The Cards are being shipped to me at last! Last call for add-ons!
5 days ago
– Fri, Oct 11, 2024 at 11:12:46 AM
Hello everyone! I am so sorry for the lack of updates, it seems life just won’t let me catch a break! I do have some good news for all of you, however!
The cards are done!
The cards are done, and I just made the final payment to the manufacturer yesterday! This means that they are going to ship them out to me very soon, (along with the pouches and mats) and as soon as I have them, I will be shipping them out to you!
Last call to add stuff through the backerkit pre-order store!
My plan is to lock down all the backerkit orders at the end of the month, so make sure everything is to your liking by then!
Last min new mat designs!
So, I have some new divination mat designs available on backerkit! I sent this update via my site’s newsletter on OCT 1st and then just realized this morning I forgot to make it a kickstarter update as well…So sorry about that!!
Anyway, these mats are all the same size and price as the Ostara mat, so take a look! Please note, these will also be available on my site after this whole process is done! So There isn’t too much of a rush on this, unless you want one of these designs instead of a mat you already selected!
So that is all for now! I am going to be contacting my craftsperson soon and looking into the progress in the wooden boxes, but everything else is paid for in full and either with me, or on its way to me. Hopefully we can still ship out in novemeber and finish before Yuletide…But we shall just have to see! In my experience, trying to time these things is where my trouble starts lol
Thank you all again so much for your time, faith, support, and patience! I deeply appreciate it! Wishing good luck, light, snd love, to all of you!
More delays...But some good has come of it!
about 2 months ago
– Tue, Aug 27, 2024 at 02:57:04 PM
Hello again!
First, thank you all so much for your continued support and patience! We have hit a few bumps in the road, but please rest assured that I am still hard at work and doing all I can to get things moving as fast as possible in the right direction.
A few road bumps...What does that mean???
So, straight to the point. These bumps mean...
Color corrections to cards
First, I got some card samples back from the manufacturer, and the artwork was too dark, and often too grey or yellow-leaning. See, the different card finishes change the color and brightness of the artwork slightly (usually making them darker and less saturated; the effect seems most egregious to the integrity of the blue hues). I knew this from experience, but my initial corrections were not extreme enough to compensate to my satisfaction.
This means I had to go through each and every card, compare the physical sample to the digital image, and adjust the brightness and colors accordingly. That's fine; it was not hard, but it was time-consuming. It is actually kind of funny that I even got this opportunity to check; usually, my manufacturers deny me physical samples before mass production. However, I have been working with my contact for over 5 years now, and she knows how nit-picky and protective I am about my art! She must have known it would not pass my inspection, and so she saved us all a bunch of trouble by sending those! I am really grateful to her and glad that this was caught when it was, all things considered.
My manufacturers were also keen-eyed enough to notice that the CMKY code for the black background on the litha cards did not match the CMYK code on the black background of the Ostara cards. They know the two decks are supposed to be an interchangeable set, and so while I do not think anyone would really be able to tell the two different blacks apart when printed...I am not about to take the risk! They have been updated, and all should be well on that front now.
Regardless, these changes did set us back.
Book errors
Yep. True to type, we found typos in the book that needed to be corrected. I have read and re-read (and had others read and re-read) this thing top to bottom multiple times, and I bet you will still find typos in the final result. What can I say--to err is human, right? Anyway! I trust that I have now caught the worst of them so...futile as it may be...here is hoping all of the mistakes in the book were caught and corrected!
Communication errors
This mercury retrograde has been particularly hard for me. Might it be because it happens to be occurring in Leo--where my natal mercury is? Possibly. Anyway, I thought my manufacturer had the files for the box art and the book cover art already...but alas, they did not. So now they have them, and surprise! More CMYK-related problems. Again, we fixed them, but it was a whole thing.
So that is that with that! All the other rewards have been made and sent to me, with the exception of the wooden altar boxes, which are still in progress. But we knew those would take a while as they are all handmade by one man! They will be worth it. Good things come to those who wait and all that!
Keep in touch!
Just so you guys know, I am doing live Tarot Talks on Instagram (@xiahunt) every Wednesday morning at 9:30PT! During this time, I draw cards from a deck requested by the chat and go over them in depth! I also go over any news or updates I have to share, and frequently reveal teasers for upcoming projects...So please be sure to check me out there and come say hi!
