Surveys Have Been Sent!
almost 2 years ago
– Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 09:29:26 AM
Hi everyone!
This is just a quick update to let you know that surveys have officially been sent out. Whoo!!
Pro Tips
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Credit cards will not be charged at the time you complete your survey. I have to manually charge cards and will aim to do that near the end of July or early August.
- You will get an email notification with a heads up that your survey will be locked before cards are charged. (I will likely lock surveys near the end of July or early August.)
- Once the survey has been locked, it will not allow you to make any further changes. But I am always happy to unlock a survey or help make a change on my end if an address needs to be updated after surveys are locked. (As long as I have not already shipped out your package.)
- The survey link will come directly from a backerkit email address. If you do not see that in your email, you might try searching in your spam folder. If you still do not see it, feel free to reach out directly to me either here or at [email protected] and I can help troubleshoot.
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If you pledged on Kickstarter from an iPhone, pay special attention to whether you receive the survey link or not. I have learned from past experience that sometimes Kickstarter assigns a random Apple ID email address. If this is the case for you, I can easily update your email address in BackerKit for you to your preferred email address and resend your survey link. Just reach out and let me know.
It think that's all for now. Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or if I can help with anything.
Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead! Many thanks,
Jen
Update on ALL the things!
almost 2 years ago
– Fri, Jun 21, 2024 at 06:52:58 PM
Hi everyone!
I've been a busy bee this past month working on ALL things Symdala and wanted to give you an update. (Settle in, because it's a long one.)
Sticker Survey Results
Thank you to everyone who weighed in on which designs will become stickers! Here are the results (drumroll, please):
The clear frontrunner by far was the High Priestess! The next two with the most votes were the World and the Empress. The votes on these two were SO close in fact, that it was almost a tie for 2nd place!
So, I got to thinking... what's better than 3 holographic stickers for each backer?...
FOUR holographic stickers for each backer!
As I mentioned in the last update, I was already intent on making the Strength card a sticker since that's the design that started it all. Here, without further ado, are the final 4 designs that will be made into stickers for each backer:
Surveys
I am VERY close to sending out surveys to everyone. The survey will be the place to confirm your shipping address, pay for shipping, and purchase any add-ons you might like. Please keep an eye out for the survey in the next week or so.
PRO-TIP: Just like in the Kickstarter campaign, credit cards are not charged immediately when you complete your survey. I will not be charging cards until mid to late July. You will receive a notification before that happens, as well as before your order is locked.
One of the things I have spent a ton of time on is researching shipping rates in order to try and provide the best rates possible. International shipping is always the trickiest, but I have learned a lot through trial and error in past campaigns and have tried my best to keep shipping costs reasonable.
New Add-Ons Available
Spread Cloths
After I created the Fruits & Flowers spread cloth, I believe it was one of you awesome backers that suggested it might be nice to have each element represented in a mandala. So now, in addition to the Signature Symdala design, there are also 4 different elemental designs to choose from!
Pop Sockets
As some of you may have seen on IG, another new add-on that will now be available are Pop Sockets! They will be available in any of the Major Arcana designs or any of the 4 elemental designs.
Stickers
If your favorite design isn't in the 4 that every backer will automatically get, or you're just a big sticker nerd like me and want ALL the stickers, never fear... I will be offering additional sticker designs as add-ons.
Custom Symbol Mandalas
Another add-on I am making available is a custom symbol mandala. I have always felt that our relationship to symbols is intensely personal and I love the thought of offering a mandala that is created just for you!
Those who choose this add-on will choose several symbols that are special to them from a list of almost 200 symbols I have identified as being part of the symbolic language of Tarot. They will also choose a background color that resonates. I will also use the numerology of their birthday to determine the number of "spokes" in their mandala.
Here is an example custom symbol mandala I created for myself:
For my mandala, I chose the lion, sunflower, ankh, angel wing, feather, lightning, laurel, white rose, and pomegranate. These are all symbols found in the Tarot that I have a deeply personal relationship with. I chose the number 9 for the number of spokes as that is my life path number based on my birthday.
The custom symbol mandalas will be provided as high-res digital artwork in several file formats that you can use to print on any and everything.
Since these will require some time to design, I will likely cap this add-on to 10 or less.
