KeyKollectiv's Artisan Keycap Project Thread

[Kudos]

Paying Dues before Paying the Rent

I thought it was appropriate to finally show my face around here. I wanted to introduce myself to the GeekHack community. I’ve been a lurker here for quite some time and frankly, my apprehension to do so comes from the fact that I’ve felt pretty intimidated by the community. That’s not to say I haven’t had some great interactions with some members of GeekHack because I certainly have. Overall, I’ve found the community has been incredibly knowledgeable and receptive thus far.

I’m currently in my third week of resin casting. So far, I’ve dumped quite a bit of money and time into the learning process. The resources and specifics available for doing so is fairly limited on the internet if you’re not absolutely sure what you’re looking for. With that said, I can say with absolute certainty that the process would’ve been much more difficult without the hard work of the artisan community here at GeekHack. You can say that I am standing on the shoulders of giants so with humility and reverence, I wanted to thank those who paved the way to make the world of artisan keycap a respected and established craft.

Clack: You’ve set the bar. A high one at that. A true pioneer.
Brocaps: The level of precision and quality is truly unparalleled. If I could put something out at a fraction of skill you do, I would be so lucky.
Martinyeah/Hotkeys: You’ve elevated the craft with the level of detail and complexity. A true innovator who will take this field to it’s pinnacle.
Hipsterpunks/KWK: When form meets function. Unique and stylistic. Bringing aesthetic and artistic expression to the forefront.
Binge/Nubbinator: The tutorials written by you guys have open doors for many aspiring artisans. Watching the progression in terms of skills and technique has been incredible and inspiring. Without the likes of you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. My gratitude goes out to you guys.
Booper: Your write-up has been a case study on what to do right in the learning process. The refinement in your work as well as the updates gives way for accessibility and inspiration to beginners. Kudos.
Katzenkinder/Krytone: Anyone looking to learn and develop needs to look no further than your posts. Through experimentation, you guys have given me a lot of insight on how to hone my skills.

The list I just provided is, by no means, a definitive list of those who I respect and want to show appreciation to. There are countless artisans in this community that have contributed greatly to this craft and without you, the field wouldn’t be where it is today. My apologies if you were not mentioned directly.

So where am I today? My background is in toy design but I am currently working as a director of international sales at a small design company as my day job. Since picking up resin casting, I’ve passed down everything I’ve learned to my GF. Since I own mainly Topre keyboards, that has been my primary focus. My GF on the other hand prefers here ergo clears so she has been making her own artisan keycaps. In fact, as we speak, she is working tirelessly on a project to fulfill orders for her new keycap. For me, I am simply not at a point where I feel confident enough to put anything out. Topre has been a bit of a challenge for me. Until I can come up with a blank template that is satisfactory in quality and precision, I refuse to put anything out there. Besides, given the number of skilled artisans in the community, I have big shoes to fill.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for GeekHack. I’d be happy to share my findings with anyone interested in my learning process. I look forward to contributing to the community and being a part of it. Expect any major updates on this thread. Thanks for reading

[CPTBadAss]

Welcome to Geekhack . Always nice to see people getting their hands dirty and making cool stuff. Maybe you can keep us updated with your progress. Build logs are a lot of fun! Looking forward to seeing how your work turns out.

[Bromono]

  this is why the community existst. So we can spread the love of keyboard magic. I hope to see many more updates from you.

[jdcarpe]

You had me at the thread title. That attitude will earn you much respect here.

Welcome to Geekhack!

[heedpantsnow]

Wow!  Exciting!  Welcome!

[scubaste]

Nice write up. You seem to have a good outlook on the current state of artisan caps and how to approach the hobby in general. I felt like your compliments to the various creators were accurate and sincere. I am interested to see what you and your GF are making. Welcome and good look on your cap making pursuits.

[Kudos]

Week 1

After the initial two weeks of acquiring equipment and materials, I decided that the research I've compiled from the internet was enough to do a test run. After extensively studying Binge's and Booper's tutorials as well as spending time with a friend who works at Reynold's Advanced Materials, I decided that ****footing was no longer an option. I spent some time putting together some sketches before sculpting.

For this project, I wanted to have a specific theme. I decided it would be best to pay tribute to Matt30's Skull Squadron keyset. I attributed that set as what had brought me back to my love for mechanical keyboards. Before seeing it, I had given up on collecting keyboards. My Ducky Shine sat at my computer desk collecting dust. Work was ramping up and I had decided to go back to school for concept design.

Seeing that set brought back what I loved about the mech community in the first place. Although I never did get around to acquiring this set, I wanted to pay tribute to this masterpiece. At first, the goal was to make a complimentary cap with a Macross theme. I scrapped that idea and went with a more literal approach:

Initial sketches


First Master when I realized I hated Super Sculpey for masters (Bottom Jaw came off in mould). Great for other resin casting applications though:


Test Cast:


First Run experimenting with dyes and ratios:


Eventually, I decided that the master was not up to standards. The surface was too rough and overall composition felt very generic. I ended up scrapping the design in hopes of returning one day when I was much more practiced. I did, however, learn a few things along the way:

Patience is a virtue in resin casting. ****ty masters make ****ty casts. Fix and perfect before continuing to the next step. And lastly, RTFM!

[CPTBadAss]

ITT: I wish I could trade my sketching skills for kudosgodspeed's . Good looks .

