Hello! (this is my promised post from a few days ago before this tread took all sorts of loops and twists
)
thank you to those of you who have given your thoughts on the subject of collection cats. we really appreciate hearing the things that concern you as well as things that you enjoy. input serves in part as a gauge for us to see how we're doing in your eyes and we appreciate when you take your time to let us know. we do listen, consider and learn from feedback. so again, thank you.
i'd like to explain a bit what happens when we do collections including my end of the "creative design process". i hope this will be helpful for you to understand in part the various outcomes of our collections.
from our first cats, "Sweet Cats" we wanted offer a little more than a "costume" cat. Being our first "collection" we made it so the eye shape could pass. In the beginning, it was going to be 2 little cats with hearts on them and honestly, after trying that they looked "dead", "uninspired" and just too "cliche". Even with the skill set to "decorate cats", i wanted them to be "special" not just hearts on a pink cat. so the "Sweet Cats" were born. It was an evolutionary process, even down to the "rainbow" cat which i tried for fun.
Being that we released in February, Valentine's day came right after release, then st. paddy's day, then easter and we also decided to help with the "project fur" project after the japan tsunami so we did the Neko cats. We heard from some back then that it seemed like a lot and we knew that after easter there were no major holidays until halloween.
We also anticipated this year the same thing happening, which is why we did the St. Paddy's as a total "non purchase" way (the special eye) and also the mardi gras too. Knowing easter was coming up, despite tons of requests for a St. Paddy's collection, we decided instead to make a little outfit at a modest price, and do the eye thing. (after the mardi gras we learned 3 days wasn't enough from your feedback time so we gave a 10 day notice for the St. Paddy's day cats)
so about creating.... usually i start with a simple idea, and in the end, the result is either very close or VERY far off. getting caught up in the process of creating things can go all sorts of ways. i also try to keep in mind the requests for "colors" i get from people so what may have started as an idea to make a "red devil" turned into, "aww darn what about the people who will want pink and HATE red??? ok i'll make a pink one..." then... "oh darn what about the people who hate pink and want teal or purple..." and then, well i may as well make green too for those who always ask for green and well can't forget the ones who love orange!!! plus orange does go with halloween..." so..... we end up with 7 devil dolls when it was gonna be ONE red one..... good idea? bad idea???? well to some great idea, to others, i guess, not so great
we're learning as we evolve that each person collects differently. some only want the colors they "collect", and are perfectly content if they get a "blue cat" and can trade for a "green"... they are done and happy! then some want a PAIR of the color they collect... some don't like collections at all preferring only "real" furs... etc.
and i think now we're seeing as indicated by the comments in this post... some "want them ALL" (we did start to see this this after halloween which is one reason after i "over made" cats for the winter collection, we decided to let the pairs give birth to a special rather than present you a "royal family" to "try" to get. yes, what started out as being a "prince and princess" turned into a King, Queen, Snow princess, Snow prince, and heck why not a pair of royal reindeers???"
(and don't even ask about the royal guards or court jesters)
So that's 6 in a royal family... when we were trying to "cut back"... Equinox said.... "callie... you were going to make only a prince and princess and one ice cat what happened???" (hmmm maybe the same thing when we made collars and i was only gonna do 12... i think we launched with uh... 50 some???) and we had the idea... "since this is too much, we can let the "pairs" give birth to the "special ones" so people don't have to buy more. we know money is tight at christmas time and we like having each collection different so we thought YAY, great way to go! most liked that idea however, some complained that they didn't WANT their first baby to be a costume cat as it could ruin a new trait if they got one... but most seemed to like it
oh yes, then the ice cats, well white was nice right, and ice is white right, sounds so simple... but what about those who BEG for pink on EVERYTHING... then blue? purple? etc... i don't want them to feel bad... so here again, "oh i'll try just ONE color"
now...
the Love Collection... well yes, i got a bit carried away on the leopards, again because i couldn't decide if i liked white or black spots better and the thought of a pair of EACH meant... 14 pairs, and i wasn't sure splitting the girls up to white or black would be liked by people AND... since a rainbow cat had been requested since last valentine's i needed enough colors to make a "rainbow"... so in the end, 7 white spotted girls and 7 black spotted boys sounded like a doable idea. 6 colors and the "rainbow"...
Additionally, in collections we try to if possible add special features like the witches broom, sled, etc so that there are more than just a "costume cat" which hopefully makes them more enjoyable to you and others trying KittyCatS! for the first time.
i hope this lengthy post helps to explain what happens when i create the "art side". idea + requests for colors + making it fun + different every time = fun for all (hopefully) we do really want to have you enjoy your experience and try to strike a balance and yes, I MAKE TOO MANY COLORS SOMETIMES!!! yes you didn't see all the ice cat colors LOL... or well let's jus say NO one has seen "all the colors LOL..." *hangs head*
since the Love Collection, we are been extra mindful of your concerns and the fact that there are a LOT of holidays in a short amount of time, and just HOW do we do it w/o making it too much!!!!?????? OR not enough for those who even wanted a ground hog's day cat???
So, now that it's been cleared up that we wont have 834903829402384 cats for Easter, and yes Equinox is very excited about a certain cat LOL... i hope this helps ease a bit of any worry.
i know we won't always do it perfect, i know we won't always make everyone happy, BUT i can tell you this, i PROMISE you, we will always give it ALL WE HAVE, do the best we can even when it hurts as far as quality, and we as a team will always listen, learn from our mistakes, and welcome ALL input and feedback.
it may sound corny but, the greatest reward we have in doing this is knowing that our customers and community enjoy what we do. i'm humbled that someone even likes what i make. there are a lot of choices out there and it's amazing to me that some of you find great joy with the KittyCatS!
it blows me away to think about it.
i love them too...
thank you for your input on this subject and please continue to let us know how we're doing in your eyes. we know you know we don't control things out of our control, and we also value your input as our customer base is VERY diverse.
i'm sorry if this was too long but i hope it helps bring a bit of clarification, i really do.
since this thread has jumped all over from the concern in the OP (which is ok) we are going to close it but feel free of course to start any more on the various subjects i.e. breeding that you want.
thanks!