Production Update
I have been steadily creating the remaining cards as well as the guidebook. I only have a handful of cards left to create and am currently on track to send all my files to my printer by the first week of July. That means I am still on track to have decks in everyone's hands by late September or early October. Whoo!
Here is a little sneak peek of a few new card designs that I have not yet shared anywhere else yet:
Guidebook
First, can I just say how absolutely tickled I am to finally do a guidebook that is full color throughout?! While this guidebook certainly won't be as verbose as my previous guidebooks, I still think it has plenty of juicy info to help you work with these cards.
I am a big nerd for etymology and decided that I wanted to include a little snippet of etymology and definition for the activation word I chose for each card.
Here is your first official sneak peek of a spread from the guidebook! (I would love to hear what you think!)
Other Awesome Indie Deck Creators
Supporting other independent deck creators is near and dear to my heart, so I can't help but shoutout a few other beautiful decks that are currently funding now on Kickstarter! (I backed both of these beauties myself because I just had to have them in my collection.) Go check them out!
The Mystic, Augur and Sage Oracle
Winter Season Tarot
Phew! That was a lot, lol. I believe that's all the updates I have for now. As always, reach out anytime with questions or just to say hi. I will send another (shorter) update when surveys have been sent to help you keep an eye out for those.
Thank you all so much! Wishing you all a Happy Solstice!
XOXO, Jen
P.S. A (non-related) shameless ask: For any of my previous backers who backed Tarot Assembled, both the deck and the guidebook have been shortlisted as Finalists in the 2024 CARTA Awards! Whoo! Public voting is open now and I would be so honored if you would vote for Tarot Assembled. You can vote here
The categories are Best Oracle Deck and Best Guidebook Accompanying a Deck. Thank you!
Sticker Choice Survey
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, May 16, 2024 at 09:09:03 AM
Hi everyone!
While I wait for the funds from Kickstarter to hit my account, I've been a busy bee working on the remaining card designs and guidebook. I've also been setting up the survey on BackerKit, which will go out soon.
Stickers!
One of the thank you goodies that all backers will receive is a set of 3 holographic stickers! (Who doesn't love stickers, am I right?) I've decided that one of the three stickers will be the mandala for the Strength card. We are collectively in a Strength card year (2 + 0 + 2 + 4 = 8), and the Strength design was the one that started this whole journey, so it feels poignant that it should be one of the three.
I want to hear from you all on what the other 2 stickers will be.
If you'd like to weigh in, please take this super quick survey (it should take a minute or less) and let me know your top choices for the other holographic stickers. (You can choose as many as you like. I'd recommend choosing your top 3-4.) I've only listed the major arcana, but I have included a write-in option in case you feel strongly about one of the minor arcana designs.
Things are moving along fast, so I'll probably only keep this survey open until May 20th or so.
(Please note, the writing on the outer edge will not appear on the final stickers, only the mandala designs, such as in the example below.)
I'll be back in touch again soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a little preview of the Strength holographic sticker:
Thank you all again for being a part of this journey and project with me!
XOXO, Jen
P.S. I love supporting other indie creators and wanted to share this really intriguing deck project that is currently being funded on Kickstarter. Check it out!
ASTRONOMIA Oracle Deck & Planetary Magic Card Game
From the campaign description: "Bringing an antique, long-forgotten treasure back to life, ASTRONOMIA is a URANIA PRESS reconstruction deck, revivifying 52 astronomical cards focusing on the starry heavens and the energies of Planetary Magic inviting us to become skywatchers & mystics experiencing the living spirits and allies of the night sky. The original deck was printed in London in 1829 (with an 1831 reissue) by Francis Graham Moon, Threadneedle Street, London. Consult these cards as an ORACLE for divinatory celestial wisdom and creative interpretations and enjoy the deck further because it can played as a CARD GAME with color-coded Four Seasons and Conjunction and Combination options explained in the accompanying booklet, (as well as the ASTRONOMIA Companion Guidebook)."
We did it!
almost 2 years ago
– Wed, May 01, 2024 at 11:43:58 AM
That's a wrap!
We finished strong at 261% funded and 449 of you amazing backers helping to bring Symdala Tarot to life! We also hit every stretch goal!