[Kudos]

Between a full time job, managing properties and design school, the thought of taking on an exhaustive hobby like resin casting seemed daunting to say the least. My solution, teach my GF. She had always mentioned the lack of cute options for girls who didn't want skulls on their keycaps. Being the neurotic person I am, I compiled an extensive tutorial for her. Here is a sample of it:



More to come....

[Kudos]

Week 2

I can say with absolute certainty that my GF loves her cats dearly. Before I even showed her the casting process, she already envisioned the thought of high-fiving her kittens whenever she typed. She took that idea and ran with it:

These critters were the inspiration:


So it seems shes a faster learner than me:




In a weeks time, she is now heading a group buy. I am both proud and emasculated:

[Kudos]

Week 3: Learning to crawl before you walk.

I have to admit, seeing the artisans on GH has been intimidating. I'm constantly looking at their work and wondering how the hell they pulled off the precision. Sure, design is amazing and contributes to the overall aesthetics but what got me going were the sharp lines, clean edges. Was I going to achieve that with Super-Sculpey. I could but it didn't feel ideal. I decided that before I put out some crazy keycap that showcased design, that I would have to start from the ground up.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I respect and admire people like Brobot and Hipsterpunks. Yes, I love their designs but the baseline template they used. My god. They were architects. So I decided I needed to start from scratch. Practice technique, ratios, sculpting. Garbage in, garbage out. Up to this point, I was putting out garbage. So I started experimenting with stock caps. Building layers. Reinforcing that annoying topre stem.





To this date, I have not achieved my goal. Constant test runs and subsequent testing led to unsatisfactory results. With finals coming up, deadlines at work, surgery coming up and being low on funds, I have decided to shelf my topre experiments and help my GF with her Cherry MX Meowcaps group buy until I get my bearings. Expect more updates soon

[berserkfan]

Kudos, just to address your latest post.

You will NEVER be low on funds on geekhack based on what I've seen you do.

Custom casting of Topre keycaps? The awesome translucent kitten paw? The translucent keys in different colors?

If you start a production line you can sell stuff easy. The folks on this forum go insane when it comes to custom artisan caps. You would need to seriously piss off your customers not to attain four figure sales every month.

[CPTBadAss]

Show Image

Nice looking caps!

And I like that handstyle :)

[Kudos]

Nice write up. You seem to have a good outlook on the current state of artisan caps and how to approach the hobby in general. I felt like your compliments to the various creators were accurate and sincere. I am interested to see what you and your GF are making. Welcome and good look on your cap making pursuits.

Welcome to Geekhack . Always nice to see people getting their hands dirty and making cool stuff. Maybe you can keep us updated with your progress. Build logs are a lot of fun! Looking forward to seeing how your work turns out.

Wow!  Exciting!  Welcome!

You had me at the thread title. That attitude will earn you much respect here.

Welcome to Geekhack!

this is why the community existst. So we can spread the love of keyboard magic. I hope to see many more updates from you.

Thanks all for the warm welcome. I'm hoping to make significant gains in development this week. Meowcaps are currently halfway through production so I will be indisposed until we finalize. In the meantime, I've been fine tuning my resin casting techniques and have found a regimen that produces an incredibly sturdy template to work off of. Once complete, expect a few surprises in the horizon. Thank you for the encouragement and support 

[Kudos]

Kudos, just to address your latest post.

You will NEVER be low on funds on geekhack based on what I've seen you do.

Custom casting of Topre keycaps? The awesome translucent kitten paw? The translucent keys in different colors?

If you start a production line you can sell stuff easy. The folks on this forum go insane when it comes to custom artisan caps. You would need to seriously piss off your customers not to attain four figure sales every month.

Thanks beserk. To be honest, I only got into resin casting keycaps because I got tired of the lack of options for topre users. I figured, until I win a Brocap raffle or shell out $150 to Widebasket, it's slim pickings for me. My departure from Cherry MX was bittersweet because I knew I would be walking away from cosmetic customization. Luckily, I can customize to my heart's content now.

Only problem is that, although keycaps are fairly cheap to produce, making mistakes can be incredibly costly. The thought of selling any of my stuff was not driven by profit but rather to recoup the cost of my failures. I really appreciate your kindness and support. Expect some surprises soon!

PS- For those who feel that I've turned my back on Cherry. My GF will be casting in Cherry primarily and from the response from Meowcaps, the demand for cuteness is definitely there 

Show Image

Nice looking caps!

And I like that handstyle :)

Thanks CPT. Your encouragement means a lot. I wish I had a little more freedom to showcase my writing but I have to keep it legible for the fans. Grew up in NYC with 15+ years of writing. Unfortunately, this old ******* can no longer hop fences and get vandalism charges anymore. Hoping I can express my passions in this format. Expect some updates soon  ;D

[slickmamba]

These look amazing.  I've been following your work on reddit.  Keep it up!

[FoC_Tow]

Awesome work Kudos!
Those paw caps make my inner kitty purr!  xD

Paw Five!

Week 2

Show Image

[btctopre]

Just thought I'd share a pic of the caps that kudos gifted me (Ctrl/Backspace/Fn):


And if you were to tell me that the person that made this had only been making caps for a month, I wouldn't believe you. There are no bubbles! (Apologies for lighting/quality, phone had a difficult time focusing on the purple)

[Sed8op8]

Kudos, just to address your latest post.

