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The Chromatic Fates Tarot

Created by Chromatic Fates Tarot

A preorder store for the Chromatic Fates Tarot after-Kickstarter ordering. Open for a limited amount of time, this storefront allows backers and fans to nab a few items that they weren’t able to secure in the Kickstarter campaign. The estimated shipping time for these items is February 2022.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Chromatic Fates- Seaport Delays and General Updates
about 2 years ago – Thu, Mar 10, 2022 at 11:38:22 PM

Hello, wonderful backers! I know a lot of you have been requesting an update on the ETA and state of our deck delivery. I have been putting it off due to lack of exciting news, which I apologize for.


The Tarot shipment is comprised of SIXTY ONE (aaaaahhhh) large boxes, and was due to leave China on February 23d, 12 days ago, and hasn’t yet. There were a few delays before the Chinese New Year concerning vehicle widths and road access and lift gates, forklift certification and rental and… it’s very dry and frustrating but those have been resolved. However, Omicron has caused severe backlogs in shipping chains, worker shortages, quarantines in ports, and delays in returning vessels, so it’s a bit nerve-wracking to deal with further delays but I don’t think there’s anything I can do about this side of things. I haven’t locked addresses yet, because of this, which means if you’re anticipating a move in the near future, you’ll still be able to update your address, and I’ll give everyone a heads-up before locking addresses- I plan to do it when the shipment is in the States, and turned over to our warehouse partners. I’m still anticipating a Spring ETA for delivery to folks.


If you’re stressed about address changes, please don’t be! There will be a prompting email about locking addresses sent out by Backerkit when the time comes. Feel free to also send me a private message or email me ([email protected]) with your new address and date of move-in, and full name and backer number; I can manually change your address right up until the package leaves the warehouse, if your own plans are a bit up-in-the-air and you’re feeling stressed. Getting everyone their deck is our top priority, so no one will be left in the lurch here.


I want to apologize again for how long it’s taken me to update you on this project, it’s hard when all I want to share is good news and there isn’t any yet!


Here are some things we’re all looking forward to, and which will come next in the process:


Livestreams were a stretch goal! I’d love to hear any questions you have for me as the organizer and art director, or any of our incredible artists. I’ll be setting up short recorded snippets, addressing questions, and talking art, tarot and life with artists on this project, so anything you’ve been curious about- let us know!


The Digital PDF booklet from this project will be coming out LAST, but will have the most content since we’re not restricted by page number or color printing profiles. Do you have favorite cards that you’re curious to see more behind-the-scenes insight on?


Stickers- these will be going to everyone, as a thank-you for waiting through delays. It’s a little bit ridiculous but they were delayed on my end because I kept making the image more and more detailed. In keeping with the general theme of our nature-inspired box design, they’re of a colorful animal. I’m going to release this sticker preview simultaneously with a smartphone wallpaper download of the art. I’m sorry if you’re not into animals!


That’s the update for now- I wish it was more eventful. I’ll let everyone know if my enquiries into the shipping delay yield anything more notable than that Shen Zhen is backlogged. Feel free to come along on the “oh no we’re living through cataclysmic world events” ride with me and read up on the fascinating world of sea ports:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-20/ship-arrivals-to-shenzhen-s-yantian-port-delayed-by-a-week


I do want to end on a good note, and reiterate how humbling it is to be part of this project, which involves so many artists from all over the world. Geopolitical events and pandemics are leaving enormous scars on so many people’s lives right now, it’s very easy to fall into a state of constant ennui and despair, but staying in touch with the artists I’ve met through this project, and hearing from people that are eagerly awaiting their Tarot deck, is a very vital grounding element in an otherwise crazy year. I think art is really important and universal, and our deck evolved so vibrantly and expressively through our time together- I can’t help but hope that when you do have it in your hands, the world will be peaceful again and it’ll be a small reminder of when things were bad, before they got better.

Thanks for hanging in there with us.

