Pumpkin and Spice Calendar
In August of 2024 I launched my first Kickstarter project for the Pumpkin and Spice calendar!
The dream for this project started about a year before when Pumpkin and Spice really started taking off on my TikTok. People were asking for a calendar but I was just finishing up with the Chihuly Picture book and I was BURNT THE HELL OUT.
The idea sat on the shelf until Jan of 2024 and I thought, “I already have 10 Pumpkin and Spice paintings, I only need to do two more and then the layout and throw everything up on Kickstarter, that doesn’t seem like too much work.”
FAMOUS LAST WORDS.
Because, let me tell you when I get stated on my own projects I get carried away by the excitement of them and that’s exactly what happened here.
I didn’t just make 2 new paintings. NO. I made 7 new full paintings along side two new sticker designs, 4 postcard designs, a cute little thank you illustration AND to advertise the calendar I made 3 animations, and countless (because I don’t want to count them) social media posts. PLUS all the kickstarter headers, the lettering which I do piece meal bc I don’t have a font for my signature font, layout, reward mockups and the wording for the kickstarter. Once that was all done there was still the logistics of it all, picking out a printer, double checking the sizes, ordering shipping supplies, labels and the products themselves. THANK GOODNESS I HAD HELP. I hired a friend to help me organize everything and she was a lifesaver. When shipping time came I had a crew of friends who came to help and I treated them to a fancy drinks and hordevors night a few weeks later out of gratitude.
But wait, was it all smooth sailing? that sounds like a lot of work but not too bad all in all. Well let me tell you…
No only were the calendars like 3 weeks late, A BUNCH of them came in completely soaked. It was raining heavily mid Oct 2024 and it seemed like the whole box got tossed out of a moving van by a Sasquatch with a slippery grip, left in a muddy puddle and then repackaged by being thrown violently into another box three sizes too big which was then gnawed on by the Jersey Devil for good measure. Thankfully I had ordered double what I initially needed as I was planning on selling the rest on Etsy and at tabling events. It sort of worked out. They ended up replacing the damaged calendars free of cost.
Plus the drama about the colors on the postcards but let’s not get into that… It got sorted and that’s all that really matters.
All in all it was a great experience, I learned a LOT about Kickstarter, the power of community, shipping logistics and how much you all REALLY LOVE PUMPKIN AND SPICE, but, for now not an experience I’m super excited to jump into any time soon.
Thanks again to everyone who backed the kickstarter. You are the fire that lights my heart.