You will NEVER be low on funds on geekhack based on what I've seen you do.

Custom casting of Topre keycaps? The awesome translucent kitten paw? The translucent keys in different colors?

If you start a production line you can sell stuff easy. The folks on this forum go insane when it comes to custom artisan caps. You would need to seriously piss off your customers not to attain four figure sales every month.

Thanks beserk. To be honest, I only got into resin casting keycaps because I got tired of the lack of options for topre users. I figured, until I win a Brocap raffle or shell out $150 to Widebasket, it's slim pickings for me. My departure from Cherry MX was bittersweet because I knew I would be walking away from cosmetic customization. Luckily, I can customize to my heart's content now.

Only problem is that, although keycaps are fairly cheap to produce, making mistakes can be incredibly costly. The thought of selling any of my stuff was not driven by profit but rather to recoup the cost of my failures. I really appreciate your kindness and support. Expect some surprises soon!

PS- For those who feel that I've turned my back on Cherry. My GF will be casting in Cherry primarily and from the response from Meowcaps, the demand for cuteness is definitely there 

Show Image

Nice looking caps!

And I like that handstyle :)

Thanks CPT. Your encouragement means a lot. I wish I had a little more freedom to showcase my writing but I have to keep it legible for the fans. Grew up in NYC with 15+ years of writing. Unfortunately, this old ******* can no longer hop fences and get vandalism charges anymore. Hoping I can express my passions in this format. Expect some updates soon  ;D

I have also been following your work on reddit I found your threads just as you stopped excepting Topre donations 8( anyways hopefully these caps provide  better entertainment/gratification and  much better financial contribution to your life then good old vandalism and fence hopping lol I also really appreciate your thorough writing style(its a pleasure to read) you can bet ill be awaiting anxiously to read any and all updates as well as hopefully score some of your work. I have zero Topre artisans and these look amazing. Color me impressed !

[Kudos]

These look amazing.  I've been following your work on reddit.  Keep it up!

Thank you for your kind words. The community has been overwhelmingly supportive and it's definitely been a driving force when I mess up a mould or I find holes in my resin. Much appreciated 

Just thought I'd share a pic of the caps that kudos gifted me (Ctrl/Backspace/Fn):

Show Image

And if you were to tell me that the person that made this had only been making caps for a month, I wouldn't believe you. There are no bubbles! (Apologies for lighting/quality, phone had a difficult time focusing on the purple)

Show Image

I'm a bit embarrassed to have my early stuff out there but if anything, maybe I can look back at those and laugh at how bad they are. Rest assured you'll be getting some real ones soon 

Awesome work Kudos!
Those paw caps make my inner kitty purr!  xD

Paw Five!

Week 2

Show Image

Thanks man. I can't take credit for those. I'll be sure to relay the message to the lady  ;D

Kudos, just to address your latest post.

You will NEVER be low on funds on geekhack based on what I've seen you do.

Custom casting of Topre keycaps? The awesome translucent kitten paw? The translucent keys in different colors?

If you start a production line you can sell stuff easy. The folks on this forum go insane when it comes to custom artisan caps. You would need to seriously piss off your customers not to attain four figure sales every month.

Thanks beserk. To be honest, I only got into resin casting keycaps because I got tired of the lack of options for topre users. I figured, until I win a Brocap raffle or shell out $150 to Widebasket, it's slim pickings for me. My departure from Cherry MX was bittersweet because I knew I would be walking away from cosmetic customization. Luckily, I can customize to my heart's content now.

Only problem is that, although keycaps are fairly cheap to produce, making mistakes can be incredibly costly. The thought of selling any of my stuff was not driven by profit but rather to recoup the cost of my failures. I really appreciate your kindness and support. Expect some surprises soon!

PS- For those who feel that I've turned my back on Cherry. My GF will be casting in Cherry primarily and from the response from Meowcaps, the demand for cuteness is definitely there  :-*

Show Image

Nice looking caps!

And I like that handstyle

Thanks CPT. Your encouragement means a lot. I wish I had a little more freedom to showcase my writing but I have to keep it legible for the fans. Grew up in NYC with 15+ years of writing. Unfortunately, this old ******* can no longer hop fences and get vandalism charges anymore. Hoping I can express my passions in this format. Expect some updates soon 

I have also been following your work on reddit I found your threads just as you stopped excepting Topre donations 8( anyways hopefully these caps provide  better entertainment/gratification and  much better financial contribution to your life then good old vandalism and fence hopping lol I also really appreciate your thorough writing style(its a pleasure to read) you can bet ill be awaiting anxiously to read any and all updates as well as hopefully score some of your work. I have zero Topre artisans and these look amazing. Color me impressed !

Thanks so much Sed. The encouragement from you has helped a great deal throughout the process. I can't, in my right mind, accept money for anything I can't stand behind. Until the quality is up to standards, all funding will come straight from my pocket. I'd be glad to ship you a few samples of my work once the new template is complete. Shoot me your info and I'll see what I can do.

[Sed8op8]

These look amazing.  I've been following your work on reddit.  Keep it up!