-Stephanie

Chromatic Fates Decks: They Exist!
about 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 02, 2022 at 02:16:20 AM

Hi everyone, I hope you’ve had a good January and are staying safe and healthy out there. I do have some updates on Chromatic Fates, though this is mostly going to be visual!


Our decks have been finished and packed up. Which is good news! I am itching to see them in person, I have a lot of nervousness and excitement around how the cards printed and how the foil looks, as this is my first Tarot foray.


That’s the good news. The bad news is that my shipping address (my house) turned out to not be acceptable because of the delivery vehicle size that would be used after the decks clear customs in port. Live and learn, I guess! We do have very narrow alleys and roads here so it makes sense. Luckily I’m partnering with Whitesquirrel, a distribution shipment company nearby(ish) that works with Kickstarters a lot. So hopefully Chromatic Fates is merrily on its way to them instead now, hanging out on some boat in the ocean somewhere. The Chinese New Year JUST started this weekend though, so I either squeaked that address change in at the last possible second, or didn’t! We’ll find out!


Here’s a video that was sent to me after the cards and boxes were printed:

I know many of you may want to update your own shipping addresses before the packages are sent out to YOU, the backers, but my estimate is that you have at least three weeks more before that will be locked, and I’ll give you plenty of heads-up when I know more about the immediate fate of our shipment.


Here’s a screenshot of the option in Kickstarter to access your survey if you do need to update your address:

Go to the Chromatic Fates project page under “my backed projects”, and click “view survey” on the right here.

If you’re having trouble updating your shipping address, please send me a private message on Kickstarter (don’t leave a public comment) and I’ll try to help out on the back end by updating it manually in Backerkit.


That’s it for now- sorry about the lack of concrete tracking information about where everything’s at, a more celebratory post will come out when we definitely have our shipment in the country. I hope February starts out strong for everyone, I know there’s a lot of uncertainty and burnout with Covid still raging, be safe and hang in there. 


Til next time!

Stephanie

Happy New Year from Chromatic Fates!
about 2 years ago – Tue, Jan 04, 2022 at 02:05:54 AM

Hello again and a Happy New Year! I hope all of you had a safe, healthy and relaxing holiday time and are enjoying a peaceful transition into 2022.

I have just a few updates on Chromatic Fates. The biggest is that it’s in production! I don’t have an exact ETA yet on when the decks will be shipped to me. The next stage will be approving a physical proof of a real product (not just a mock-up or a color test!), and while we wait on that I’ll be putting together our sticker rewards, some bonus stickers, and doing quality control on all the pendants and pins that have already arrived safely to my house. I’ll also be wrapping up plans for digital rewards, such as organizing a livestream reunion type event with the Chromatic Fates artists, and putting together what sketches and behind-the-scenes images we have for our digital PDF reward.

It’s crazy to me to think that I had the idea for this deck just last October. On a personal note, I’m also busy behind the scenes compiling a whole bunch of receipts for tax purposes- which is VERY terrifying. As I’m starting to look back and reflect on what each step of this journey required, both in a physical or financial way and also in a learning-curve and courage type of way, I’m just freshly blown away by how it all came together. I was really lucky a few weeks ago when I was at Emerald City Comic Con in my hometown of Seattle, to meet a good handful of artists that I’d worked with online but had never seen in person before! I got to show them the “beta” sample Chromatic Fates deck in person, and the excitement and energy and passion between everyone I met was really really rewarding. It was an exhausting, long weekend for me (I was staying up late each night writing and fielding questions from our booklet’s graphic designer) but those interactions were extremely valuable.

Color tests for pre-production!

I’ve learned so much from this last year+, and I’m very grateful to the artists that worked with me, as well as to all of you for bringing this project into the world with us! I know that we’re a few months delayed with our Early Bird tier- fingers crossed that the delays won’t be too much more extensive. There are HUGE shipping and supply chain problems all over the world right now, I feel like I’m just on a little life raft bobbing around in a storm at this point, just hoping for the best and adapting. I’ll do my best to keep you updated as we go forward with these stages of the production and delivery process. Thank you as always for your compassion and excitement.

