DUST II ONYX IS OFFICIALLY ON IT'S WAY!
It has been just over a year, and although it took longer to get to this point than anticipated, I am so happy with the outcome of this work. It's been a big learning curve, many challenges, immense growth, and so much more in just a years time it's a bit overwhelming. So I'm super proud to announce that Dust II Onyx printing is complete and has been shipped by my manufacturer this week! I'm so happy with the outcome, and it was a LOT of work for me and everyone else involved but it was so worth it. Photos do not do this deck justice. The card quality is amazing. The deck is twice the thickness of a standard tarot deck. The spot gloss is beautifully subtle, and the matte gold is *thumbs up*. I know so many of you have waited so long. I thank you so much for your patience, because printing on this scale definitely comes with its challenges and I refused to produce anything I couldn't be 200% proud of.
For those of you unfamiliar with the print process, as I once was, it takes quite some time to print. It took 35 days with an additional week delay because of the Chinese holiday. This project was also a big challenge for my printers. I ordered 1000 copies, but it took 1300 print runs because of damage to the cards during each level (each card required 4 separate layers of printing). I definitely want to be environmentally conscious moving forward so the 2nd edition will not have spot gloss, which will reduce print waste in future printing.
SHIPPING
According to my manufacturer, the decks will be here December 14. I tried to negotiate other shipping methods to get them here more quickly since we were anticipating November, however any other shipment method would be incredibly expensive. I ordered a few decks to come by air so I could receive them first, see the quality, and use them for promotions and even that was quite expensive just for that handful. Below are photos of the decks that came in!
Shipping will officially begin in December 16. The first edition is nearly sold out, so I will be shipping over 900 packages around that time, so I ask that you please be patient during this process. My goal is to mail everything out by Christmas (New Years at the latest). That will depend mostly on how many folks will be helping since I also have to individually sign and number each deck. I'm currently renovating my one bedroom apartment and contacting friends and family to get this distribution operation set up to operate from my living room(It's definitely been motivation to declutter lol).
I've also been working to find the right distribution software for managing all of your addresses and ensuring the accuracy of all of the rewards, chosen artwork, and decks. I've also planned a Pre-Release party locally which was a ton of fun and was a great opportunity for the actual artwork to make it's first debut. You can find photos of the event on the Dust II Onyx Facebook page. I did not promote it much since it was my first time planning an event and ended up being a LOT of work configuring this set up for a one night. (Oh how much I've learned throughout this year lol). Please charge it to my head and not my heart when it comes to the slower updates because my hands have been consistently full and will be until each and every one of you receive your decks. I also want to be mindful of spamming with every small update so you guys don't get tired of me lol. Anywho, I don't want to bore you with anymore details, plus I know ya'll are excited to finally see the decks *drumroll*
Introducing the first edition (of many to come) of Dust II Onyx: A Melanated Tarot!