Thank you for your kind words. The community has been overwhelmingly supportive and it's definitely been a driving force when I mess up a mould or I find holes in my resin. Much appreciated 

Just thought I'd share a pic of the caps that kudos gifted me (Ctrl/Backspace/Fn):

Show Image

And if you were to tell me that the person that made this had only been making caps for a month, I wouldn't believe you. There are no bubbles! (Apologies for lighting/quality, phone had a difficult time focusing on the purple)

Show Image

I'm a bit embarrassed to have my early stuff out there but if anything, maybe I can look back at those and laugh at how bad they are. Rest assured you'll be getting some real ones soon 

Awesome work Kudos!
Those paw caps make my inner kitty purr!  xD

Paw Five!

Week 2

Show Image

Thanks man. I can't take credit for those. I'll be sure to relay the message to the lady  ;D

Kudos, just to address your latest post.

You will NEVER be low on funds on geekhack based on what I've seen you do.

Custom casting of Topre keycaps? The awesome translucent kitten paw? The translucent keys in different colors?

If you start a production line you can sell stuff easy. The folks on this forum go insane when it comes to custom artisan caps. You would need to seriously piss off your customers not to attain four figure sales every month.

Thanks beserk. To be honest, I only got into resin casting keycaps because I got tired of the lack of options for topre users. I figured, until I win a Brocap raffle or shell out $150 to Widebasket, it's slim pickings for me. My departure from Cherry MX was bittersweet because I knew I would be walking away from cosmetic customization. Luckily, I can customize to my heart's content now.

Only problem is that, although keycaps are fairly cheap to produce, making mistakes can be incredibly costly. The thought of selling any of my stuff was not driven by profit but rather to recoup the cost of my failures. I really appreciate your kindness and support. Expect some surprises soon!

PS- For those who feel that I've turned my back on Cherry. My GF will be casting in Cherry primarily and from the response from Meowcaps, the demand for cuteness is definitely there  :-*

Show Image

Nice looking caps!

And I like that handstyle

Thanks CPT. Your encouragement means a lot. I wish I had a little more freedom to showcase my writing but I have to keep it legible for the fans. Grew up in NYC with 15+ years of writing. Unfortunately, this old ******* can no longer hop fences and get vandalism charges anymore. Hoping I can express my passions in this format. Expect some updates soon 

I have also been following your work on reddit I found your threads just as you stopped excepting Topre donations 8( anyways hopefully these caps provide  better entertainment/gratification and  much better financial contribution to your life then good old vandalism and fence hopping lol I also really appreciate your thorough writing style(its a pleasure to read) you can bet ill be awaiting anxiously to read any and all updates as well as hopefully score some of your work. I have zero Topre artisans and these look amazing. Color me impressed !

Thanks so much Sed. The encouragement from you has helped a great deal throughout the process. I can't, in my right mind, accept money for anything I can't stand behind. Until the quality is up to standards, all funding will come straight from my pocket. I'd be glad to ship you a few samples of my work once the new template is complete. Shoot me your info and I'll see what I can do.

Thanks so much man and yes I would love some of these and I will shoot you my info but I really want you to know I am just a fan and stuff like this inspires me ! If you need anything Topre caps etc please just ask and thanks again definitely excited to see your work when things slow down from the GB !

Mod Edit: Removed poster's own address

[Rotaku]

Sed you might want to pm him cause you have your address out for everyone to see 

[FoC_Tow]

Awesome work Kudos!
Those paw caps make my inner kitty purr!  xD

Paw Five!

Thanks man. I can't take credit for those. I'll be sure to relay the message to the lady 

Thank you for bringing these to us Kudos! 
The quality on the caps looks amazing and I love (especially the pale) translucent colors! <3
The Paw Five caps look so cute tho! xD

I have also been following your work on reddit I found your threads just as you stopped excepting Topre donations 8( anyways hopefully these caps provide  better entertainment/gratification and  much better financial contribution to your life then good old vandalism and fence hopping lol I also really appreciate your thorough writing style(its a pleasure to read) you can bet ill be awaiting anxiously to read any and all updates as well as hopefully score some of your work. I have zero Topre artisans and these look amazing. Color me impressed !

Thanks so much Sed. The encouragement from you has helped a great deal throughout the process. I can't, in my right mind, accept money for anything I can't stand behind. Until the quality is up to standards, all funding will come straight from my pocket. I'd be glad to ship you a few samples of my work once the new template is complete. Shoot me your info and I'll see what I can do.

Definitely can't wait for a first sale and I think many people would be really glad to help you funding the project! =)
I already feel bad to mention this and don't want to sound like begging for free stuff (which I am tho xD) but if you ever want to send out some samples I would be super up for some of these Topre blank beauties! 

Just ordered an hhkb as a home my first bro cap and I would love to get my hands on one of these to go along with it! 

I would personally be glad to donate in order to help funding of course and I really wouldn't be asking for something if I had a choice...
Maybe you could do a early fundraiser / donation sale of some sort! 

[Kudos]

For sure FoC, as long as you're aware that these are just early prototypes, I've got no problems sending you a few samples. PM me your info and I'll see what I can do. Bear in mind, I'm neck deep in production right now so it might take a little bit.

[FoC_Tow]

For sure FoC, as long as you're aware that these are just early prototypes, I've got no problems sending you a few samples. PM me your info and I'll see what I can do. Bear in mind, I'm neck deep in production right now so it might take a little bit.

OMG, thx soo much man!   
I'll shoot you a pm in a bit!

Appreciate it a lot and I'm super stoked!! 

[Sed8op8]

Sed you might want to pm him cause you have your address out for everyone to see 

thanks captain I could of swore I pm'd that. Thank you for the quick edit. I worked a 10 hour shift  and had a few drinks lol Hehe appreciate it guys.