Booklet cover color tests!
The card back! Over and over!

Have a great start to your new year! I’m expecting to make another update in about two weeks. Stay warm and healthy!

-Stephanie

Chromatic Fates: the DESIGN update
over 2 years ago – Sat, Dec 04, 2021 at 12:22:00 AM

Hello backers! First of all, thank you for being so patient with me in November! I hope everyone had a cozy and safe start to their Winter, and that you’re all healthy out there. 


Chromatic Fates is almost in production, which is a big delay of my initial estimates- if you’re an Early Bird and have been waiting on the deck for the December holiday season, it will unfortunately not be prepped until early 2022, but I’m planning a few extras as a thank-you. 


The deck box and the booklet are the current milestones, and they’re almost done! I have a behind-the-scenes look at our deck box file. You can see the design work in white, which is a separate vector overlay that will be converted to gold foil and stamped when it’s printed. 

The booklet is a whole beast! Let me show you some of my handwritten notes as I was wrapping up the writing and design. Looks a little chaotic, but this stage always makes the typing and organization easier.

Some initial notes passed to our graphic designer.

And finally, the pages take shape! 

The design was streamlined, with Reversal keywords underneath the Upright ones.
Quote blocks are included in many cards! I wanted to include as much of the artists’ own notes as I could squeeze into the page dimensions.

That’s the design update! A big thanks to Eric Roche, our box’s graphic designer, and Robin Hoelzemann, the booklet’s designer. Next updates will include a glimpse into how printing proofs from manufacturers work, and sticker design options!


Thank you everyone— I hope your December is starting strong!


-Stephanie

Chromatic Fates: THE BOX (saga) - and Deck Bags
over 2 years ago – Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 03:10:02 AM

HELLO. I know a ton of time has gone by since my last update- I'm so sorry wonderful backers! A LOT has been going on! Let me tell you about it!


First of all- our deck bags came in! 

Look at this pretty liner! And these dice for scale!

Deck bags coming in is great! Remaining add-on and extra items that are still in the works are just stickers and linoleum-printed special-edition certificates at this point.


Now: THE DECK. The deck is delayed! This is entirely my fault, and I am full of guilt. What's been going on on my end of things is that this summer I lost my job due to Covid closures, but I was offered a seasonal job as an art director because of my work on this Kickstarter! This is both good and bad. I like being employed! And I love directing projects, it turns out, but I have been under a ton of stress and many things have been pushed to their delay limits so that I could take on this work. That job is ending on Halloween, and I've been plugging away on the remaining milestones of Chromatic Fates, so with a bit more elbow grease we shouldn't be too far off track on everything.


What does this mean for you? Well if you aren't a Collector's Edition or an Early Bird, hopefully nothing! I have no reason to think that those February deck ETAs will be delayed. The early goal this Fall likely will be though- if this is you, your deck will still be shipping out first and prioritized AND I am including black and gold Pendants to everyone who experiences a delay, as a thank-you freebie for your patience and compassion. 


Now for some art! THE BOX has turned into my nemesis, but it's circling the drain this week and as soon as it and the booklet are finalized everything will go into full production. I have a preview to show you, that I feel a bit vulnerable about. I'm trying out a somewhat risky approach and going after a really painterly style for this because I think the heavy brushstroke look will look great with the foil additions when it's done.

Here's my draft! It's about 90% done, just got some text changes, painterly tightening-ups to do, and alignment and foil issues to take care of. Thank you to Barbara Lucas, one of our collaborators, for her help brainstorming the back text!

The box interior should be very simplistic, next update will have the finalized box mockup (inside and out) as well as some booklet cover sneak peeks. 


Subject to change!

That's it for now! Thank you, eternally, for your patience and support. If you're a Collector or Early Bird, let me know what you think of the pendant idea, and if you're more a sticker type of person. Talk to you soon!


-Stephanie