Creating the Sling Pack has been incredibly rewarding- not only because of how the product came out, but the process that was used to develop it. And now as some folks start to receive theirs, hearing the positive feedback just completes the circle and makes me want to create even more products.

This will be a comprehensive update to let you know where we’re at so far, what’s left to go, and how we’ll be moving forward to get it done.

At a high-level, we’ve shipped just over half of the rewards… some a bit early, most on time, and the balance will land somewhere between on-time and a little late.

The good news is that the quality and production process has gone very smoothly. I put more work into this product than any previous one to make sure it was dialed in to come out exactly how I envisioned. For some who’ve received it, they say it looks even better than in the photos. My hope is always that what I deliver for a Kickstarter looks even better than what was shown on the page and in the video so that’s especially good to hear!

We were off to a great start in terms of production schedule but the efficiency gains we had hoped for unfortunately didn’t materialize. I like to picture that there’s a continuum between art, craft, and mass-production. Perhaps you could consider the initial prototypes I made to be somewhere between art and craft (notwithstanding my occasional unprofessional stitching). When I moved the project to a small factory, it transitioned into small-batch production. So we made an initial batch of 100 and they came out great. The goal then would be to move things into a larger batch to maximize efficiencies. However, our current sewing house found that it created more strain for them to try and do 300 or 600 bags at once… so elected to continue with multiple small batches.

There’s an interesting story in A World Without Email by Cal Newport where he describes how cars used to be made. The car stayed in one place and a small team of craftsmen built the whole car from scratch. Then in the next evolution, some people were dedicated to assembly and other people were runners- bringing parts to them. It wasn’t until the assembly line was implemented that the massive leaps in efficiency were realized.

We’re essentially in that second phase now- where a cutter brings pre-cut pieces to the sewers. The benefit of this is extremely high quality. Typically, a bag made in this way is going to cost way more, like high-end leather purses. 

So with April upon us we just received another batch of black Sling Packs. Once we ship out this wave, about 60% of the bags due in April will have been shipped. We should receive one more batch in late April or early May that should bring us up to about 75%.

That leaves the balance of the April folks (Super Early Bird), the May (Early Bird), and June (Kickstarter Special) backers.

I’m usually hesitant to bring on an additional production partner or switch midway through, but a few months ago I began doing some research and may have found a place that’s a good fit. They’re based in the US and sort of bridge that gap between boutique manufacturing and the full-scale mass-production. They achieve their efficiencies through a combination of technology and modern processes… so quality is at least as high. Plus the shop itself is larger.

I’m moving forward with them to sample the Sling Pack but don’t want to rush the process. If things go well, they should quickly be able to close the gap and the final Sling Packs of the campaign would come from them. Nevertheless, we’ll continue to march forward with our current sequential small-batch process as well. Even if the new sewing house doesn’t come online in time, the remaining Kickstarter April tier rewards should mostly be complete in May… and the remaining tiers may still even be able to stay on track.

Send us a note over at support@slimfoldwallet.com and include your backer number so we can take care of you. It’s hard to manage individual issues in the comments of Kickstarter because we may need to confirm your personal information so that would be helpful if you write us there and we can track it better.

If you’ve gotten yours I’d love to hear from you! Drop you comment over here or write to support@slimfoldwallet.com to let me know. I read each and every message!

Thanks again for your support along this journey and I’m looking forward to getting a bag in each and every one of your hands!