Manufacturing Update #3
almost 7 years ago – Tue, Apr 16, 2019 at 01:43:46 PM

It happens with 84% of campaigns, and now it's happening to this one. Delays. We are now a month behind schedule, with the product expected to leave the factory warehouse mid June. I'm really sorry about this, and definitely have some lessons learned for next time. Trust me, delays are just as bad for me as they are for you! Summer time is the peak time for cold brew interest. (and sales!)

With that out of the way, I'll get on with the full details.

The Cause for Delays

1 week ago I received the first filter to come out of the production run. It was perfect, with the exception of the filter not screwing into the  lid. There was obviously a major issue here, so I immediately began measuring things out and I discovered that the thread pattern and diameter of the new filter had unexpectedly changed. After a bit of back and forth with my rep, we determined the issue. My factory gets the filter's top threaded piece from another supplier. This threaded piece is made to be used on a different product that the other supplier sells. The supplier changed their design for 2019. (On the plus side, they guaranteed no further changes for this year.)  At this point if I wanted my factory to make their own threaded piece to match the old one, it would add 2 months and $12,000 in molds and wasted material. Basically, the only solution here was to modify the lid design one final time to accommodate the new threads.

Right now I am actually in South Korea for my day job, and I have been doing my best to find a way to 3D print prototype lids to try on the new filter. I think I should have the design nailed down by tomorrow (after the 3rd round of 3D printing...). Then I will hand off the revised lid design to my mold designer so he can redo all of his work.

Other Stuff

Issues with the lids aside, I am pushing forward with cup manufacturing and the rest of the tasks. I instructed the factory to begin production on the cups last week and will be getting production samples around May 1st.  I'm really excited to see how the white cup turns out!

Lastly, some potentially exciting news; I was contacted by 'Shark Tank' star Kevin Harrington's company,  'As Seen on TV'.  We're discussing the possibility of creating an ad to run this summer on national TV, starring Kevin. 

Thanks,

Nick O. | Creator

Manufacturing Update #2
about 7 years ago – Mon, Mar 18, 2019 at 11:19:18 PM

Hey Everyone!

It has been a while since the last update, mainly because the factory shut down for the entire month of February to celebrate Chinese New Year. This was not a surprise to our timeline however, and things are still moving along as planned. 

1. The Filters

The filter manufacturer expects to be completed with production on April 12th. They are shipping a production sample now and everything should be looking good.

2. The Tumblers and Lids

The mold designer is working hard to get the lid completed despite several hiccups, and will be sending out final mold samples next week. Basically we ran into issues with varying material thickness.

*Getting Technical Alert* If you look at the picture above, you can see a significant increase in plastic thickness towards the rear of the lid, and this causes problems during injection molding processes because the thicker areas cool slower than the thinner areas. When the parts cool, they also shrink - and when they shrink unevenly due to varying temperatures, they apparently break into pieces.  Luckily this issue was caught in the designer's final quality checks, and a re-design was quick and painless.

We had to modify the design as shown below. (Color added to help show details)

Stay tuned to get a preview of the packaging design and more in the next few weeks. Updates will now be coming more often as things kick up a notch. 

Thanks for your patience and support!

Nick O. | Mastermind 

Manufacturing Update 1
about 7 years ago – Tue, Jan 22, 2019 at 12:52:18 AM

Hello everyone!

It's been 1 month since Mastermind got funded and we've finally gotten our factories moving forward with mold development and production. Read on to see more news regarding the poll results, some improvements, and the design schedule.

1. Results from the poll: 

The original design won, but it was such a close competition that we will be releasing a simplified version of the tumbler as soon as there is funding to achieve this. Everyone who participated in the Kickstarter will get a coupon to purchase the simplified tumbler for a discount this summer. 

2. Optimized lid design:

Now featuring an improved slider that seals better, a more symmetrical magnet pod, a straw-accommodating mouthpiece, and optimized vent holes to allow quicker pouring.

 Leak test below:

  Please excuse the funky colors in this leak test.

3. More Intuitive & Less Intrusive fill lines on the filter. 

4. Deliverable Schedule Update:

We are on track to meet the schedule above still. Some tweaking to the lid design was required per injection molding limitations, pushing that March 20th manufacturing completion date into early April. 

5. Other News!

We have nearly completed the IndieGoGo InDemand store so that anyone who missed out on the Kickstarter can pre-order there. 

Expect surveys to be posted in late February to March for shipping information and add-ons. 

Thanks for your patience and support!

Nick O. | Mastermind 

Thanks for being our Crowd <3
over 7 years ago – Thu, Dec 20, 2018 at 09:57:52 PM

Hey there Masterminds,

We put our heads together and made this campaign successful. From the social media shoutouts to sharing it with all your friends and family, you guys got the word out and made it happen. You are awesome, and I'm so ecstatic that it funded! Thank you.

Coming soon, I'll issue surveys via Backerkit to get your shipping information, get your tumbler color selections, and add on other accessories (like a handle for your tumbler, metal straw pack, extra coffee, etc.)

Starting right now, I'm getting the injection mold development started for the lid, since it takes so long.

We'll keep in touch. I'll be keeping you updated with project milestones from now until the day the brewers hit your doorstep. If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions, message me here or send an email to [email protected]. 

Socials: If you want to see more cool photos and other stuff, follow our Facebook & Instagram, where we post photos like the one below! We also have a Twitter, and maybe we'll use it someday haha.

Shoutout to Goshen Coffee - they have been awesome throughout the campaign, and they're just super genuine coffee loving humans. Shop their coffee! Goshencoffee.com

.

Thanks again,

Nick Osborn | Mastermind | Project Creator & Owner | [email protected] 

5 Hours to Go! Vote for your Favorite Design!
over 7 years ago – Thu, Dec 20, 2018 at 04:13:07 PM

Thank you all so much for helping us reach the goal!

This campaign was a bit of a roller coaster, but we made our goal a few days ago - thanks for all your help in getting to this point. 

I just opened a Poll: it's a nail-biter so far.

Vote for your favorite version of the Pearl Tumbler. The winner gets manufactured. Right now the vote is split 50/50.

I have had some inquiries recently regarding whether or not we should reduce the branding on one of the tumblers. You are the VIP's here, so I really want your opinion here. Would you like to see just a simple 'MK' on the Pearl tumbler, as compared to the full logo?

Please vote in the poll by clicking the link below.

Again, thank you all for participating in the crowdfunding campaign, and HEY! We have 5 hours left, so if you had a friend that was interested, tag them in the facebook comments and have them vote!