Category: Conventions

Sorting out

Reprap
Thanks to friend , the stepper driver circuit is now working!
Think I’ve currently got a pair of phases crossed though, as it jerks quite badly every so often. The motor also gets hot very fast, so I think I’ll have to get some current limiting on the go as well.

Casting
The moulds are cleaned up from the last bad casting and sitting overnight to let any acetone residue evaporate. Fresh casting in the morning.

Will also tidy up the feline nose with some sandpaper and get it ready for a proper production. Same with trying adding a vent to the Razor claws. Going to aim to have some completed demonstration paws at Confuzzled, as well as new display stands for a number of items.

Also aiming to have the commissions book totally clear before the con.

Heard back from Cosmo very quickly, so now I’m just gonna be ticking boxes. :)

Also, I’m amazed that some of my YouTube videos have now been viewed hundreds of times. One even over a thousand. There’s nothing even very good on there yet!

[20/06/2010: Amalgamating old posts from “Dreamwidth Creative Blog” into sci-fi-fox.com to re-purpose DW blog account.]

Confuzzled prep

Paperworking my tushy off. Trying to get things absolutely in line and ready for Confuzzled in two weeks.

T-shirts are apparently already done (!!!) and on their way to me. That’s some amazing service there.

Got a quote back on more UKFur lanyards, and the price will be around the £220 mark. There’s a long lead-time on them too, so while they won’t be ready for Confuzzled, they should be in stock for June, so definitely around for RBW.

Some last-minute questions have been sent to Cosmo at CF about the dealers table arrangements, so I know precisely what I’m working with in regard to a few options.

Also have salvaged a pushchair, which looks like will be ideal for hauling this lot on the train to Manchester, with some small modifications.

Need to confirm with someone about the role of den assistant. Also got a long list of changes, printing, POS (point-of-sale) and displays to work on.

Also expecting something in the post. If it arrives in time and works, should provide a fun new product to the line-up!

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Off to do some more casting, and get the commission book completely clear before the con.

[20/06/2010: Amalgamating old posts from “Dreamwidth Creative Blog” into sci-fi-fox.com to re-purpose DW blog account.]

Shirty

Train tickets to Confuzzled in one months time have been booked. I’ll be leaving at about 11am on the Monday, but the rest of the fares for the day are double that ones price.

The short-order shirts have arrived. A low-profit run due to small order fees, but was hoping it’d be enough to get the ball rolling again.

UKFur original design, black and white. Two in each size, Small, Medium and Large, so £10 each.
The red and white design on blue, got that in in Large, 4 items. £12 each. £2.50 postage if you’re interested.

These should all be guaranteed sales, as people requested them specifically. I’ve sent notes to all of them.
Sadly I’m already getting replies back saying they’ll buy them at the next meet, not via paypal.

I’m hoping this doesn’t mean I’ll make no sales on them for two weeks, because my kitty’s already gone on the train tickets. I need a float again much sooner than that. I have orders to post, and ideally need to make another shirts order before Confuzzled with at least two weeks notice.

The next meet will be only 8 working days from Confuzzled, and will include the payment deadline for this years RBW.

In short, despite hopes, looks like I’m still haemorrhaging money.

[20/06/2010: Amalgamating old posts from “Dreamwidth Creative Blog” into sci-fi-fox.com to re-purpose DW blog account.]

Three things

Once again, things have been busy here! I’m currently processing orders, albeit with a small delay (manifold broke off the degassing chamber and I’m waiting for the glue to set).

There have been two major developments however.

UKFur
I’ve now purchased the UKFur merchandise shop from previous owner Tigerfire, who’s no longer as involved in the Furry scene as he once was.
In the next couple of days I should receive the first batch of new stock, to get a small number of the most in-demand shirts and sizes.

The three designs of shirt

It’s out of stock of the lanyards, but I’m looking around for a supplier that will provide them in minimum orders of less than £200.

However still have large numbers of vinyl stickers and silicone wristbands.

Confuzzled is just a month away now, so have no fear, you will be able to get your UKFur merch!

In the meantime though, wristbands are £1.50, stickers are 50p each.
B&W shirts are £10 in Small to XL sizes, and £11 in XXL and XXXL.
Blue shirts are £12 in Small to XL sizes, and £13 in XXL and XXXL.
£2 for postage, and I still take paypal.

If I’m out of stock, let me know the size you’re after so I can get more in and I’ll let you know when I do.

Chest sizes: S – 35/37″ M – 38/40″ L – 41/43″ XL – 44/46″ XXL – 47/49″ 3XL – 50/52″

Reprap
Shortly after buying the UKFur shop I also acquired a lot of 2000 surplus stepper motors.

All boxes full of motors (ignore the SEM bits)

I strongly believe the future is in 3D printers, but there’s a big supply issue. Even the home-made machines tend to require you to already have a 3D printer to make parts for it.
The way around this is to make a bootstrapping machine to make the initial parts. A rep-strap.

The motors I have are smaller than those advised in the Reprap project, but I have my own take on it. I’m developing a small, semi-portable 3D printer, that should be fairly cheap and easy to modify. I’m looking at a sale price in the £200 range, and a quantity of around 500 machines.
Because of the small size of these printers, I’m dubbing it the Bonsai Repstrap.

It’s an ambitious project I know! But if you want to follow how things are going with it, take a look at..

The Creative Blog
I’ve set up a journal over at Dreamwidth as a stand-alone creative blog. While this won’t be strictly business related, it will include and business creations and day-to-day activities as well as my personal works.
Dreamwidth incorporates RSS feeds into the blogs, so you don’t have to sign up to follow it. It also accepts OpenID logins, so you can comment if you like.

[20/06/2010: Amalgamating old posts from “Dreamwidth Creative Blog” into sci-fi-fox.com to re-purpose DW blog account.]