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CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS Preorders

Created by KEN'S PIN HUSTLE

CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS closed funding with over 70 1.5" pin designs unlocked. You can still cash in on these classy coin pins at campaign prices! The $9 price point is only for Backerkit- retail pins will go up to $10 each.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Smoke tests out! What that means, and when to expect surveys
about 2 months ago – Mon, Feb 23, 2026 at 06:43:12 PM

Good evening, gang!

CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS' surveys just passed BackerKit review. Veterans know what that means: it's smoke test time!

Smoke tests mean a lucky 5% of each tier's backers just got their surveys early. Check your email, see if you got one, and go fill it out like normal. What's the catch? Well, you've gotta make sure they work. Make sure...
  • ...all of your freebies (early bird, returning backer, cross-collab, Pin Safari) are where they should be.
  • ...all of the pins, stickers, and pin backs you pledged for are in your cart.
  • ...all of the critters you expect to be available are showing up as options for you.
  • ...there's no pins missing from your three, five, or ten pin tiers, and so on.

If you notice something's up here, or you notice any other issues, contact me ASAP. Better safe than sorry - worst case scenario, it's intentional, or someone else got it already! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. I'll toss campaign credit at anyone who finds something major.

One major thing you're going to notice is we aren't charging shipping.

There's only so many jokes I can make about the current state of American politics and overseas trade: things are fucked up right now. Sometimes they get more fucked, sometimes they get less fucked. We're going to be waiting a few months for pins to be produced and shipped over here, and we're gonna gamble that things might be better in a bit. There's no benefit to either you, or me, taking money right now.

You will be charged for shipping costs this Spring, when pins arrive - not now! This isn't a survey defect, and we hope it's the first and last time we have to do this for a HUSTLE project.

Smoke test backers have a couple days to get their surveys set. If we don't have any major hiccups. everyone else'll get theirs later this week. We're currently a little early, but on track with timeline estimates.

Other than that, it's onto vectors and customs. There's a whopping 81 total designs to get production-ready - while everything is pretty clean, art-wise, it's time to assign pantones. Some pins already have perfect matches in my GAP set. Others need a fully new palette!

I do want to remind everyone: the next week or two is gonna be weird for work. I have some emergency repairs being done on my apartment, and I have to evacuate all of my pets and most of my personal living stuff into half the space. I'm waiting on an exact timeline for all this, but my office might be full of birds and an upright mattress.

BackerKit desktop might be inaccessible. Store stock and workspaces are being covered for biosecurity, and fulfillment will not be possible whatsoever. I can respond to emails but actual work might be on the back burner for the next 1-2 weeks.

I'll flex the new millenial gray vinyl floor when it's done, but it's gonna throw a wrench in some campaign work. I promise, I'll put the shop on a nice sale to apologize later.

Otherwise, let's check in when smoke tests are clear and surveys are out. Take it easy this week!

Back from break, PREORDERS OPEN, surveys soon!
2 months ago – Fri, Feb 20, 2026 at 02:47:10 PM

Good evening, gang! Happy Friday.

Just a quick one, real fast. I'm back from NYC, and will be getting responses for custom backers tomorrow evening.

The C3 Preorder Store is OPEN! If you missed the campaign, or you were waiting for the final roster, here's your time.


You can grab any (normal) 1.5" or 1.75" campaign pin, 2" stickers, and locking backs through here. While bulk discounts were campaign-only, you can still grab stuff before it goes up to regular store prices.

Preorder backers still get their items during campaign fulfillment - you'll be beating retail!

As for surveys, we're waiting on exact EU details. Me and Henrieke have a pretty solid idea of how we're splitting shipping and getting stuff across the Atlantic. However, we need to shake out some details of which backers are paying whose shipping before surveys can get finalized. I just came back from vacation, and Henrieke is at a convention, so we need a few days to get everything set. Right now, you can expect surveys at the normal time - the end of this month.

