01/07/2020 — Our biggest update yet.

Hello everyone

Apologies for the lack of major updates the past few weeks. We have been working hard behind the scenes to move the IC2 & GB forward. And we’re getting extremely close. Let’s get right into it.

This update is LONG, so here's a table of contents:

1. Design & Tolerances

2. Manufacturing

3. Packaging

4. Pricing

5. Vendors

6. Review Units

7. Prototype Giveaway

8. Timeline

9. TODO

Let's get right into it.

Design & Tolerances

• We have finalized the design of Series 00. There are no major changes to the physical design in terms of color, material, or finish, but lots of work has been put into making the tolerance of the stems fit the majority of switches available. Oh, some of you may not know we added Hand Polished Brass to the final GB. Woohoo!

• Here are the final Series 00 materials and finish

  • Sandblast Clear Aluminum

  • Sandblast Black Aluminum

  • Sandblast Brass

  • Hand Polished Stainless Steel

  • Hand Polished Brass

• In order to set expectations of the fitting of Series 00 on switches, we will release a chart of the level of fit for 40+ most popular switches from Cherry, Gateron, Panda family, Durock, ZealPC, and more.

• We are quite happy with the hand polishing quality with both the Polished and Stainless Steel version of Series 00. But with all hand-treated products, there may be expected imperfections.

A sample of the popular switch families we will test Series 00 on. Full list here.

Manufacturing

• We have finalized our manufacturer for both Series 00 production and packaging after a long search comparing multiple manufacturers. A total of four prototype stages were conducted, and we are finally happy the color, material, finish, tolerance, and more.

• There are still things we need to finalize with regards to manufacturing such as coordinating our manufacturer with the regional vendors, but this can be an ongoing thing as IC2 and GB runs.

Packaging

• The packaging design has been finalized and we’re about ready to receive the prototypes - the box, foam, thank you card, and other goodies. We don’t expect any issues with this, and from what we’ve seen so far, we’re satisfied with their work. We’ll tease the packaging design in the coming weeks. Maybe if you join our Discord, you’ll get a peek.

Pricing

• We know many of you are looking forward to the pricing of Series 00. We have finalized both the manufacturing price and US vendor pricing. We’ll announce official pricing as we confirm with more regional vendors.

• For a little sneak peek - Series 00 aluminum, brass, and stainless steel pricing will be extremely competitive with the pricing you expect from other m-artisan designers.

• Depending on the polish and material, the pricing of Series 00 is separated into three tiers. There will be options available for everyone that wants a keycap.

• Founder’s Edition will be a bundle of Series 00 that includes all five launch editions. You will be able to purchase the Founder’s Edition with a discount - currently this is confirmed with our US vendor. More to come on other regional vendors.

Vendors

• We have confirmed our US vendor and the pricing for each Series 00. This one will likely be the least surprising one :). We’re very excited to work with them, and they have been nothing but excellent folks.

• We’re actively beginning discussion with other regional vendors, and we’ll announce more as we get more updates.

• Due to the demand of Series 00 in certain regions, we might not initially sell through a proxy if the demand is low. But you can express your interest in our product in our upcoming IC2 on Geekhack, Reddit, zFrontier, and more.

Review Units

• This week, we will begin production of the Review Units for Series 00 to send off to vendors, Youtubers, streamers, and content creators. Before you buy Series 00, we want you to be able to get opinions from people other than us on the quality and feel of our product.

• We’re very excited to work with these awesome content creators - thank you for signing on!

Prototype Giveaway

• Last month, we participated in Existentially Yours’ charity stream. We gave away a Polished Stainless Steel Series 00, and we’re honored to contribute a little to such a great cause. Check out Existentially Yours’ Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/existentiallyyours

• So far, three Easter Egg Hunt winners have confirmed their prototype choice - P2-engraved Polished Brass, P1-engraved Polished Stainless Steel, and P0-engraved Black Anodized Aluminum.

• Do not fret, we have a lot more chances for you to win in IC2, GB, Reddit giveaway, and more!!

Timeline

• Based on current progress, we feel confident that IC2 will hit by either late January or early February.

• IC2 will last between two weeks to a month, from early Feb to early March.

• GB will happen immediately after that (early March), and last for a month to a month and a half to early April.

• Manufacturing will take 2-4 weeks, not including the shipping time to vendors.

• You can expect to receive Series 00 around May-June.

TODO

1. Confirm pricing with other regional vendors

2. Confirm other regional vendors

3. Receive Review Units + packaging prototype

4. Update website with final Series 00 photos

5. Launch IC2

If you actually read till the end - kudos to you.

Thank you again. Thank you thank you thank you for supporting our small three-man operation.

2020 marked the prologue of esc lab. Series 00 will be chapter 1, and we are beyond excited to go from here!