Dark Garden: New Orleans, New Boutique!

Reward Update
over 4 years ago – Sun, Dec 01, 2019 at 08:43:35 PM

My last update brought up questions from a few people.

I have to apologize that we've been quiet - it turns out that opening a new store in a far away city is fairly complicated.....no real surprise there, but it is taking more from our San Francisco team than we anticipated. I'm very happy to say that we have recently brought an operations director onto the team and she's helping us catch up with ourselves.

If you backed for a Pin, Finishing Belt, T-shirt, or Hoodie, these are all complete. If you haven't picked your reward up, it is waiting for you! If you would like it shipped, please email [email protected] but we would really love to see you so we can personally thank you for your support.

Unfortunately, due to limited hours in the day, production of the scarves and robes has stalled, but we know you're anxiously awaiting them. We will have an update for you by December 15 - I very much hope we can have everything taken care of by the end of the year, but that may be just a touch optimistic. Please know we are trying.

If you elected  to have your name included on the plaque and haven't responded to the survey double checking how you would like your name shown, please email [email protected] with the subject KSrewards

Marianne and I are gradually working through our personal consultations and fitting parties - if you haven't scheduled yours yet, please email [email protected] with the subject KSconsult

If you have any other questions about rewards, please let me know, preferably via email - again: [email protected]

Thank you again for your support and patience!

With great affection,

Autumn

Autumn’s Thanksgiving Thoughts
over 4 years ago – Thu, Nov 28, 2019 at 03:56:27 PM

I have so much to be grateful for and at the top of that long list is you!!

I am so appreciative of the support and affection that you’ve lavished on Dark Garden, myself, and my smartworking team. I speak the truth when I say that we wouldn’t be where we are today without you. In the words of my dear friend Lee Press-On ”Thank you for encouraging our behavior!”

While some rewards are still in the works, I have to say that every time I hand over a finishing belt, pin, t-shirt, or hoodie, it gives me joy all over again.

The Antique Corset Viewing Teas have been delightful in a few ways. I‘ve been loving sharing the collection with people, and learn something new each time, but even better is the melding of social circles and watching new friendships kindle.

2020 will also be an exciting year for Dark Garden and I look forward to sharing our progress with you.

All the best to you and yours,

With Love 

Autumn

P.S. If you elected to pick up your Finishing Belt, Pin, T-shirt, or Hoodie, please come by soon or let us know if you’d like them shipped. 

Most rewards shipping next week & NOLA Grand Opening party 9/28
over 4 years ago – Sat, Sep 07, 2019 at 12:04:24 AM

Huge thanks are due to every one of your for your patience and understanding! I'm excited to say that the New Orleans store has been keeping us quite busy, even in San Francisco. That means we've been feeling a little short staffed and we never seem to have quite enough time for our to-do lists... like getting all those lovely rewards out the door!!

But! Pins, Finishing Belts, and tees/hoodies are all here and will be going out soon. Boutique Manager Carynn is leading the charge with fulfillment. We'll finish shipping prep (and setting aside the "in-store pickup" rewards) by Tuesday. After that... I suspect we'll have some serious trips to the post office in our immediate future! (I know that leaves a few specific reward types outstanding, but certainly not forgotten.) Some rewards have gone out already, but we're making a big push to get the bulk of them out en masse rather than piecemeal.

As mentioned in a previous update, if you end up needing to exchange your tee or hoodie for a different size, we can definitely accommodate that.

Now, I mentioned that the NOLA store has been keeping us busy... but we still feel like we want to make more of a splash! So we've got two exciting back to back events in New Orleans. First, you can catch us closing the show for New Orleans fashion week! That's Friday, September 27th. We'll be showing a little bit of everything, from lingerie to full Couture. Autumn, Annabelle, and I are all so impressed and flattered with just how lovely and welcoming our neighbors and associates in New Orleans have been – it's really reinforced that opening this additional location was the right move.

The very next day, we'll have our Grand Opening Celebration!! Annabelle worked 'round the clock to get the store up and running for our April soft launch. Now that things are ticking away smoothly (and the New Orleans "beat the heat" summer slump is winding down), we want to throw a big old party. You can RSVP on Facebook; the party runs from 7 to 10pm on Saturday, September 28th. There will be entertainments and raffle prizes as well as nibbles and libations... and all three designers from San Francisco will be in attendance!

I hope we'll see you at the Grand Opening! Thank you for your support and for following along. Here are a couple behind-the-scenes snippets from when we picked up the screen printed items. We worked with Ape Do Good, a fellow SFMade company. The resulting batch of goods actually didn't fit in Autumn's car and we had to shift a box worth of shirts etc into shopping bags instead.

Corset hugs,

Marianne Faulkner

Associate Creative Director / Multi-Purpose Corsetiere

Quick rewards update!
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jun 07, 2019 at 02:30:40 PM

Hello hello! It's been a busy few weeks here but you're never far from our minds. Here's where we are with rewards:

The pins arrived! I've set aside all those selected by backers in your surveys. I'm going to sort through them again and pull the standalone pins versus those awaiting other rewards. Local pickup will be welcomed! The remaining inventory is available in our shops for regular purchasing. The Kickstarter price was $15 with free shipping; in the shops, the monogram will stay at $15 and the corset pin is $20 (plus tax and applicable shipping). San Francisco has more color options than New Orleans, and the Rose Gold monogram completely sold out from backers alone! (More will be ordered eventually.) We also have the adorable gold monogram cufflinks!

Finishing Belts are well underway! Jacqueline has been stitching a veritable mountain of bronze and gunmetal finishing belts. They're looking fantastic.

T-shirts and hoodies are up next! With most of the surveys in, I know how what size distribution to order. We'll definitely be ordering extras to serve as inventory in the boutiques, so if you need to exchange your shirt for a different size or cut, we'll have enough of a buffer to accommodate that.

Scheduling the "an-tea-ques" session (...hah...) is also up next on our roster, now that our flurry of events in May have passed. Ditto for the corsetry workshops! (Side note, did you know that Autumn and I are both teaching at the final Oxford Conference of Corsetry, this August?)

I'll be diving deep into scarf illustrations shortly. I've found a stylus that will work with my little iPad mini so I can go straight to digital rather than trying to convert analog sketches. (I'm getting the feel for it and the program by designing a new tattoo for my wife, so I won't be using your rewards as the learning curve.)

For anyone who backed for a personal styling or couture consultation, you should've received the link for self-scheduling in your survey email. Reach out to me here or via email ([email protected]) if you have any questions about using the scheduler!

Corset hugs,

Marianne Faulkner

Associate Creative Director

Locking BackerKit Surveys & Pin Preview Photos!
about 5 years ago – Fri, May 17, 2019 at 03:58:06 PM

Hello all!

80% of the surveys are now in! And apparently "locking" surveys doesn't mean locking the stragglers out, it just solidifies the ones that have been filled out.

So I'm going to go ahead and lock surveys in the next couple days – pop in and change your shipping address or card on file if needed!

Moving forward, I think I'll be locking once a week on Fridays so that the stragglers are locked shortly after filling out their surveys.

ALSO, we have proof of life from our pin manufacturer! The pins look amazing, and the cuff links are soooo sharp. The manufacturer special ordered a larger jump ring for the other side, and they are finishing assembly and shipping out really soon. Our order should arrive next week so I can take these babies to DragCon LA. 

Corset hugs,

Marianne Faulkner

Associate Creative Director