[Thumper_]

So, where can i get one? need one asap 

[Kudos]

For sure FoC, as long as you're aware that these are just early prototypes, I've got no problems sending you a few samples. PM me your info and I'll see what I can do. Bear in mind, I'm neck deep in production right now so it might take a little bit.

OMG, thx soo much man!   
I'll shoot you a pm in a bit!

Appreciate it a lot and I'm super stoked!! 

Show Image

Just getting started  :cool:

[Sed8op8]

For sure FoC, as long as you're aware that these are just early prototypes, I've got no problems sending you a few samples. PM me your info and I'll see what I can do. Bear in mind, I'm neck deep in production right now so it might take a little bit.

OMG, thx soo much man!   
I'll shoot you a pm in a bit!

Appreciate it a lot and I'm super stoked!! 

Show Image

Just getting started  :cool:

Show Image

lol got to love Willie gifs

[Bromono]

mmmmm

[byker]

mmmmm

(Attachment Link)

So clean looking!    These are great looking caps, I am excited about all of these topre options coming out!

[Sed8op8]

mmmmm

(Attachment Link)

So clean looking!    These are great looking caps, I am excited about all of these topre options coming out!

I know I really love how clean these look. In trans i imagine it would be easier to see defects and I can't see these too well but they look great!

[dustinhxc]

Hey man glad to see you made a thread! Some have seen the photo I posted in the artisans thread of the purple and teal blanks. You are a toy makers that sounds amazing! Look forward to seeing more of your keycap work!

My kudosgodspeed Topre blanks!

[Kudos]

Hey guys! Kudos here. I wanted to give a quick sneak peak on an upcoming mini-sale that I am planning for the Topre fans out there. After a few weeks of tweaking out different colors, I’ve finally mixed some that I am satisfied with. I’ve always drooled over CMYK mods but hated the fact that I couldn’t have them on my Topre boards (aside from Novatouch sliders).

In the coming week (most likely Sunday July. 19th), I plan on releasing a few sets to the public. These are Beta versions as I am still deep in development. With the proceeds from this sale, I plan on investing in prototyping and production for the official release. Because these sets are early versions, I have a very limited supply.

These will be available for HHKB and Realforce format (Sorry Leopold). Yes, I’m aware that RF boards have a different left Control key. Rest assured, I have accounted for the different stem . For the beta version, I am including a free R4 keycap as a bonus for purchasing the set. I will also have limited supplies of WASD/Homing/Nav Clusters as add-ons.

If you are interested in purchasing or even curious to see what KeyKollectiv has in store in the future, please feel free to sign up for our official newsletter at:

http://eepurl.com/bh9p6v

Ordering and release information will be sent out via newsletter as well as posted online. Please understand that quantities are incredibly limited.

PS- If we have any prior arrangements for future launches, expect a set in the mail by next week

[byker]

Wow! The cmyk sets are looking good! Excited to see what is coming in the future.

[esoomenona]

.

[Sed8op8]

Oooooh oh my god kudos !!!! I so love your attitude and appreciate your dedication to putting something out that you stand behind. I have seen some of your updates where you have posted progress and I think to myself "Dammmmn those look NICE" and as I continue reading I find out they were not up to your standards   )

I must say I'm pretty excited about this and you have been in my thoughts more then once since I first saw the "I spilled my Drank " reddit release I can't wait to have a shot at some cmyw keykollectiv swag 

[trizkut]

These look great!  I'm glad you got your problems sorted out and are getting back into things 

[Kudos]

Oooooh oh my god kudos !!!! I so love your attitude and appreciate your dedication to putting something out that you stand behind. I have seen some of your updates where you have posted progress and I think to myself "Dammmmn those look NICE" and as I continue reading I find out they were not up to your standards   )

I must say I'm pretty excited about this and you have been in my thoughts more then once since I first saw the "I spilled my Drank " reddit release I can't wait to have a shot at some cmyw keykollectiv swag 

Thanks Sed! Your custom keys should be in by tomorrow. If not, by Monday at the latest. Depending on the sale, I'll be sending you, Dustin and BTC some review sets of the CMY mods shortly. Thanks!

[Sed8op8]

Oooooh oh my god kudos !!!! I so love your attitude and appreciate your dedication to putting something out that you stand behind. I have seen some of your updates where you have posted progress and I think to myself "Dammmmn those look NICE" and as I continue reading I find out they were not up to your standards   )

I must say I'm pretty excited about this and you have been in my thoughts more then once since I first saw the "I spilled my Drank " reddit release I can't wait to have a shot at some cmyw keykollectiv swag 

Thanks Sed! Your custom keys should be in by tomorrow. If not, by Monday at the latest. Depending on the sale, I'll be sending you, Dustin and BTC some review sets of the CMY mods shortly. Thanks!

Oooooh oh my god kudos !!!! I so love your attitude and appreciate your dedication to putting something out that you stand behind. I have seen some of your updates where you have posted progress and I think to myself "Dammmmn those look NICE" and as I continue reading I find out they were not up to your standards   )

I must say I'm pretty excited about this and you have been in my thoughts more then once since I first saw the "I spilled my Drank " reddit release I can't wait to have a shot at some cmyw keykollectiv swag 

Thanks Sed! Your custom keys should be in by tomorrow. If not, by Monday at the latest. Depending on the sale, I'll be sending you, Dustin and BTC some review sets of the CMY mods shortly. Thanks!

