Awalon
patreon
Things to come~
🕑 Added 2020-09-02 10:26:18 +0000 UTCFirst off - surface issues probably solved, mold cleanup->fixing->casting ahoy! Will take me until late september since the day-job is a bit hectic right now, but hell yes!
Immediate suitwork aside, I feel we've been getting closer and closer to something that's actually viable. I spent a chunk of time in august trying to figure out the big picture. I think I've landed on a solid, sustainable path (with very rough dates that'll be subject to change as things evolve):
- 20Q4: Set up the infra to sell moulded latex products, starting with latex hoods. Expand with a model per month (or other new development) over the foreseeable future. I suspect I can do good gloves/toe socks too. Colors and paintjobs will get added as we go along. Should hopefully both help the general budget and allow me to do tax-trickery for additional workshop space.
If all goes well now (delayed 2w already due to technical snags, urgh), we launch next wednesday! Until I hit certain thresholds and characteristics, the selling is classified as a hobby project according to swedish law. No VAT, cheaper things for everyone who's quick! First model out the door will be the one sneak-peeked here (prior to final surface issue fixes. No more defects, woopwoop!). I'm aiming for about 0,6mm, which allows the hood to retain the sculpted facial features even if your own face isn't shaped like an overly lippy elf. Currently two sizes available, to be expanded!
If you've been here for $40+ in total, I'll chase you down next week and offer to send you one. I cannot thank you all enough, but I'm getting a few more tools in my thankyou-toolbox :)
- 20Q4: Port the smaller-scale developments to the full suit project. With other words, learn as we go along and ensure we pick up the good lessons. I expect some visual things (hand/foot design for drip avoidance) and some sneaky behind-the-scenes things (quick-lockable mold parts for easy assembly).
- 21Q1: Do a few custom hoods. Individual, adapted commissions based on headscans. Gets me a bit of practice ahead of The Big Things. Funnily enough I cannot legally do commissions as a hobby project according to swedish tax law, so this is a hard deadline for setting up a company. 2021 is guaranteed to be the Year of VAT for this project :)
- 21Q1-21Q2: Once we're up and running with the store and smaller models, make & sell a few pure latex suits from the current moldset. They'll be based on my measurements, but I'm about as medium as a human can possibly get. Should be at least one or two interested clones out there.
- 21Q2: Expand with additional suit molds. This is where things get resource-intensive, because I need a LOT of space for it. Think oversized mannequins with wide-spread arms (you've seen the pics of mine already!), and consider how many of those I can fit into an already cramped 27sqm workshop. Not many. I'll need some deductible company monopoly money to rent a bigger workshop, so goals ahoy.
- 21Q4(?): Do a few custom suit models, as with the hoods above. Considering the cost of doing it, I bloody well want to be 100% confident in the results. By the time we've gone past a few initial sales + additional models, I should have that confidence in spades.
- 21Q4-22Q#: Foam latex stuff for the suits. Briefly mentioned above, the initial stuff will be pure latex without the fancy foam tech. The reason is simply that foam is quite difficult to work with, and I'm not quite confident in my ability to get the results up to a good standard while I resolve everything else. I can make pieces, but bluntly put there's about a 75% chance they look like shit. I'm not willing to sell things that aren't up to my standards, and the cost for manufacturing something with a 75% failure rate is astronomical. We'll see how the upcoming year goes though, might have a heureka moment.
Did I miss anything obvious? Any ideas/requests on smaller latex things to make for the initial shop run? Feedback is always appreciated!
Comments
Avalon I
It has advantages and disadvantages. The two 'common' advantages is the easy curing + the realistic coloring, so great for smaller projects. For a full suit you run into the issue where you need a full-enclosure mold, which can be difficult to achieve at that scale. Definitely on my general wishlist, but realistically we're talking 5-10 years before I'll be ready to give it a serious shot :)
DS
dont know much about whats required to work on it. i know the foam latex is a bit more involved needing ovens for curing. and seeing all the silicone suits that look amazing would seem the natural progression. and the stretch seems significantly greater than latex.
Avalon I
Myeah... i've got an experiment in the works, we'll see how it goes. Very much a side-project still though.
DS
think about silicone?