I figure I'll give you guys a heads up - right before I left, we had a giant-ass headache at my house. There was a major plumbing leak in my bedroom, and there is subfloor damage bad enough that there's immediate concerns about mold.

Thankfully, I have one of the few landlords in history who figured out that repairing problems the second they happen saves money. We're getting things dealt with within two weeks. But, this is going to fuck up both my living and work spaces for a bit, with bird cages, beds, and cabinets needing to get smacked everywhere there's square footage so the contractor can get in and do his job. I won't have easy access to most of my workspace, I'll be spending a bunch of time preparing my living room for my pets, and I'm going to be sleeping on the carpet while we throw my mattress vertically against a wall for a bit.

Expect things to be slow for a bit, and if you want anything from the HUSTLE store, order it now.

I'll be talking to a few of you tomorrow night about customs. Otherwise, some of you will be seeing smoke tests soon!

THAT'S A WRAP! Campaign summary, what's next, and where we're headed next...
2 months ago – Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 09:14:45 PM

Good evening, gang! If you're me, and you work the hours, I do, typing this 20 minutes to midnight is still 'evening.' Cool it.

That's all, folks - CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS wrapped up on Thursday at 4 PM.


Overall, while we didn't unlock everything, we had a pretty successful run. It was a difficult year for Pintopia projects in general, but I'm satisfied with where we're at. I know we wanna get to the meat of things, so...

Here's some quick numbers.
  • C3 wrapped up at $14,441. We went, in our last 48 hours, from being KPH's second-worst performing crowdfund, to being the second best, behind last year's CRITTER CRIMES in the $15k ballbark. 
  • C3's got 359 backers. This is second to BIRD CRIMES, at 469. 
  • 140 of you are returning backers. That's 140 of you who will be getting the silver Loyal Akita pin. Thank you for coming back and sticking with it through it all this year.
  • 194 of you also backed Henrieke's THE HYENA FAMILY. That's a free 1.75" BIG hyena pin for you. Awesome!
  • We're finishing up with 79 total pin designs for backers to pick from. This is the highest, with GOLDEN AGE PARROTS our runner up.
  • We are 22 of 22 funded projects in the PIN SAFARI group! Thanks for supporting my animal artist buddies this year.

As mentioned, we have 79 total pin designs. Our two final 1.5" designs are the Duck Toller and the Werewolf!
The Duck Toller is our last-minute sponsor, from a very passionate breed enthusiast. These aren't the most common canines around, but they're an unmistakable working dog. Thank my buddy Fieldpup for this one, dog collectors!

Our Werewolf, ever popular (for better or... for, uh, rabid), will also be available.

You guys don't understand. I have already been paid unspeakable amounts of money to draw this character in compromising situations. Was the halal plate worth it? Who knows, man. But that fish fry got me through vectors, so, thanks, I guess.

We need to have a quick, downer, type of talk about the rest of the MONSTERS tier. I've tried to be pretty open about fraudulent, cancelled, or heavily downgraded pledges being an issue this Pintopia, and, lo and behold, it is going to bite us in the ass a bit here.

Our last-minute $600 pledge I was worried about did end up paying. However, we are out a startling amount due to failed charges right now. Cards just started charging today, so this is recoverable. But, due to an exceptionally high number of failed payments on my last campaign, and the extremely high rate of cancellations already, I am going to be erring on the side of caution.

Go make sure your card is up to date - mine wasn't! I was that guy, too. Sorry, everyone!

I may make the other MONSTERS pins available as cards successfully charge. However, it is a risky move to self-fund 4 more pins with the net amount we're looking at right now. I'm looking for total charges, plus after-campaign numbers, to reach about $16.5k to get here. I'll keep you posted. I'm sorry to disappoint, but, there are other options for now!

There are still preorders, too, to make up that number, so we'll see where we go.

As of right now, these 4 BIG pins, 75 1.5" pins, and all of their corresponding stickers are available to you!

 


So, what's next?