Once again, thank you all so so much for your support and patience! I could never do any of this without you!
Progress report for The Children of Ostara!
3 months ago
– Thu, Aug 01, 2024 at 03:25:38 PM
Hello and happy August!
August is my birth month; it is only the 1st, and already, it has whipped the floor with me! My deepest apologies for the delay in updates. As a general life update, today I leave on a road trip to Eugene Oregon, where I will be attending their Pagan Pride festival as a vendor and leading a workshop on the astrological correspondences of tarot. If you happen to be in the area, please consider stopping by and saying hello!!
Where are we at with The Children of Ostara?
Good news! After unpacking literally boxes of manufacturing drama, all the coins, pins, and keychains look beautiful and are safe with me. Well...Almost all of them.
Coins
The long and short of this story is that the manufacturer sent me the wrong, clearly-not-copper finish and tried to tell me it was copper, and that actually my eyes are wrong, I guess? I was sooooo not about to take that lying down. Well, eventually, we worked it out. I spoke with a manager and sent photos of the copper coins they had made me in the past next to this new thing that was distinctly not copper colored, and anyone with eyes could see that was the case, so now the new batch of correctly colored coins are on the way. I still have the gold and silver ones, and they look great! So when you look at these photos...well, now you know why the new coins are not yet represented in copper.
Pins
We have them, and they look awesome!
Keychains
We have them all, and they all meet my standard of approval. Now you can have a complete set of lucky sigils to take with you wherever you go! Don't they look cute all lined up like that?
Sadly, my sister took my Love Sigil Keychain and the rest are at the warehouse...oops! But below is a link to an Instagram live where I show all the sigil keychains and pins up close, if you want to check that out.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9K90XfSUJ2/
Pouches
My manufacturer still has to send me samples of all their green velvet so I can pick the best one, but after that is done, making this item will be very fast.
Altar wheels
We have them all, and I am SO pleased with them. Those of you who have been watching my weekly Instagram live readings and tarot card info-dumps every Wednesday morning at 9:30 PT (AKA: Taort Talk with Xia Hunt, @xiahunt ) have already seen this beauty in action. I love referring to the decan wheel when I talk about the cards.
Altar Boxes
So! I have just spoken to my craftsman this morning, and he says he is on track to have the smaller 1-deck apothecary boxes done in time to ship out by mid-September to early October...which is my shipping goal as well. So that is good. The larger 2-deck altar boxes are taking longer, naturally. He thinks he should be able to finish before Christmas...for tax purposes, I sure hope so!
Mats
This is a fun one--my manufacturer told me the min order quantity was 1,000 mats. Well, that is WAY too many Ostara mats. So I asked if I could have 4 different designs made in the same size at a quantity of 250 each. She said yes, and I am VERY pleased with this. This also means you get new mat design options! They will all be 22X22 inches, double-sidded. One of them is just a larger Litha mat (those were only made in 18X18 before, so now Litha mats come in two sizes) but the other two are brand new! Have a look at the new lineup!
This is the new Xian Evil Eye Divination mat! 22x22 inches, with a colored version on the front and a black and white one on the back...because I could not decide which I liked better LOL
Too bad this wasn't in time for pride month, huh? Anyway! This is another version of my zodiac mat, this time with a bold rainbow front, and a simple black and white back. I also added the decans and the sabbats to this one.
I don't think I can add the new mat designs to the backer-kit preoder store at this stage, so I might just have to add them to my shop once we get them. I will look into that and keep you posted!
The cards!
We had issues formatting the cards at first, but in the end, we were able to figure it out. The book and cards are all done, formatted, color-corrected, and being printed by the manufacturer. I expect they will only take about 20 or so days to make and maybe 1-2 weeks to ship to me...So we should be able to meet our shipping date of mid-September to early October, Just before the holiday rush!
Want more frequent Xia Hunt tarot-related info and updates?
If you are interested in seeing The Children of Ostara cards in action, learning more about tarot in general, seeing sneak previews of my upcoming projects, or just wanting general updates regarding Xia Hunt related Stuff... then listen up, this is for you!
I do live tarot-talk sessions every Wednesday morning at 9:30 PT on Instagram (@xiahunt), where I pull a few cards from the deck and discuss their meaning both academically and as a reading. I pretty much always start the tarot talk with general updates and announcements, including Kickstarter-related stuff. I also ask the chat which of my decks they want to see me use for the live, and of the 4 times I have done this, 3 of them have been using The Children of Ostara's test deck. So please stop by and say hello if that is something you might be interested in!
