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Biome Shaker Keychains - Collect Critters from around the World

Created by Fox & Crow Studio

Discover animals from around the world and collect them in biome-themed shaker keychains! Mix, match & collect over 175 animals in 10 biomes.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Samples have arrived + new Freebies + Surveys close Friday
1 day ago – Tue, Dec 03, 2024 at 07:54:24 AM

Hi Backers!

First things first, if you haven’t completed your survey yet, do so NOW! Surveys close on December 6th. If you don’t finish your survey I can’t send you your rewards, so please do so asap. If you didn’t receive a survey link, please message me.

Now, samples!

It feels so special to hold this project, which I had in my mind for over a year now, in my hands for the first time! I ordered three keychains and a handful of random charms to make sure that the colours, sizes and mechanisms all work before putting in the big order. And it’s a good thing I did! Strap in for many good and one bad news.

First of all, the keychain samples and the charms look AMAZING. The print quality is very good, the details are visible even on the tiny charms and the colours are clear and bright. Similarly, the print on the lanyards came out really well, too. There are a few things I’ll change before placing the final order:

  • The plastic loopies that keep the keychain closed (see below) are extremely difficult to open. Instead the keychains will close with a gold ball-bead chain (as planned). This will not effect the stability.
  • The keychain hinges will all be at the bottom of the keychain for more stability
  • I’ll add two-three magnets to the keychains which require some minimal design changes to hide them. The magnets are not very strong but they do serve as an additional security when closing the keychain. I try to hide them with foreground elements, but some keychain designs, like the tundra and grassland, don’t have forground elements at the top. In those cases I have to either add one or hide it behind the sky.
  • The lanyards will have gold hardware + gold split ring and chain. This will give you more options to use them. You could for example fill the Shaker Keychain up and then close it with a jump ring to add it to your lanyard chain (see below). I’ll include a matching jump ring with every lanyard! Of course you could also add any other charm to the chain, such as the new freebie or any that you already have.

Now let’s get to the bad news 😟

As you know, the legendary animal charms are supposed to be holographic. Well, instead of sending me shaker pieces with a holo effect, they sent me charms that are twice as thick as the shaker elements and don’t fit into the shaker keychains at all. In the picture below you can see that the holo charm has a thin and a thick piece of acrylic.
I had hoped this was a miscommunication, because when I first calculated the project and asked for quotes, I specifically asked if holographic shaker pieces are possible and both manufacturers I contacted confirmed it. Now it turns out that it isn’t. I am really disappointed, even more so because I hyped you (and me) up for holo shaker charms and now have to go back on that. If I had know from the start, I wouldn’t have included it in the campaign.

So what are we doing about it?

Of course, there will still be legendary animal charms! They just won’t be shiny holographic.
As an apology, everyone who backed the campaign or preordered will receive a small ca. 2.5 cm  holographic keychain charm. It will come with a little clasp, but if you ordered a lanyard you can also add it directly to the chain with a jump ring. As for the design, I’ll choose a few of my favourite animal designs from among the illustrations and everyone receives a random one. Any leftovers will be sold on Etsy in blind bags later.
Now, that still leaves me with 21 cute and tiny holographic charms, which I‘ll turn into tiny magnets! That means I have some SUPER EXCLUSIVE holographic magnets that need a home 👀 I’ll put one  in 21 random pledges or preorders. You literally won’t get anything more exclusive than this, given that they are a happy(ish) accident.
I hope you are okay with this decision. I know it’s not ideal, but I think I found a good solutions for all of us. Even if they don’t have a rainbow effect, finding a legendary animal is still going to be a great feeling!
Please remember to fill in your surveys ASAP if you haven’t already! I’ll return next week with another update the plans for the next six weeks.

Until then!
Viktoria

Preorders open for 1 Week! + Tundra reverse Design unlocked!
2 days ago – Mon, Dec 02, 2024 at 07:09:37 AM


Hello friends!

I have exciting news: The BackerKit Preorder Store is now open for one week only! This is your chance to get your Biome Shaker Keychains at campaign prices, if you couldn’t pledge to the campaign. 

If you’re not sure why you should preorder now rather than wait for the Etsy drop, let me give you a pitch:
  • Campaign prices! The booster packs are whooping 33% cheaper than they will be on Etsy, the keychains are 11% cheaper.
  • Preorder to unlock special designs: I’ve decided to create three unique reverse designs for the Tundra, Meadow and Desert biome, but only if we can preorder 20 keychains each!
  • You get your keychains early, before all the leftovers even enter the Etsy Shop - talk about early bird!

Please keep in mind: Your preorder will ship along with all other campaign pledges in January 2025. If you want to stay updated, you can follow the campaign page HERE, almost all updates are available to non-backers as well.


Tundra Reverse Design Unlocked!


We have done it - 20 keychains ordered of the Tundra Design! I am happy and excited to work on this, but don’t forget we have two more to unlock!

Viktoria

Unlock 3 Alternate Reverse Designs!
14 days ago – Thu, Nov 21, 2024 at 04:43:49 AM

Thanks to some overwhelming support for the alternate reverse designs, you can now unlock 3 reverse Designs!