For me, it's custom pins. I have two of you, one with a good email rapport and references, and one who needs to send me some more information. I'm headed downstate for Chinese new year, so realistically, you're gonna be hearing from me the 20th or 21st. Not too late to send me additional refs or ideas, though!

We're on schedule for surveys, if not a little ahead of time. I've been getting pledge manager stuff set, getting giveaway and promotional backers smacked with some extra credits, and getting pin renders cleaned up. Late February, early March, is a good time to start expecting your survey.

Preorder store's probably coming then, or earlier! If you missed the campaign, you still have a chance to get pins at the $9 a head rate. While discount tiers are gone, and there won't be any more freebies, you can purchase most stuff at the campaign price, and you'll get it when our backers do in the spring.

I have some catch up work to do, too. There's still a few stragglers from CC who need custom work done. If this is you, please reach out to me.

If you purchased a CUSTOM CRIME for CRITTER CRIMES, you were subjected to unfair delays due to circumstances outside of your control. You are entitled to a $10 campaign credit on your C3 pledge. Contact me either in our work thread, or in a new email, to apply this to your campaign. This is even if you got your CUSTOM CRIME pledge already.

What's next next?

This is a hard one, and I will say, outright, I may lose a lot of you on my next project.

Let's stay vague: I am workshopping a mid-sized group event with several other creators for November. It's not golden age-styled animals, but it's something that became very dear to me this past year.

If this project is for you, it will really be for you. But, if it's not, there might be something else from another one of the wonderful, talented illustrators who have agreed to take the plunge with me.

That's all I can share for now, until we all have more done and we're given the green light by BackerKit. I'm hoping I have something to show you all soon.

As of right now, I'm OK with how C3 turned out. Things could have gone better, but in terms of everything I had in my reach, I did what I could. I turned out better than a lot of other Pintopia artists this year. Frankly, there's not really anything that made that difference except my audience. You turned out in droves for this, and for a project I was wary of taking a risk on.

Thank you for being here for these past couple weeks.

Let's talk after I get some damn sleep.

Under 24 hours to go - LAST CHANCE TO BACK!
2 months ago – Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 06:24:59 PM

Good evening, gang!

We're just about 19 hours left on CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS. Things have definitely slowed down, so, unless we get a miracle, it's a good time to get cozy, get comfortable, and start checking out what funded.


We are finishing with 73 1.5" pin designs, and 4 BIG pins.

Remember: this includes "normal" antique gold versions of our Early Bird Rooster, Night Owl Owl, and Loyal Akita pins. While the shiny gold birds and silver dog are exclusive bonuses, you can still get them in some form if you missed the criteria!

I probably won't be selling any version of these designs after C3 wraps, so get 'em while you want 'em.

At this time, it doesn't look like our MONSTERS tier is going to fund. It's alright, and with backsliding, it's nothing I didn't expect. I may self-fund the werewolf, and we'll figure that out when surveys start getting set up.

We have one more last-minute sponsor. It's a dog breed! I have a regular who'd really love something, and who was willing to pay out of pocket - so, you'll see what that is during campaign wrap, and you'll be able to pick that as a 1.5". Any guesses as to who it is? They're an AKC breed, but not one most people think of off the top of their head...

We have stickers and locking pin backs! Stickers are 2", $2 each, and they come in bulk discounts just like the pins. I use vinyl for my stickers, so they're the waterproof, durable type perfect for water bottles, electronics, or hard plastic cases. I'm selling pin backs in pairs, so you can guarantee you have them for each C3 pin you take home.

This is pretty much our final selection for CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS. You won't be able to get freebies or bulk pricing in the Preorder Store, so if you've been waiting, now's your chance!

Other than that, I'm going to go clean some stuff up on the back end.

Thank you for being here this year. I hope to check in with good news tomorrow, but, I'm satisfied enough with where we are now.

THREE DAYS LEFT - Design roll call, and what'll come next
2 months ago – Mon, Feb 09, 2026 at 01:37:28 PM

Good afternoon, gang!

