September Preview
It's the last day of the month, so you know what that means! Design reveals!
For the Mugen club, we have higanbana or spider lily.
This design is going to be a little different as we are going to use dyed metal with epoxy and the pin will be a little larger at 2.25" so definitely a statement piece if you plan to wear it. We are also planning a limited blue variant for those of you who are KNY fans, and of course it will pair well with the fuji (wisteria) pins we already released.
We've hidden a small houju at the plant's base as we typically do. A reminder if you're unfamiliar with what a houju is, it is a sacred jewel shaped somewhat like a peach or onion that is important in Buddhism for purification and fulfilling wishes. No doubt you've seen them constantly if you've visited Japan, you probably just didn't realize it. They're usually being held by statues of Buddhist priests or included in the design of headdresses, as decor on pillars, bridges and mikoshi (the portable festival shrines) in temples and shrines, and associated with dragons who protect them. Without a doubt the dragon balls in Dragon Ball are likely houju. Here's a more in-depth page I found about houju for those of you interested!
Now I know I said Hot Boy Summer was going to roll into Hot Boy Fall, but I forgot that I was taking a pause on the boys to make room for none other than two QUEENS before we resume the hot boys in the form of the shitennou! :p
First up is the original Silver Era Savior looking regal in her final moments of restoration against Resentful Regent. Speaking of houju above, I have a sneaking suspicion that like the houju the Silver Millenium crystal has the same healing, purifying and dream-fulfilling properties as well! :p Something special with the Silver Era Savior we are doing is we are planning to make her EXCLUSIVE only to the pin club. That means when the extras roll in, it will only be in the secret shop and won't ever be released publicly. We heard you all when you wanted more exclusive designs, and besides that, my goal is to also finish refining the princesses I started working on separately from the Winkers collection. The queen is a bit larger as well at 2.4" which means any extras in-hand of her will be a little bit more in the store (just like $1-2 more) like Wicked Brat and Chaos.
And of course, Silver Era Savior's greatest adversary is the jealous Resentful Regent who took her daughter away from her, spurning the end of the Silver Millenium era!
Featuring her orb at the base, we thought it would be fun to have a more dimensional feel to this with her hand coming out towards you. Taka just finished this design up last night. He's been a little behind on designs this month because he's been booked almost nonstop since he got back from Japan. He hasn't even been able to assist me at most the events I tabled at this month. But I am confident I can get this and Serenity's vector finished up by the weekend. I haven't mentioned it, but I have been getting a lot faster (4 yrs of vectoring pins will do that!) at vectoring than before as I figured out some small tricks that save me hours of the lining process. It still takes me about 10-20 hours to vector each design, so it's not a speedy process, but it sure beats when it used to take me 15-30 hours per design, especially if you compare that the designs are more complicated than the original Pretty Winkers collection from 2019.
Anyway, that's about all for the time being, I just wanted to give you all a quick preview of these designs and should have another update for you of the finished vectors as well as some more news early next week! :) Thank you all for your support and excitement. We hope you love this next month's designs. Have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend if you're here in the US!
- Mandy & Taka
@Eden: So happy to educate anytime we can! I’m a nerd about the culture, but never know how much everyone wants to know! :p And yes! I’m so excited for all the excitement for Queen Serenity. I only wish we got more of her in the story! And I agree with you, the new Queen Serenity might become one of my favorite designs—I say that like every time haha
Aaaaaaawwww, another great month incoming ! 😍✨ Spider lilies are some of my favorite flowers, can’t wait to see how they will turn out ! 💖 I didn’t know anything about houjus even though I definitely remarked those signs before on your pin designs and in real-life statues, it was interesting to get learn about them and what they represent ! 🥰😍
Also I just wanted to say THANK YOU for this Queen Serenity design, just for the fact it’s an exclusive design but also because she’s so beautiful ! I think this will actually be my first pin of her… What a great way to maybe start an actual collection of that underrated queen ! She might only be a vector for now but I think she’s already my favorite design of all the Pretty Winkers you made. So much beauty and elegance ! I feel treated 💜 And of course, any design with th og Moon Stick has my love! She’s actual perfection in pin form ✨
And also, Beryl!!!! Ofc I’m really excited for the next few months since we’re getting to the season one babes, and the queen of Darkness herself looks awesome ! Loooove the position of her hand, it’s so fitting for her ! Gotta get the add-on as soon as possible ! You and your wonderful designs are always coming for my wallet ! xD