Wow so I got a surprise package today from none other then kudosgodspeed and I am really impressed with what I received.
So I received a 3 key cap set in what I've come to find out is a pretty freaking stellar orange named after me"Sed8'ed Orange" it's a really hard Orange to capture and I really love it. It's an almost creamy (cream sicle-ish) orange on top of a nice mellow gray. The first thing I noticed about these doubleshot blanks (besides the color) is the texture these caps are extremely polished with no discernible flaws or blemishes. The tops of the caps have a nice soft yet grippy texture on them that reminds me of the texture of the stock caps on my HHKB. The walls are very smooth.

Upon putting these on my HHKB and pushing down I was greeted with a nice pop,    yup you got it these caps lock in folks. The Topre caps I have found that that actually lock nice and securely are few and far between. No loose caps here this alone is enough to get my vote of approval (bravo kudos) . Another thing that really stood out to me was the shape and profile of the caps. The FN key was perfect the Esc keys were perfect. I snapped a few shots but typing on the board I could not tell the difference from the stock HHKB caps they feel that good .

This was my first experience with Kudos work and it has left me wanting more and excited to see what he comes out with next  !

Thanks kudos I LOVE THEM

[Kudos]

Oooooh oh my god kudos !!!! I so love your attitude and appreciate your dedication to putting something out that you stand behind. I have seen some of your updates where you have posted progress and I think to myself "Dammmmn those look NICE" and as I continue reading I find out they were not up to your standards   )

I must say I'm pretty excited about this and you have been in my thoughts more then once since I first saw the "I spilled my Drank " reddit release I can't wait to have a shot at some cmyw keykollectiv swag 

Thanks for posting these Sed. Ive spent way too much time trying to perfect the stem to "lock" properly. A lot of testing went into making sure that height and profiles matched properly. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to do in terms of maximizing thickness. What I sent you was beta keys and I'll keep you updated in terms of development.

I plan on sending you and a few others some sample CMYKeys Beta sets. Should I send in HHKB or RF format?
Thanks Sed! Your custom keys should be in by tomorrow. If not, by Monday at the latest. Depending on the sale, I'll be sending you, Dustin and BTC some review sets of the CMY mods shortly. Thanks!

Oooooh oh my god kudos !!!! I so love your attitude and appreciate your dedication to putting something out that you stand behind. I have seen some of your updates where you have posted progress and I think to myself "Dammmmn those look NICE" and as I continue reading I find out they were not up to your standards   )

I must say I'm pretty excited about this and you have been in my thoughts more then once since I first saw the "I spilled my Drank " reddit release I can't wait to have a shot at some cmyw keykollectiv swag 

Thanks Sed! Your custom keys should be in by tomorrow. If not, by Monday at the latest. Depending on the sale, I'll be sending you, Dustin and BTC some review sets of the CMY mods shortly. Thanks!

Wow so I got a surprise package today from none other then kudosgodspeed and I am really impressed with what I received.
So I received a 3 key cap set in what I've come to find out is a pretty freaking stellar orange named after me"Sed8'ed Orange" it's a really hard Orange to capture and I really love it. It's an almost creamy (cream sicle-ish) orange on top of a nice mellow gray. The first thing I noticed about these doubleshot blanks (besides the color) is the texture these caps are extremely polished with no discernible flaws or blemishes. The tops of the caps have a nice soft yet grippy texture on them that reminds me of the texture of the stock caps on my HHKB. The walls are very smooth.

Upon putting these on my HHKB and pushing down I was greeted with a nice pop,    yup you got it these caps lock in folks. The Topre caps I have found that that actually lock nice and securely are few and far between. No loose caps here this alone is enough to get my vote of approval (bravo kudos) . Another thing that really stood out to me was the shape and profile of the caps. The FN key was perfect the Esc keys were perfect. I snapped a few shots but typing on the board I could not tell the difference from the stock HHKB caps they feel that good .

This was my first experience with Kudos work and it has left me wanting more and excited to see what he comes out with next  !

Thanks kudos I LOVE THEM

[bocahgundul]

Oooooh oh my god kudos !!!! I so love your attitude and appreciate your dedication to putting something out that you stand behind. I have seen some of your updates where you have posted progress and I think to myself "Dammmmn those look NICE" and as I continue reading I find out they were not up to your standards   )

I must say I'm pretty excited about this and you have been in my thoughts more then once since I first saw the "I spilled my Drank " reddit release I can't wait to have a shot at some cmyw keykollectiv swag 

omg kudos i want to get my hands on one of that cmyk modifiers and btw nice job bro waiting to get my first topre and get yer cmyk modifier 

Thanks for posting these Sed. Ive spent way too much time trying to perfect the stem to "lock" properly. A lot of testing went into making sure that height and profiles matched properly. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to do in terms of maximizing thickness. What I sent you was beta keys and I'll keep you updated in terms of development.

I plan on sending you and a few others some sample CMYKeys Beta sets. Should I send in HHKB or RF format?
Thanks Sed! Your custom keys should be in by tomorrow. If not, by Monday at the latest. Depending on the sale, I'll be sending you, Dustin and BTC some review sets of the CMY mods shortly. Thanks!

