Alaska-inspired, indigenous-made decks that deepen our relation to nature/ourselves for support in trying times.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Another Stretch Goal reached and NEW ART!! 🎉
about 1 month ago
– Thu, Nov 07, 2024 at 09:07:18 PM
Dearest Kickstarter Backers!
It brings me joy to sit here, type, and connect with you. 💗
The world has been heavy. I've been coping and nourishing myself through creating new art and really diving into our final suite, Transformation.
The following are snippets of drafts, but the general concepts and energy are there. 🔥
Our $80,000 Stretch Goal was reached yesterday!! Gold stamping on ALL card backs!! 🥳🎉
I'm soooo excited for this Stretch Goal because honestly - the Gentle Tarot Pocket Deck is my absolute favorite edition of the Gentle Tarot because of the gold-stamped backs. 😍 (Sharing my personal pocket deck below. Beautiful wooden sigil and card holder by my friend Amanda of https://www.instagram.com/heathenmoon.ca/) Yes, sometimes I pull from both the First Edition and the Pocket deck. 👀 Look how pretty they look together though!! 🤭
Our next $90k Stretch Goal will allow me to print small color-printed booklets for the Gentle Tarot and include them for FREE in all Gentle Tarot Rewards and Add-Ons. 💗 📓
This means all First Edition, Linen Edition, and Pocket Gentle Tarot decks in this campaign will receive a free physical, color-printed booklet. Below is a mock up cover design. The dimension will be 70mm x 100mm to nicely complement all three editions.
An added bonus, these booklets will easily fit inside the Gentle Tarot canvas pouch alongside your deck. This pouch was recently added as an Add-On for only $4 and fits ALL Gentle Tarot editions! Note that the First Edition already comes with this canvas pouch.
Friends, I know it may feel surreal thinking about these things while we watch the horrors happening in the world. I'm right there with you. ❤️🩹
Dedicating myself to these colors and the medicine in this deck, motivated by your presence and support, has really helped me place one foot in front of the other.
Another huge support is I've recently reunited with a group here in Mexico City that practices traditional dance and ceremony. I could not tell you how healing it has been for me. I went for 14 years without this specific kind of connection. Something I truly missed and yearned for in Alaska. I'm thankful to be surrounded by good people and thankful to once again offer my body through ceremonial dance. It leaves me physically sore and oh so happy! (Big shout out to my Patreon whose monthly support helps me be here in Mexico while I heal. ILYSM!!! 🥲🫶🏽)
Here are close-ups of my favorite details from these new pieces! 🫠
With some of my favorite color combinations: this earthy/muddy light blue, yellow, fiery red, and black. I'm so happy they've made it into this deck!
I believe that our strength lies in community and connection and I believe in our resilience. Thank you for being a part of my community.
With a heart so full - THANK YOU!! 🎉
I was about to sign off and remembered one huge logistical update. I've signed on with BackerKit for an extra push in promotion for our last 7 days. SEVEN DAYS LEFT!!!! 🤯 BackerKit comes with a hefty fee and I might have to adjust Stretch Goals to account for the new expense, crossing fingers it goes well! I'd love for us to reach more people that could benefit from this deck. Your shares make a difference!! Here's a link to a google drive folder with images you can use if you like. I appreciate you so much! 💖
Sending love,
🌈 Mari
P.S. I love hearing from you!! Please don't be shy to use the Comment section!! 💗
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And as always, here are some fellow campaigns to take a look at and support if you haven't already!! They are listed in order of remaining days on Kickstarter. ✨
AHHH!! And Rachael's Embodied Ecosystems Tarocle is just $2450 short of reaching funding! Let's reach Stretch Goals so this wonderful person can be paid for their work too!
A quick Update with a ✨new video✨!
about 2 months ago
– Wed, Oct 30, 2024 at 02:02:38 PM
Dearest Kickstarter backers!
You'll have to forgive me for this super short update, I'll be sending another one soon. 🦭
I'd love to share this prototype deck video with you. It shared a bit more details into my process and a close up look at the cards.
And before I go, if you haven't already checked out and backed these campaigns, one has less than 17 hours and the other only 55!!
Lil Dark Artz makes the most adorable decks! This will be my first ever lenormand and I'm extra excited because it's even offered in Spanish (in addition to English) which is something I've never seen indie deck creators do! Here's this power duo's Instagram. They also illustrated Peggy and Lisa's Sassy Dragon's, which is also funding now.
I came across the next one and fell in love immediately, which rarely happens. Two Bugs Tarot is so unique and the color combinations/compositions have me very excited to work with this deck!!
OH MY GOODNESS I almost forgot a VERY important, last-call announcement!! 🚴🏽
If you have been thinking of joining us in Patreon, it is important to sign up before November 1st!! On November 1st, Apple will start charging an additional 30% 🤯 for folks using their iOS Patreon app. It's very important to sign up using the Desktop version of Patreon. Whether you sign up before the 1st or after.
This is a super big hit for creators. Speaking for myself, my Patreon community has really held me through the ups and downs of depending on a business that does not provide secure/stable income. It's robbery for Apple to take such a huge cut and the only way around it is to make sure you sign up via desktop! Otherwise, I believe they are tacking on the extra 30% and that leaves you thinking you're giving that amount to the artist but you're not. Tiers start at $3 and every little bit makes a big difference. 🎉
Thank you so much for your continued support and for riding this Kickstarter wave with me. Birthing My Friend Fire is about to get a lot more colorful as I start to share more cards here in our Updates!
If you can, please continue to share our campaign with your circles. Doubling what we've raised so far (and we're at our half-point in the campaign today!!) would really help my little company continue to do what it does.
