PAX Unplugged Update!
over 5 years ago – Tue, Dec 04, 2018 at 10:02:47 PM

Hello from Philadelphia!

I was very happy to meet many of you at PAX Unplugged this weekend!  I was also very excited to demo the production tables on the show floor thanks to Roxley games and the wonderful Dice Throne folks!  We didn't get to meet everyone who stopped by the booth, so I wanted to share some details of the tables we had at the show, and provide an update on what's happening this month with your Kickstarter tables.

Some details on the tables  

Our production tables were available for attendees to check out. This included both the Standard and XL table. Both tables featured our final materials, including the Beech hardwood for the tables, the bamboo leaves (with spill guard and gutter), and the suede fabric material for the playmat. These tables did include some caveats. If you attended the show but didn't get to meet with me or Michael, here are the differences:  

• The tables and accessories did not have the satin finish on the paint  
• The removable portions of the playfield were not available  
• The booth did not have power so we could not demo the LEDs  
• Both tables had some damage from shipping  

That last one is particularly relevant, as we don't want to give the impression that our shipping process is damaging the tables. These production samples were brought over as luggage by Michael, in order to get them into the country before the show. The pieces were wrapped in cardboard and light foam padding; customs picked them out of the incoming baggage and held them for 6 days. 

 We actually got the tables out of customs the day before Thanksgiving, and thanks to our amazing transportation partners, we were able to get everything re-packaged, onto pallets, and shipped to Philadelphia on time. The consequence of that delay is that we did not do a great job of safely packaging the components, nor did we have time to do some of the finishing touches we had planned on above. As a result, the tables on display at PAX Unplugged showed some damage and wear that didn't look great. But we felt it was important to get the tables into view so that our backers could see the tables for themselves.  

Nathan is going to China!  

Another important detail that came out of this experience is that I will be going to China to oversee the final production and sourcing details for everyone's tables. This is the QA part of our commitment that will ensure we deliver high quality tables for everyone! I'll be leaving about a week after we get back from the East Coast, and in China through the holidays, returning in early January. I'll do my best to continue to keep everyone up to date while I'm in China, and during my time there the Pledge Manager will go live.  

In the meantime, we've uploaded a few high resolution pictures to our 500px gallery which you can find here: https://500px.com/woodedrealms/galleries/2nd-breakfast-kickstarter  

Talk to you all soon!  

~Nathan

2nd Breakfast Weekly Update (Holiday Edition)
over 5 years ago – Wed, Nov 21, 2018 at 12:57:08 AM

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

2nd Breakfast Weekly Update (or uplate, amirite?)
over 5 years ago – Mon, Nov 19, 2018 at 12:59:06 AM

Hello Realm Dwellers!

It's been awhile!  I have to apologize for not keeping you all updated, but frankly until this last week, there hasn't been a lot to update.  Production is running, our distribution plan is continuing to progress.

This week, we are getting ready for PAX Unplugged, and we'll be excited to share pictures of the event, including new pictures of the 2nd Breakfast XL table!  We also have samples of the final materials, colors, and stains for the tables.  All of that will be coming in a much bigger update tomorrow!

I hope you all are ok with two updates this week, because things are starting to heat up!

~Nathan

Your Weekly Update! Mark! Extra Life!
over 5 years ago – Fri, Nov 02, 2018 at 06:47:44 PM

• Quick Note!  I'll be hosting Video Game Trivia and playing a board game or two on the 2nd Breakfast this Saturday November 3rd, for Extra Life!  I'll be hosting the stream on the Wooded Realms Twitch Channel.  There's some pre-show gaming happening now, but the main stream will run from 1PM Saturday to 1PM Sunday.  Trivia will be Saturday at 6:00PM PST, with Board Gaming right after at 7:00 PM PST.  I Hope to see you there! ~N

Hello Realmsfolk!  

We've been working hard to get things ready for you, and we've got some updates on the production of tables to share this week.  Unfortunately, no new photos yet, and our Pledge Manager is not live as we'd originally planned, but I'll get into that shortly.  I've also got some pictures to share with you of Mark, our social media advertising guru!  But first, let's talk about production.

Production Is Good!

One bit of good news is that our partners in the shipping arena have confirmed that both the current and potential upcoming tariffs will NOT be impacting the price of importing our tables from China. The outcome from this news is that we actually have a bit more breathing room from a production standpoint. Prior to this, we had hoped to have the majority of tables manufactured but not assembled, and shipped into the US before January 1st, which would mean producing as much as possible before December. Now, we can take a little more time and care in production, as well as accomplish more in China before shipping to the US without concern over rising costs.  One side effect of this is that we won't know where our local pickup options will be until a little later in the cycle, which is one of the reasons the Pledge Manager hasn't gone out yet.

Since our last update, Michael has returned from South China where he was sourcing materials for the non-wood components of the tables.  As of today he is headed from Beijing (where his office is located) to Datong, the site of his design workshop and factory.  Hopefully this weekend he'll have pictures of the table stains, which we can add to the Pledge Manager images.  The production schedule of the tables is currently on track, so we do not expect delays, especially given the extra time from our tariff news.

The Pledge Manager Will Be Delayed (And That's OK)

In case you skimmed the last section, I'll reiterate that the delay of the Pledge Manager will NOT affect the production timeline of the tables.  I'll share some of the details here, but the main takeaway here is that we are taking care to ensure that you get the rewards you want, and you have ample time to review your choices before locking in your pledge.

That said, here's what's going on.  Our pledge manager is being handled by a third party (Backerkit), who has been very accommodating and helpful.  One challenge is still the multiple local pickup locations.  We want to open the pledge manager after we've informed everyone of the pickup locations.  This way, you can request a refund of shipping, or use your pledged shipping amount on other accessories, or pay for shipping confidently.  Plus we will be able to safely lock everyone's orders rather than requesting multiple surveys.  Another reason we're waiting is to get good pictures of all the options we've made available.  This includes the materials for the chairs and playfields, stain options, and height options.  Many of these things are finalized, but now need to be actually built, stained, and photographed.  Now that we have the extra  production time, we are going to wait until these pictures are available for the same reasons as above.

I hope this explanation answers some of your questions, and that you agree this will be the best path given the changes caused by our good fortune with the tariffs.  Of course I'm always available to answer questions both here and via messages.  I look forward to our next update!

Say Hi to Mark!

A lot of attention has been paid to myself and Michael over the course of this Kickstarter, but a ton of people contributed to the success of this campaign (including many of the wonderful backers here who helped spread the word!).  If you've been following our Instagram, you've already met Josh, the local artist who built the demo tables we used at PAX West.

Today I'd like to introduce you to Mark!  I met mark through family earlier this summer, and once I found out his job was Facebook advertising, I eagerly hopped on a call to pick his brain about how best to spend our meager advertising budget.  Mark not only answered a lot of my questions, he was genuinely enthusiastic about the project!  He generously offered to handle our online advertising, and I accepted.  Mark's business savvy and deep understanding of the various advertising platforms contributed greatly to the success of our Kickstarter, and I could not be happier with the result!

Anyways, Mark and his wife Yuli made plans to visit the Puget Sound last week, and we were happy to offer our air matter to them while they stayed.  We spent a day doing all the fun touristy Seattle stuff, and I introduced Mark to the joy of Pinball :)

Here are a few photos from their visit!  Please welcome Mark!

 That's all for this week!  Talk to you all soon!

~Nathan

Pledge Managers Coming!
over 5 years ago – Wed, Oct 24, 2018 at 10:08:06 PM

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