So that's that with that! Thank you all so much for your time, patience, and support. I deeply appreciate it. I feel I have been very behind and overwhelmed lately, but I am trying my absolute best to deliver something well worth waiting for!
CHILDREN OF OSTARA UPDATE for JULY
4 months ago
– Sun, Jun 30, 2024 at 03:38:52 PM
Hi everyone,
I wish you all a happy start to July.
I am so sorry about how behind I am on everything. There was a death in the family towards the end of June and...well, suffice to say everything was totally thrown off by that. Or, I was totally thrown off by it, anyway. It has been difficult, but the world keeps on turning regardless of how I feel. That being said, I felt I should keep you all in the loop. Most of these delays are my own fault, and for that, I apologize.
Good news:
The Wheels of the Year are done, paid for, and safe with me. They look amazing!
The Boxes are being made by our one, independent craftsperson assembly-line style. The name of this game is slow and steady! They are coming along nicely, and I will be sending out the gold crow coins to inlay into the larger altar boxes sometime next week.
The coins, keychains, and pins have been paid for, and the proofs finally settled. They are in production currently and should be on their way to me soon.
Less-than-good-news:
The cards, mat, and pouches.
The artwork is done, and the book is done, but unfortunately, formatting them and getting them ready for print has been a bit of an issue.
Basically, my artwork is made in RGB color to start (most paint programs default setting and is best for computer viewing). However, to print, we need the files to be converted to CMYK. This used to be a really simple matter in adobe photoshop, (literally the click of a button) but I heard the recent Adobe terms of service make it so any artwork uploaded onto their programs automatically gives them "consent" to train their AI without notice, reimbursement, or anything like that. I hate AI, so obviously, we are not using their software anymore.
I use Clip Studio Paint for all my art anyway, but the color correction from RGB to CMYK with photoshop is perhaps the only thing Adobe does better than Clip, In my experience. So we had to look for other ways to do this. We found them, and it is all fine now, but it took a bit of looking into, and thus set us back a ways as far as ordering the actual cards. The same manufacturer does the mats and pouches, so we are waiting to get the cards done to place a bigger and more cost-effective order.
Shipping
Anyway, we are just about ready to place our order, but the previously mentioned delays mean we will probably not be able to start shipping until September/October. This means the backer-kit pre-order store will remain open a while longer as well.
Please also note that this means BackerKit has NOT locked down your shipping addresses or charged your credit cards. When we are ready to ship, an email will go out alerting you to confirm shipping and all that good stuff.
So...that's about all I have on the updates. Sorry again for these delays. I truly appreciate your support and understanding.
Altar card artwork & a shipping bug!
5 months ago
– Wed, May 15, 2024 at 09:48:17 AM
Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well. Some of you have requested better pictures of the majors to help you decide on your selection for the altar cards. So, I am going to attach that here! But first, I wanted to warn you of a small shipping hiccup that seems to be popping up every now and again.
Crazy shipping estimate???
So, if you have filled out your survey, and gotten to the section where it shows you your shipping estimate, chances are everything looks fine, and that's great. However, if it says your shipping cost is $300, please don't worry, IT IS NOT. Backerkit uses the shipping profiles we set up to create its estimates, and when it tries to estimate a place we set up incorrectly or did not have information for, it defaults to $300. WE CAN FIX THIS EASILY, so please just send an email to [email protected] and we can get the correct estimate put in. Sorry about that! I'm still getting the hang of this and setting up the shipping stuff is just...confusing.
Also, we will not be charging your cards until closer to ship date, so even if you accidentally overlooked something, it isn't too late to fix. we have at least a few months, and we will update you every step of the way. Filling out your survey now helps us identify how much of everything we need to order, and what your shipping address is so we can work out any shippping issues in advance. So please complete those as soon as you can, if you haven't already!
Major Arcana - Children of Ostara
Now for the fun part! Here is the Major Arcana from The Children of Ostara Tarot!
So here they are in all their floral glory! I hope you love them!
As always, thank you all so much! It is only because of you that these little flower fairies get to thrive in the world outside my head! We are all very grateful to you for your support. <3
Have a great week!