So much love!!
💗 Mari
An Update and some Behind-the-scenes! 🌈 🐋
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Oct 25, 2024 at 11:16:26 PM
Dearest Kickstarter backers!!
How are you?? I always love hearing from you! Please use the comment section as much as you like! 🥹 There's both returning and new backers here, currently from 33 countries worldwide! 🎉
One of the most magical things about Kickstarter, for me personally, is this beautiful global community we're creating together. Your trust and presence is the real gift. Thank you again for being here! 🌈
Technical Update: On the backend I have been SLAMMED with promoting this campaign. It's just little 'ol me spending hours in Photoshop, working promo material, formatting sample decks, hiring help, and directly contacting content creators to help spread the word for the extra push we need to reach Stretch Goals. (Your social media and email shares are a huge help too!)
Many of these things could have been done before launch, but being the very neurodivergent creature that I am, here we are and it is ok. 🦭 Honestly, being in community with you is essential for this last bit of my creation process. You remind me that there are hearts eager to experience this next chapter. Thank you for being here with me. 🫶🏽
Understanding Funding: The truth about Stretch Goals and Funding Goals (not in all cases, but in mine it is this way), the base funding goal is actually for the bare minimum - like the tuck box version I described in the Stretch Goal video - and reaching our $110k Stretch goal is my actual internal goal.
Why is it so expensive?
1) I am accounting for taxes and fees, production of our top notch decks and additional campaign items, printing enough to have extra to sell after the campaign, transport, storage costs, plus covering the expenses that I'm racking up in promotion and sample decks, and setting a little aside to support my three-person (hopefully soon four-person) small company. Being an independent deck creator requires one to wear many hats. 🙃 This being my 3rd campaign, I'm much more comfortable doing it now, but it still is real work and a lot of time.
2) Most importantly, I'm sourcing the highest quality material on the market so that these decks are long-lasting and thereby more earth friendly. We want to riffle shuffle and enjoy these decks throughout our life time and I'm dedicated to giving you the very best.
Art Update! In my Patreon we recently had a mini poll on a few cards that I've been revisiting/exploring. For now, I'll share one of them (above) because I am 100% that I love it and it's staying. 🐋 The version on the right is the original draft and on the left is the latest. This may be the only card in My Friend Fire that truly needs to exude joy. The whale really did it for me and I'm happy this art made it back into our deck! :)
More art coming soon!! 🤸🏽♀️
Community Update: As independent creators, our work depends on grassroots sharing - by individuals like your beautiful selves, fellow creators, and content creators. I would LOVE to share these three campaigns with you. Check them out! Sign up, back, and share! ✨✨✨
Thank you for participating in my creation journey! I am ever grateful for your support. My Friend Fire is my heart and soul and such a different project than the Gentle Tarot. As soon as I receive my prototype deck (crossing fingers this Monday), I will be recording a video for you to share in depth details of why this new deck is here, my creation process, and how it has become an integral part of my deck creator life. If it's in your capacity, please keep sharing my campaign with your circles. My Friend Fire thanks you!! 🐋
More soon! Lots of love! I hope to hear from you.
🌈 Mari
WOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!!! 😭😭😭🎉
2 months ago
– Thu, Oct 17, 2024 at 09:03:46 PM
Friends, dearest backers, sweet community -
I am speechless!!! We're almost at $50k!! 😭🫶🏽 I am so incredibly grateful for each and every one of you showing up to the birth of My Friend Fire. (I just learned how to download gifs so please be prepared for me communicating in part with Studio Ghibli moments.) 🥹🥰
It's our FIRST KICKSTARTER UPDATE!!! My favorite part of this Kickstarter process - connecting with you one on one! Please use the comments section as much as you like! I will have plenty of polls coming through here as well.
Satsuki, the older sister pumping water, is YOU and I feel like Mei splashing away. This is how I felt all day yesterday. 🥰 So supported in bringing this new body of work into the world. THANK YOU!!
I'm totally shocked that we blazed right through our first two big stretch goals in less than 24 hours!!! 😭
🎉🎉🎉 $20k - Two part boxes for both decks with altar art inside!
🎉🎉🎉 $40k - Card stock upgrade to 330gsm Kohler (German) black core + linen butter finish for Linen deck and 350gsm anti-scratch matte lamination for our First Edition.
$50k - Matte gold gilding for First Edition and matte gilding for Linen deck.
$80k - Upgrade to gold stamping on all card backs! 😲
Our decks are going to be so nice!!! 🥲🫶🏽
Because I love sharing art and process in our Updates... Check out this idea for one of the Stretch Goal earrings!! Our butterfly earrings from the first batch back in 2021 were definitely the most popular and this Aglais milberti holds a special place in my heart (I'll tell you more about that in the future My Friend Fire full-size guidebook.) 🦋
There's already a lot happening on the backend for this campaign. I'm making decisions with my printer and starting the process for our new and exciting set of magnetic bookmarks! 😲
I have our delivery date set at June 2025 to give myself plenty of extra time for printing/transport/fulfillment, as well as for wrapping up the last bit of cards and our box design. Second to my Patreon (they get to see all of my messy drafts, ideas, and inner dialogue before I share things with the big wide world 🤭) you are immediately next in line to see new cards and designs.
Thank you for supporting my creative work! I could not do this without you!!
Many of you are sharing this campaign on social media - I see you!! Thank you so much!! Sharing really makes a difference!
I'd love to reach all of our Stretch Goals and make this Spread book happen! I'm looking into promotion (live and written interviews) to hopefully help us get there. If you know of any prominent outlets, feel free to share them with me!
