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Kofi Challenge - Blog Posts

nerdvanacrafts

5 months ago

Happy 2025! Can you believe it's a new year already? New year means new updates so here we go:

First and foremost, I will be pushing the Kofi a little harder this year as it will become my primary source of income. I am thinking of adding monthly membership tiers starting with a dollar for those who want to support but are tight on funds. I'm also considering a $5 tier blind bag option where members can get a mystery baby animal blorbo every month, but I'll need to build up some stock so it might be a little bit before that one arrives. After that, however, as a primarily fiber artist, I'm not sure what else I could offer in higher tiers other than my eternal gratitude so if there's something you think I could offer exclusively to higher tiers, feel free to make suggestions in the comments below!

Secondly, as Kofi will become my primary source of income, that also means that my commission slots will be opening soon! How soon, you ask? Hopefully by February 1st! I'll be opening FOUR small commission slots and don't worry, there WILL be a commission list coming so y'all can see what I have at my disposal. Commissions will start at $30 + shipping for the smaller items, and increase based on the approximate size and estimated time for larger items (like dragons!). The list will be divided by size categories so folks will know ahead of time about how much they'll be paying. As of right now, I will not be taking custom commissions, or commissions outside of my repertoire, while I am figuring out this new system of mine, and how much I can physically and mentally handle being a full-time online maker and crafter.

Final third item, I will be setting up the shop this month to showcase what's currently available to be shipped and what's available to be commissioned so folks have a better view of my repertoire. There will be two separate categories: items ready to ship and items available for commission. The difference being that the items ready to ship have already been made and are sitting on a shelf waiting to find a new home.

That's it for new updates! Oh! Before I forget! As part of pushing the Kofi (and helping me raise the funds for C2E2), we have a cute little tracker that for every donation of a certain amount, a specific image gets colored in. We started that in December, and here's what we have so far!

image of a $1000 savings tracker with unicorns, diamonds, stars, and rainbows. Two stars, one rainbow, and two diamonds have been colored in. The diamond with the heart, however, does not have the heart colored in, as the donation paired with it was not a full $25 but I still wanted to acknowledge the donation and my gratitude for it.

Anyway, THAT'S it for new updates! Let's start the new year off with smiles, happy thoughts, and ready to kick some ass! Happy 2025!

2024 Goals

Hello friends and happy 2024! Can you believe we're already a month in? Feels like time has just flown by! Things have been crazy busy in the workshop so I wanted to give you all an update as to what our goals are for the upcoming year.

First up, we're making some new dolls! Our primary goal is to make all of the Sailor Scouts from the anime series Sailor Moon. This series was extra special to me growing up so getting to make amigurumi of these magical girls brings me a lot of joy.

Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Moon (Patterns by 53stitches)

Second, we're hoping to have an actual storefront up, ideally, by May! Why May? That gives me time to get all the photos taken, descriptions written, and prices determined. Plus I can adequately give all the due credit to the lovely folks whose patterns I'm using to create these wonderful amigurumi.

That being said, what's going to be in the store? Glad you asked! My plan is to have two separate categories: Ready to Ship, and Commissionable. Since I am still doing local shows, the items in the Commissionable section would mostly be those items, while the items in Ready to Ship will be the available bigger items since they're a bit harder to sell locally. Of course, as items sell and become unavailable, they will be moved to the Commissionable section until such time that they are ready to ship again.

Katara & Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender (Patterns by 53stitches)

And there you have it! An update on our goals for the year! It's a lot of work but we're hoping to get it done. Be sure to keep an eye out for future updates as well as new items for sale! I'm going to try to post at least one Sunday a month, maybe two if I'm feeling ambitious (working out a schedule still) as I take new pics of merch and try to grow this little business of mine! Have a great 2024!