Oooooh oh my god kudos !!!! I so love your attitude and appreciate your dedication to putting something out that you stand behind. I have seen some of your updates where you have posted progress and I think to myself "Dammmmn those look NICE" and as I continue reading I find out they were not up to your standards   )

I must say I'm pretty excited about this and you have been in my thoughts more then once since I first saw the "I spilled my Drank " reddit release I can't wait to have a shot at some cmyw keykollectiv swag 

Thanks Sed! Your custom keys should be in by tomorrow. If not, by Monday at the latest. Depending on the sale, I'll be sending you, Dustin and BTC some review sets of the CMY mods shortly. Thanks!

Wow so I got a surprise package today from none other then kudosgodspeed and I am really impressed with what I received.
So I received a 3 key cap set in what I've come to find out is a pretty freaking stellar orange named after me"Sed8'ed Orange" it's a really hard Orange to capture and I really love it. It's an almost creamy (cream sicle-ish) orange on top of a nice mellow gray. The first thing I noticed about these doubleshot blanks (besides the color) is the texture these caps are extremely polished with no discernible flaws or blemishes. The tops of the caps have a nice soft yet grippy texture on them that reminds me of the texture of the stock caps on my HHKB. The walls are very smooth.

Upon putting these on my HHKB and pushing down I was greeted with a nice pop,    yup you got it these caps lock in folks. The Topre caps I have found that that actually lock nice and securely are few and far between. No loose caps here this alone is enough to get my vote of approval (bravo kudos) . Another thing that really stood out to me was the shape and profile of the caps. The FN key was perfect the Esc keys were perfect. I snapped a few shots but typing on the board I could not tell the difference from the stock HHKB caps they feel that good .

This was my first experience with Kudos work and it has left me wanting more and excited to see what he comes out with next  !

Thanks kudos I LOVE THEM

[Kudos]

With CMYKeys Beta officially complete, KeyKollectiv contemplated our next move. Initially, we planned to have an accessory release to finish off the summer but the more we thought about it, the more it made sense to make use of the molds we worked so hard on.

With so many exciting Topre launches from the community, we wanted to go out with a bang. Koala-T and I deliberated on color palettes that we wanted to see on our keyboards. The result is a selection that we’re sure you will enjoy.



We’ve come quite a long way from our original betas. Along the way, we learned quite a bit about the resin casting process and applied new techniques to fine-tune our work. As every prototype was hand-sculpted, every failure set us back. But we persevered in our quest to attain the girthiest thock we could muster.



We understand now why there weren’t a whole lot of artisans making mods. It is tedious(read: hard as f@$&) to match colors, account for multiple layouts and even the smallest errors required recasting to complete the set. So here’s the plan: we will only take a very limited amount of orders. KeyKollectiv has set a limit to what we can realistically crank out. Each set will be “made to order”.

But enough banter, what colors will KeyKollectiv offer?! For now, we are planning the following: Triumphant Teal, Anniversary Blue, Bianchi Green, Shallow Mallow and Pink Elephant. A bonus color-way will be announced once we get closer to launch.
 
In all seriousness, Koala-T and I would love to thank the community for all the patience and support once again. While we iron out the final details, we will do our best to keep you guys updated. Please keep an eye out for official sale newsletter soon!

[joey]

Is the sale for all the mods, or a selection?

[madhias]

Great work so far! Bianchi Green sounds great, really interested in a set of those! Would like to have a Bianchi bicycle too, though Where will you post more information? In this thread?

[trenzafeeds]

I'd say I'm interested in a set of those mods. Any idea about pricing yet?

[Kudos]

I'd say I'm interested in a set of those mods. Any idea about pricing yet?

That's something we are still working on. I want to make it affordable and not ridiculous but we also spent a lot of time prototyping/molding. We are aiming for a $45-$55 price point for entire set of mods for each (HHKB, RF, 660C)

Great work so far! Bianchi Green sounds great, really interested in a set of those! Would like to have a Bianchi bicycle too, though Where will you post more information? In this thread?

I love my Bianchi bikes! I own a 2007 Vigorelli for street riding and a 2010 Impulso for training. Ordering information will most likely be posted first on the newsletter, followed by here and /r/mechmarket.

You can sign up for the newsletter at keykollectiv.com (under menu). Thanks for the interest

Is the sale for all the mods, or a selection?

The sets will cover all mod keys (Alt, Ctrl, Tab, Caps, BS, Enter, Shift, Win, Fn). Going to have sets for HHKB, RF and 660C

[trenzafeeds]

That's something we are still working on. I want to make it affordable and not ridiculous but we also spent a lot of time prototyping/molding. We are aiming for a $45-$55 price point for entire set of mods for each (HHKB, RF, 660C)

Considering the price of most custom topre keys, that's reaaallly cheap. That's really awesome!

[joey]

Is the sale for all the mods, or a selection?

The sets will cover all mod keys (Alt, Ctrl, Tab, Caps, BS, Enter, Shift, Win, Fn). Going to have sets for HHKB, RF and 660C

Sorry, what I meant was can we buy individual caps or do we have to buy the whole set?

I'd personally be interested in maybe buying a few, of different colours rather than a full set.

[Kudos]

Is the sale for all the mods, or a selection?

The sets will cover all mod keys (Alt, Ctrl, Tab, Caps, BS, Enter, Shift, Win, Fn). Going to have sets for HHKB, RF and 660C

Sorry, what I meant was can we buy individual caps or do we have to buy the whole set?

