corporations- and all options have fallen flat.

Just know, we are not giving up on this product that we believe so much in! And we are not giving up on you, just as you have not given up on us.

We cannot even verbalize how much your ongoing support means to us.

In the future, we will definitely be having our goals have much more of a buffer to account for things like this- and to better our future campaigns.

All of that being said, (if youโ€™re still here thank you we love you!!) we have decided to start the production of enamel pins first as most people in this campaign actually backed for those specifically! And they are the cheapest part of this campaign to get manufactured, making them a more easily obtainable goal.

Originally the plan we wanted to follow was to fund black bags first since those have a higher profit margin and it would be easy to make up funds with that- however, doing one run of mothman bags specifically would currently run us around $5000 before shipping from China.

from Violet;

We've never had issues before about "making funds up" between projects- but between the economy & the algorithm it has been a total nightmare. Violet & I both paid for multiple ads on multiple different platforms and got only about a 2% return in revenue spent producing said ads.ย 

These past few years have been financially stressful for Keikii and we strained to keep funds in balance but due to things she couldn't control and unfortunate timing when we thought she'd be earning more to be able to start production I ended up going backwards unfortunately this means that I (VioletCascade) have been dealing with a lot of stress over the campaign despite the funds we earned from it, initially we thought working in USD would be more beneficial than my currency being stuck as AUD but financial strain has ultimately made this decision pointless.


I have suggested to Keikii that I'll run a second campaign on my own only featuring the cats and devil bats and not the monster girls, this campaign aims to cover the cost of production and the purchases made throughout this campaign and will not be for profit or financial gain or even resale outside of it keeping everything exclusive to those who back the new campaign and supported the original, I also mentioned additional goodies from the OG campaign but we'll have to see! I am doing my best at the moment to complete artwork for sampling and production while getting random hives known as chronic spontaneous urticaria which is usually a significant sign of stress but she's working hard on finding the best way to deliver everyone the products they pledged for.

from both of us;

ultimately, apologies aren't enough for the situation, but we are working extra hard behind the scenes to get everything back on track. Thank you so much for believing in us.ย 
ย 

May Update!!
7 months ago โ€“ Sat, May 18, 2024 at 09:32:42 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

December Update!!
12 months ago โ€“ Tue, Dec 12, 2023 at 08:27:09 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

๐Ÿšจ Update for Apple ID Users ๐Ÿšจ
over 1 year ago โ€“ Tue, Jun 27, 2023 at 06:12:56 AM

Hi friends!

So the deadline to fill out the backerkit and receive the limited Kickstarter pricing is quickly approaching. If you used Apple ID on this campaign/for your Kickstarter account you may not have received your backerkit survey email!

If you have not gotten your survey please send me a DM so I can get your link for you!! Backerkit surveys are being charged on July 1st, after July 1st our prices will increase and we are opening the preorders up to the public to help fund some extras we have in the backerkit. :)

If you have any questions let us know!! Thanks so much!

Backerkit Reminder!
over 1 year ago โ€“ Sun, Jun 18, 2023 at 02:26:05 PM

Hi friends!!

Hope your summer is going well so far! I just wanted to drop in to remind you to fill out your backerkit BEFORE JULY 1st!!

Cards will be charged on July 1st. On July 2nd, some prices will raise and we will have the backerkit open to the public as a preorder store, then it will be charged again on August 1st with the raised pricing. In August, the prices will raise one more time and we will have one month of LIMITED preorders available to the public, and then cards will be charged with the raised prices on Sept 1st!

What does this mean? If you donโ€™t fill out your backerkit before July 1st, you will be charged non Kickstarter exclusive prices for your items. If you donโ€™t fill out your backerkit before September 1st, we will be unable to promise that you will get the items you want, as we will have limited stock ordered by that point.

Having the preorders open to the public for two months after backerkit orders ends will help us be able to gather funds to get more items made! Your preorders matter and they do help! We think the black bags will be able to be stocked now thanks to the backers who have added them on so far :)

You are able to change your backerkit choices until July 1st, and then your orders will lock!

Addresses will be able to be changed until we receive the stock in hand around late winter / early spring.

If you have any questions please let me know!!!