This is it, my friends!
I honestly might be at the point where my brain hasn’t fully recognized the fact that our chaps officially went into production this week!
The last few weeks, and by few weeks, I mean 2 1/2 months, have been a bit of a roller coaster, as usual! Not the kind of roller coaster where you know when it’s going to start and when it’s going to stop… But the kind of roller coaster where you’re on the edge of your seat with anticipation, thinking production is going to start any day now, and on that day I’m going to start writing my email update to all the Kickstarter supporters with the exciting news...
It was early July when I started having conversations with the factory based on “as soon as the leather arrives, production will start”
So I would ask, “when do you think the leather will arrive?”
Answer: “it should be done any day now!”
So you can see where I got the idea that production was going to start any day, but that any day timeline has lasted from July until the beginning of this week when things actually started in production! And I have photos and video calls to prove it!
For those of you who are curious about the details of what caused the various delays here they are in no particular order,
- Increased rain storms meaning extra humidity where the tannery is located caused the tanning process to take almost twice as long as usual
- The buckles that were ordered, for the Chaps arrived in the wrong size
- Our Augusta & Adeline debossing stamp arrived with a line on it that is not part of our logo
- The correct leather that we ordered affected the sewing and fit of our final pre-production samples so much that we had to do an additional two rounds of samples!
- Samples took a detour on their way to me for my review!
- Labels for the inside arrived with errors
None of these are unheard of delays when you’re working on apparel development, but you as our Kickstarter supporters know just as well as I do that we have been on quite a long journey with lots of ups and downs to get us to this point, so right when you feel like you’re nearing the finish line, these kind of little delays can feel tiring. The good news is we got through them all and I can’t wait to get these chaps out into the world and to those of you who bought a pair!
(and hopefully all your friends will be coming next to to get a pair for themselves)
Why all this talk about chaps and no mention of the jacket you might ask? The jacket sample that arrived after being made in the real leather, had more issues with the fit than the chaps - so we approved the chaps to get started while I wait for the jacket sample to arrive and give the final go ahead!
Have no fear however, because we have also done two more rounds of samples of the Augusta Jacket, and the very last sample will be arriving to me any day now (I’m watching the tracking information like a hawk and at this point, I know it has made it into the United States.) from what I have seen over my many video phone calls of working with the factory, all of the issues look like they have been fixed on this last sample, so sending it to me was just so that I can have final physical proof in my hands before they start sewing all of our production!.
I can’t tell you how excited I am!
At the same time I think I’m still in some disbelief that this day is here! It’s starting to really feel like all the long days, middle of the night video calls at the factory when I still have to get up in the morning for my day job have been worth it!
Production of each style should only take a few weeks. This means fingers crossed, I’ll be shipping your Adeline Chaps, and then Augusta Jackets to you during the month of October or early November… Precisely the two year anniversary of the Kickstarter!
I’m at a loss for words of gratitude for all of you who have been so sweet and supportive all along this way! I know it has felt long and I often didn’t update you often enough, sometimes I just run out of time in the day.
Every one of you who supported our Kickstarter have been my number one motivation to keep going when it gets tough to hang in there! If I ever got low on hope and positivity I had you, your patience, your support, and most importantly, the fact that you believed in this brand from the beginning to really keep me going!
I started this business with limited resources, and it is because of all of you, whether you bought a patch, a T-shirt, hoodie, or any of the Kickstarter perks that I was able to get this thing rolling! I have put everything I have into it, and just knowing 200+ other people believe enough in this brand that they wanted to be a part of it in whatever way they could has been a huge propelling force for me!
It can feel a little lonely, sometimes when I am working into the night by myself, bugging the factory every day or paying the many many invoices for every little thing, but starting with a Kickstarter really does make you feel like you have this little cheering squad standing behind you the whole time!
So get ready to celebrate because it feels like this is the beginning of the big chapter for Augusta & Adeline! Get ready to really cheer with excitement when we start to hear about products actually arriving at peoples door!
xo Britt
