Hello everyone!
Sorry, it’s been a busy last few months with Nationals and Worlds back to back. I just got back from Japan yesterday so I’ll be working on getting stuff ready ASAP for all of what I have ready to drop. Let me give you the update and rundown of what’s going on. I’ll be making a blog post on the website later that will be as in depth as possible.
First, lets talk about Asora. It’s been quite a … headache.. to say the least.
When I first ordered Asoras. I had messaged FPM about the order months in advanced, letting them know that I’d be placing an order to make sure that they could accommodate the order. They said yes, and were happy to take in the order. However, once I placed the order, they told me that they didn’t have 7068 for Asora in stock and that it would take time to source the material. They did not even give me an exact timeline. I finally got an update that it would take about roughly 8 months.
I recieved the batch of Asoras right after Nationals. However, the problem was that the Anodization had come out wrong. The color was completely off, it was a reddish orange hue instead of the classic “Asora Pink” that I had requested. Now, I understand that Anodizing is a tough process, and the colors can be off slightly at times, but this was too far off. A slightly lighter or darker pink would’ve been acceptable to me. However, in my mind, this was not a product I was happy with selling or sending out to the preorders who had paid and waited for a very specific color.
I then had to go back and forth with FPM To discuss this mistake, asking them to redo them and if I could send the mistakes back to them. There was radio silence for a bit and I thought I’d just have to give the preorders an option of either taking a refund or accepting the incorrect color versions of Asora. This was all being dealt with after Nationals and during my trip to Japan for worlds - I left for worlds in July.
Hopefully these pictures help show you the difference in color. It’s literally… so much closer to red or orange. While the color is nice, it is not correct.
Thankfully, I did get an update a few days ago while I was in Japan that they had obtained stock of 7068 and were going to be manufacturing the new batch of Asora. So I do not have an exact time frame for when they will be complete and in my hands, but I’m hoping that it will only be a few months.
I want to apologize to everyone who had placed a preorder. I know that I mentioned when I started the pre-order that the time frame was something I couldn’t guarantee, but I was not at all expecting it to take THIS long. I’m sorry for the wait, and I understand it’s taking way too long. I did not want to do a pre-order knowing that this could happen, but this was my only way of getting more Asora’s out to people. It’s not FPM’s fault either, as 7068 seems to be hard to obtain, and anodizing mistakes can and do happen. I am not blaming FPM, I am merely trying to be transparent with you all to let you know what is going on. Because all of you have put your trust in me for this preorder, and I want to make sure you all know what’s going on as well. Though the lack of updates were because I wasn’t even sure what was going on either.
For the reasons above, this is likely going to be the last and final run of Asora. I’m thankful that you all have enjoyed Asora over the years. It’s been the most fulfilling journey for me that I’ve experienced in my life so far. Knowing that you have all enjoyed Asora and my creations have brought me so much joy in my life and I’m thankful for your kind words of encouragement over the years.
In other news. I have also been working on Kai Tyner’s signature yoyo design dubbed the “Youkai” that I plan to drop as soon as the packaging and art is finished for it. It’s a very different design, as it’s 60mm wide, aimed more for competitive play, but still has the same old Dreamcraft flavor to it. I think all of you know by now, but this design is really a reflection of Kai and her style of yo-yo which includes a lot of zoning, zontal, between the leg, and uniquely fun styles. I’ll have a deeper, in depth write up in a blog post about it soon.
We also have a few prototype designs that I want to release out to the public. They are similar to what Sagane is, something I’ve been working on for a long time now, but rather a design by our teammate Joo. They were designed completely by @IoSonoFormaggio and by far what I think are the best capped designs that I’ve played. He’s worked endlessly over the years, perfecting his design. Based on the feedback we got from worlds and nats, I think you all would enjoy them. We do have plans to have official releases for some of these designs, but for now, I would really like to release these prototypes into the wild for you all to enjoy.
Lastly, there’s also a small amount of Sagane (TISSagane) prototypes that I am going to release soon as well. Though, there was some slight issues with this prototype (it’s why it’s a prototype) with a little bit of an issue being with the side effect fitment, vibe, and durability of the design. I’ll be releasing these at a lower price than intended because of these issues but the design is still 100% playable.
I’ll have blog posts written up soon for all of this stuff and can’t wait to get them out to you all.