I always find myself in awe of the power of community when it comes to crowdfunding. And I struggle to find the words to fully express how much gratitude I have for every one of you!
Thank you so much for making this a success!!
Next Steps
Kickstarter has begun charging cards and takes approximately 2 weeks to begin transferring the funds to me. My bank may also take a few additional days to process the funds once they hit, so it's about a 2-3 week wait to get funds in hand. Once I have the funds, I can begin sending files to the printer and ordering other add-ons and goodies.
During those 2-3 weeks, I will be a busy bee finishing the card art as well as the layout for the guidebook (which I will share some samples of soon).
NOTE: Sometimes cards error for various reasons. Kickstarter will send you a message if this happens. Please keep an eye out for errored cards and update any CC information as quickly as possible. This will help ensure that the final quantity of decks and other goodies I plan to order is not impacted.
I'll be in touch again soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a card that I have not yet shared that also feels perfectly on point for celebrating the success of this project... the 3 of Pentacles. The 3 of Pentacles is often seen as a card of teamwork and the successful completion of a goal through collaboration. How on point is that!?
Thank you all again so much!
With love and gratitude,
Jen
Add-ons and Stretch Goals
almost 2 years ago
– Sat, Apr 20, 2024 at 10:19:08 AM
Hi everyone!
With 10 days left on the campaign, we are at almost 190% funding, which is absolutely phenomenal! Thank you all so much for helping bring this project to life!!
Stretch Goals
I've added a few new stretch goals for the project! And we are VERY close to achieving the first one.
STRETCH GOAL 1: At $22,222, I will be including a free Symdala Yes/No coin for every backer!
I created two new mandalas to represent each side of the coin. The "Yes" side is made up of symbols found in Tarot that are generally more positive, while the "No" side is made up of symbols found in Tarot that are a tad more negative, or represent more stagnant energy.
(A HUGE Thank You to Maeve of Mystic Midnight Oracle for helping me navigate the world of coin production! Maeve creates amazing magical coin sets! Be sure to follow her on Instagram!)
STRETCH GOAL 2: I have also included a stretch goal at $24,444 to increase the number of mandala stickers each backer receives. (I am already planning on including 1-2 larger holographic stickers for each backer, but will increase that to 3 if we hit that stretch goal.)
What mandalas would you like to see made into stickers? Let me know in the comments.
Add-Ons
I have added a few new potential add-ons to the project!
A few backers asked whether I would be including my previous decks as potential add-ons. A limited number of Tarot Disassembled and Tarot Assembled decks are now available to add on to your pledge.
I normally sell these decks in my shop for $64 each. As a thank you for backing this project, I am offering these decks as add-ons at the reduced price of $48 per deck. (I have a limited stock of these decks left, so reserve your copy today if you're interested.)
Spread Cloths
I've also made two new spread cloths available as potential add-ons! Spread cloths are one of my favorite things to create because I love the tactile nature of different fabrics, and they pair so beautifully with cards. From a practical standpoint, they are also easy to add to a package without increasing the shipping cost.
Fruits & Flowers Spread Cloth
When I was first toying with what mandala design to make into a spread cloth, it hit me that it might be nice to make a completely new design from some of the Tarot symbols. The first thing that popped into my head was a design made from the various fruits and flowers found in the symbolic language of Tarot!
This one will be printed on Lucent Satin, which has a lovely softness to it and a shimmering finish.
Signature Symdala Spread Cloth
The second spread cloth I have designed is the signature Symdala mandala design on the same circular bamboo background that will appear on the box and card backs.
As you can tell from the card designs, I tend to gravitate toward bright colors in the designs I make. But I really wanted something softer and more neutral to balance and compliment all those bright colors. This design will be printed on a Butterfly Smooth Crepe, which has a lovely softness and flow to it with just a hint of sheen.
A Third Spread Cloth Design
My original plan was to choose one of the mandala card designs to print on a spread cloth. I'm still considering offering a third spread cloth option, but really want to hear from you...
What mandala design would you like to see on a spread cloth?
What other add-ons would you like to see with these mandala designs? Let me know in the comments.
Thank you all again so much for supporting this project! I am truly grateful and can't wait to share this deck with you all!
– Jen