It's finally, almost, time to wrap up Pintopia 2026. While Zinetopia is now the front page fature, we're still here - and you still have some time left to back projects, if you'd like! CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS will close funding this Thursday, February 12th, at 4 PM EST.

Overall, we have a hell of a lot to offer everybody for this year's first project.

If we closed C3 right now, we would have 69 1.5" pin options for backers. Funny number aside, this is an incredible number of stretch goals covered and designs unlocked. This isn't my biggest campaign financially, but with lower unit costs than normal, it is my biggest volume-wise, nearing GAP in numbers.


69 designs is a lot! So, before surveys, I'll have some group images by animal (birds, canines, cats & critters, mythology and reptiles) so it's a little easier to find everybody.

Our remaining stretch goal pins are:
  • Bearded vulture
  • Brown rat
  • Wolverine
  • Barn owl
  • Screech owl
  • Snowy owl
  • Whiteface cockatiel, blue Eastern dragon, red Western dragon, bald eagle gryphon, red Husky color variants
  • Lemur family, big cat family, parrots, and trash critters BIG 1.75" pins
  • Monsters $20k vote goal - Werewolf, Chupacabra, Jackalope, Jersey Devil, Mothman

Blind optimism and fake enthusiasm aren't part of the HUSTLE brand. Realistically, it has not been a good year for artists who participated in Pintopia 2026.

There are many factors that have led to creators far underfunding their listed, and actual, financial goals for projects. While BackerKit lists a base goal we all need to make to collect funds, most of us have real projections that we plan to really, truly, consider things a success: most of us are not meeting them.

At the HUSTLE, we are extremely lucky to have gotten as far as we did under these conditions. This is in no small part due to a high returning backer rate, a larger retention rate than other campaigns, and all of our high-ticket tiers selling out. In layman's terms: loyalty, and higher-than-average pledges.

Before we keep talking shop, I want to thank all of you for being here for CHALLENGE COIN CRITTERS. This was a fairly experimental pin set run during a risky time, and through a lot of frustration this year, I am genuinely, just, so grateful to have as many people interested in a project I really wanted to make.

We still have a few days left, but I can't, in good faith, go "we can still do it!" 

Like many Pintopia creators, we are stagnating at best. C3's retention rate is better than average, but we are still losing pledges every update, and I expect to lose a few of you guys once you read this, remember Pintopia is ending, and panic about the pending card charges.

So, I'm taking a risk: I will be self funding the Bearded Vulture, Barn Owl, Screech Owl, Snowy Owl, Lemur 1.75", Parrots 1.75" and Trash Animal 1.75" pins. We will move the MONSTERS vote goal to $14k.

I'll put together some better graphics for these tonight or tomorrow, but they'll be available on the survey for everyone.

If you are strapped for cash and still want to support the campaign, this is a reminder that we do have a $19 10-sticker tier now. Singles can be purchased as addons for $2, or discounted bulk tiers, too.

If you have NOT backed yet, you might be missing...

  • $9 per-pin price point (retail will be $10)
  • 3+ pin discounts up to $8 per-pin
  • Publicly available wholesale rates down to $6 per pin (usually institution- or charity-exclusive)
  • A free exclusive silver Akita pin for returning backers
  • A 1.75" gold Hyena Family pin and a 1.65" Cockatiel for backing me and Henrieke Goorhuis' HYENA FAMILY

I'm expecting a quiet last few days here, but maybe that's OK. We already got pretty far. I'm grateful to have funded, and to have some decent financial wiggle room. I have to finish sticker artwork, then get the pledge manager ready for you guys' surveys.

Custom run backers will get sketches started shortly, so we can have their stuff sent off to the manufacturer first. Then, I need to take a few days to work on samples. I've got some pretty elaborate stuff planned for this year's fall campaign, and I'd like something to show you guys for it.

Other than that, I'm back to work this week after ear and throat crud kept me out of a few paychecks. If you want some in-stock stuff, give the HUSTLE a look.

Otherwise, I'm off to get a nap in and do some housekeeping.

Thanks for reading. We'll check in tomorrow.