Rio Full Color Vinyl Figure!

Rio Arrives!
about 11 years ago – Wed, May 27, 2015 at 10:17:35 AM

Hello all! Well, happy to report that we finally heard back from customs and Rio is totally clear to go, being that he is neither toxic or...mislabeled. Was exciting to have the truck finally pull up to the house!

Future note, if you're having a large-ish quantity of things imported from China, remember to label everything "Made in China" so you don't have to pay out the nose to have people put Made in China stickers on them! (Ugh.)

Discussing scheduling with Miu and we're tentatively looking at the first or second week of June for him to come over and start the signing/packing/shipping process. Hoping to have the Rio/Nero figures all shipped out before AC! (Except possibly for those of you who are also waiting on shirts, picking them up at AC, or have asked me to hold them due to a move). 

So whew! Can't believe this is real and I currently have a basement full of Rios waiting to go out to their new homes. :D

In other Miu-related news, Club Stripes is running an Indiegogo to help fund reprints of Miu's adult Peaches and Cream books, as well as a new book collecting his Ask Jam strips. Check it out! :) Unfortunately since it's getting finished very close to Anthrocon, the IGG materials probably won't ship until after the convention, but we'd appreciate your help in getting it all made! Even if you can't participate, spreading the link would be appreciated as well:

http://igg.me/at/miubooks

And thanks for all your help to make Rio a reality! :)

Customs Fun and Kickstarter Reminder
about 11 years ago – Sun, May 17, 2015 at 10:37:38 PM

Hello all! Well, wish I had some better news to share this time around, but Rio is stuck in customs red tape. Boo! The shipment is here in Pennsylvania...somewhere...but the customs folks randomly flagged the shipment for inspection and now they've decided that the CPSC would like to test the figures for possible phthalates. No news yet on how long that will delay things. I doubt it would help to tell them these aren't childrens' toys so the probability of them ending up chewed-on would be rather low.

Will keep everyone posted as news comes up! It's so close I can taste it (but I won't because it's a plastic figurine and that would be kind of...plasticky)!!

In semi-related news, there's only four days left to go on my other Kickstarter, Wild @ Heart: shirts with tails. If you've been pondering getting a shirt (or two, or three) now's the time to jump in! I got to go to Kawaii Kon and Sakura Con and had a very good turnout on my shirt sales, so I drastically lowered all the stretch goal tiers! We've just passed $1000 and all backers can vote Tiger or Dragon for the next design unlock! 

Don't forget the Rio Special tier for all you Rio Kickstarter backers, if you want to combine your rewards and save a bit in shipping. Also, the stretch goal for the Jam @ Heart shirt by Miu is now only $1500! That's really not that far away, so let's get some shirts made!

Out and About!
about 11 years ago – Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 02:50:35 AM

Here we see an escaped Rio from his box prison, out in the tropical suburban jungle of Honolulu. He will be on display at Kawaii Kon and Sakura Con so some peeps can get advance looks at him in all his actually-existing glory.

The full shipment of the Rios is almost here!! Finally got confirmation of the boat arrival date (scheduled for the 25th, weather and customs clearance permitting) and then it’ll be around another week or so before they finally arrive in Pittsburgh. Which means, as I kind of guessed, the Rio avalanche is hitting before I get back home from these cons. Oops! Thank you loving husband who will…not have a problem…moving dozens of cartons of figures into the basement… >_>

Hoping to have the big packing/signing party around the middle of April! Keeping fingers crossed that the roads clear up and Miu can make it over by then.

Also if you are so inclined, please check out my new Kickstarter for Wild @ Heart Shirts! 

Miu also kindly designed a spoof of one of his characters as a stretch goal for the shirts. :)

If you're a Rio backer receiving a physical item in the mail and don't mind waiting for the shirts to also be completed (ETA early July), get free shipping on as many shirts as you would like to order. Just select the Convention Special tier and send me a message saying you'd like to combine the two Kickstarter rewards, and I'll set your order aside to be shipped with the shirts you selected.

We're almost there! :D

Rio/Nero Shipping
about 11 years ago – Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 09:32:37 AM

No, not that kind. Well, yes, that kind, but ALSO news on the figure shipping dates. :) As of now my best guess for when Rios and Neros will be arriving en masse to lovely Pennsylvania for the purposes of shipping is approximately late March. After dealing with a few customs issues and some paperwork back and forths, we got the clearance for the shipment to head our way a couple weeks ago. Thankfully the cartons will be delivered through the NY port instead of the hopelessly backlogged LA one.

What this means for everyone is that we're anticipating a packing and shipping "party" somewhere around early to mid-April as I'll be out of town to go to Kawaii Kon and Sakura Con. No Rios will be available for sale at these conventions but I will try to bring one of the advance copies I received for previewing, luggage space permitting.

Coming Soon!
over 11 years ago – Mon, Mar 09, 2015 at 09:45:10 AM

Hello all! Just got the latest news from the factory, Chinese New Year is almost upon us so the folks over there are really stepping up their game! Their aim is to have everything finished and shipped out to us by the end of the week (and then we have approximately a month of waiting for the shipment to arrive).

Final payments have been sent and the figures should be getting put in their boxes soon! If all goes well we should be seeing these guys by mid-March or (hopefully) earlier. Fair warning though, I will be out of town near the end of March due to a combo of my father's planned surgery and two back-to-back conventions (Kawaii Kon and Sakura Con). If the shipment doesn't arrive before I have to leave, we'll be shipping the figures out after I get home, in early April. It'll be a lot of mailing, but I'm looking forward to getting all these Rios and Neros to their new homes! :>