Via Updates 20 & 21 on Kickstarter:
Happy New Year!
We are very happy indeed, as we received some beautiful production samples on Monday!
Last month we posted that the factory was running into some issues with the way the end cap attached to the body of the Spin spoon. They figured that out; problem solved.
Then we got the challenging news that polishing the spoons would cost just as much as manufacturing them (OUCH!). We discussed some options with our guy in China, and he was able to find us a secondary factory that could do the polishing for a much more reasonable cost. They will be cast at a factory that specializes in manufacturing, and polished at a factory that specializes in finishing. Problem Solved.
The production samples were shipped to us just after Christmas, and even though it took them a while to clear China (which is incredibly busy during the holidays), we got a knock on the door Monday morning from FedEx!
THEY ARE INCREDIBLE!
These are some great shots to show off the seamless, aerodynamic contours of the spoon bowls, both the back (above) and the front (below).
The spoon bowl holds exactly 1/8 of an ounce (with the meniscus of the liquid).
And here are some great shots of the logo on the end of each spoon:
What happens next?
We had only a few minor pieces of feedback for the factory, such as the orientation of the logo on the end cap of the Spin (designer details). This can easily be modified during the final production run, and (drum roll please) we are going to give the go-ahead for final production this week!
We are waiting to hear the final per-unit cost for each spoon, which will determine how large of a first production run we can make. It will also help us determine what the final retail cost of the spoons will be.
Once the factory begins production, it takes about six weeks for them to be made, sent to the secondary factory, and polished. And, unfortunately and unavoidably, Chinese New Year falls right in the middle of our production schedule. The Chinese know how to celebrate, and they close down all industry for about three weeks in February. So a six week timeline turns into a nine week timeline, and they'll likely be finished sometime mid to late March.
We'll have them shipped to us in San Diego via FedEx, which will be more expensive than overseas freight shipping, but will save us weeks of waiting on transit. So it looks like our April will be spent packaging and shipping the final spoons to you.
Thanks, as always, for hanging in there with us and being our partners on this journey.
Cheers,
Rachel Eva and Shawn Michael