If a total of 20 keychains/design are chosen or preorderd, I‘ll create the unique reverse image for that keychain. If you want to know more about how these designs work, check out this post. The tl;dr is: this is a purely decorative background design, not visible from the front and you won’t be able to see the animals through it.

If you want to help unlock these designs, simply choose one of the three when answering the pledge question for your keychain or add another keychain to your pledge. We are closest to unlocking the Aurora Tundra, and halfway there for the other. But don‘t worry, you won‘t have to do it by yourself: December 1st the Preorder Store opens and we might get some more support!






Alternate designs, samples and preorders!
16 days ago – Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 11:25:46 AM

Hello friends!
62% of you have already completed the Pledgemanger Survey, thank you! You have until December 6th to make changes to your pledgemanager, so don't worry if you can't decide right now. As it turns out, we might get one more add-on 👀

I have a few exciting updates to share with you today, so let’s get into it!

Alternate Reverse Keychain Designs!

Remember the northern lights colour mockup I made for the tundra biome? I mentioned that I didn’t want the keychain to be too dark, so I didn’t want to use it. A few of you suggested if we could have the design on the backside of the keychain instead and I can confirm: it’s possible!

Now the question is, should we do it? And if yes… should we have a different reverse side for any other keychains as well? 

Off the top of my head I can think of a few other options:
  • Nightsky desert or Oceania
  • Autumn forest or meadow
  • Snowy Meadow or Mountain

Can you think of more? Please vote in the poll whether you’d like a different design for the reverse side and comment other alternate design ideas!

It’s important to note that the keychains are doublesided either way, this is just about an alternate design. Check out the image above, I know it’s confusing. You won’t see the animal charms from the reverse side, so it is merely decorative. I’ll have a vote up on Thursday to find out the most popular choice.

Samples

Last week I confirmed proofs for the keychains and lanyards and this week the production is scheduled to be completed which means next week I can hold the very first physical proof that this dream project is happening in hand! I will of course share pictures of the samples, along with my notes and any proposed changes with you. I don’t expect to make big changes to the design after the samples arrive, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!


Preorder Shop

This goes out to everyone who followed the project but couldn’t back it during the campaign: I am planning to open the preorder store on BackerKit for on week, starting November 28th. You’ll get everything at campaign prices, except for the campaign exclusive Japan Booster. Unfortunately, you still won’t be able to preorder from the UK though, sorry 😟

That’s it for today from me. Don’t forget to vote in the poll and comment your best ideas for alternate designs below!

Viktoria

Pledgemanager is open + Important Info!
19 days ago – Sat, Nov 16, 2024 at 05:20:21 AM

Hello Backers!

All of you should receive your pledgemanager today - exciting! The survey is can be complicated, so please read on for important notes and a better look at all available options and add-ons. You can find a step by step guide in THIS update.

The Everything Pledge

I have enabled switching to The Everything pledge! If you want to get everything the campaign has to offer + 3 Booster Packs for more than 15% off, this is the pledge level for you. 
If you are one of the amazing people that pledged to get everything, you will automatically get one each of the keychains, posters, stickers, stickersheets, washi tape and lanyards, so you do not have to answer a ton of questions. The only choice you have to make is for the 3 additional booster packs included in your pledge and any additional add-ons. If you would prefer duplicates (such as 3 green lanyards instead of one colour each) please message me separately!

Keychains and Booster Packs

In the survey you have a choice between 10 designs for the keychains, as well as 24 booster packs covering 175 unique animals. Here is how they work:

Every keychain, regardless of whether you got it in the pledge or you are choosing one as an add-on, comes with four animal charms included. There will be no duplicates in these charms and they can be from either of the two “base packs”. What those base packs are is noted in the item image and description of the keychain.

Booster Packs

During the campaign 24 booster packs, each with 7 unique animals, were unlocked. This includes the campaign exclusive “Japan” booster pack. Every booster pack contains 4 animal charms with no duplicates.

The animal charms have different rarities. Every booster has 3 “common”, 2 “uncommon”, 1“rare” and 1 “legendary” animal. You can look up your chances of getting a particular design within 1 booster pack below:

In the add-on store of the pledgemanager the Japan booster pack is a separate item. All other booster packs can be accessed through the booster pack item:

Once on the item page, click through the product images to see a list of all animals included in the booster pack and select the pack of choice from the drop down menu. Unfortunately BackerKits item/product features are limited. I have created an image for every booster pack, highlighting the featured animals, which you can find at the end of the post.

Other Add-ons

Stickers: All sticker designs are set, and you can find a preview/WIP of each design below and in the item descriptions.

Stickersheets: 5 Stickersheets including 12 Stickers each have been unlocked. Find a list of all included animals in the item description.

Posters: 5 A3 posters have been unlocked. Each features animals from a particular continent. If your order includes a poster, that poster will be shipped separately. This will NOT increase your shipping fees- I will absorb the price difference.

Wrist Lanyard: 3 designs were unlocked, you can see a mockup of the designs in the product image.

Washi Tape: here you have the choice between 2 designs, one featuring 10 European animals, the other 10 North American animals.

Booster Packs

Here is a list of all Booster Packs, because it can be hard to see in the pledgemanager.