I'd personally be interested in maybe buying a few, of different colours rather than a full set.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Due to the way the molds are set up, I don't think it would make sense to sell individual caps. I will, however, open it up for multi-color sets. For example:

3Fn (Row4) + 1 (Row1) - Color1
Tabx2 + Capslock + Enter - Color2
Shift x2 (HHKB) - Color 3
Ctrlx2 + Altx2 - Color 4

+Bonus Nav/WASD cluster - Color 5

I hope that makes sense. I can explain further if need be 

[dustinhxc]

These are super nice looking and sounds like a great price. Stoked to see more of these! 

[joey]

Is the sale for all the mods, or a selection?

The sets will cover all mod keys (Alt, Ctrl, Tab, Caps, BS, Enter, Shift, Win, Fn). Going to have sets for HHKB, RF and 660C

Sorry, what I meant was can we buy individual caps or do we have to buy the whole set?

I'd personally be interested in maybe buying a few, of different colours rather than a full set.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Due to the way the molds are set up, I don't think it would make sense to sell individual caps. I will, however, open it up for multi-color sets. For example:

3Fn (Row4) + 1 (Row1) - Color1
Tabx2 + Capslock + Enter - Color2
Shift x2 (HHKB) - Color 3
Ctrlx2 + Altx2 - Color 4

+Bonus Nav/WASD cluster - Color 5

I hope that makes sense. I can explain further if need be 

Can you explain further? Didn't quite understand that.

It might be possible to order several colours.. but we still have to order a full set?

[Kudos]

Is the sale for all the mods, or a selection?

The sets will cover all mod keys (Alt, Ctrl, Tab, Caps, BS, Enter, Shift, Win, Fn). Going to have sets for HHKB, RF and 660C

Sorry, what I meant was can we buy individual caps or do we have to buy the whole set?

I'd personally be interested in maybe buying a few, of different colours rather than a full set.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Due to the way the molds are set up, I don't think it would make sense to sell individual caps. I will, however, open it up for multi-color sets. For example:

3Fn (Row4) + 1 (Row1) - Color1
Tabx2 + Capslock + Enter - Color2
Shift x2 (HHKB) - Color 3
Ctrlx2 + Altx2 - Color 4

+Bonus Nav/WASD cluster - Color 5

I hope that makes sense. I can explain further if need be 

Can you explain further? Didn't quite understand that.

It might be possible to order several colours.. but we still have to order a full set?

You can order partial sets but they will be in designated kits. For example:

Tabx2, Capslock, Enter, Backspace is a kit. So you would have to order 1 color for that kit. So, in practice, you can't order a green enter + purple tab + pink backspace.

But with this setup, you can order the kit mentioned above and also choose a Shift kit in a different color. You are not obligated to buy the entire set though I will incentivize doing so by offering better pricing and maybe a free gift with purchase. Hope that helps

[joey]

Thanks, I think I got it now! 

[sth]

these are looking mighty fine. lookin forward to the sale!

[bocahgundul]

where to buy this man love the caps i want to buy it for my future topre 

[btctopre]

I'd say I'm interested in a set of those mods. Any idea about pricing yet?

That's something we are still working on. I want to make it affordable and not ridiculous but we also spent a lot of time prototyping/molding. We are aiming for a $45-$55 price point for entire set of mods for each (HHKB, RF, 660C)

Should bump up higher for your sake imo. Base set is like 14 keys, so even if you did $70 for a set that would still only be $5 per key, which is very, very reasonable given the amount of time/money/resources you've invested into creating this. Yeah it's a barrier for some people, but it's a custom mod set for Topre, so it's to be expected

To give people an idea of what anniversary blue might look like, here's an older version that I have:


I imagine it's changed a little bit (this was pre-girth), but still a really stellar color.

And on another note- I'll probably be giving away a couple blue base/grey face (no space) blanks on Monday now that people are looking at this thread more, so be on the lookout if you want a chance to win 

[Kudos]

I'd say I'm interested in a set of those mods. Any idea about pricing yet?

That's something we are still working on. I want to make it affordable and not ridiculous but we also spent a lot of time prototyping/molding. We are aiming for a $45-$55 price point for entire set of mods for each (HHKB, RF, 660C)

Should bump up higher for your sake imo. Base set is like 14 keys, so even if you did $70 for a set that would still only be $5 per key, which is very, very reasonable given the amount of time/money/resources you've invested into creating this. Yeah it's a barrier for some people, but it's a custom mod set for Topre, so it's to be expected

To give people an idea of what anniversary blue might look like, here's an older version that I have:

Show Image

I imagine it's changed a little bit (this was pre-girth), but still a really stellar color.

And on another note- I'll probably be giving away a couple blue base/grey face (no space) blanks on Monday now that people are looking at this thread more, so be on the lookout if you want a chance to win  :thumb:

Thanks BTC. As you are the primary reason why Anniversary Blue is even available in this sale, the intention was to send over a set of the first production set. As you can see, I've stated that the color palettes are approximations of the inspired sets.

And frankly, I have you to thank. I remember you straight up telling me "don't be a ***** and JUST DO IT". "Quit worrying about the stupid stem or whether it snaps. You've got solid work. Just stop being a ***** and sell it".

Seriously bud. I owe you.

[CPTBadAss]

And frankly, I have you to thank. I remember you straight up telling me "don't be a ***** and JUST DO IT". "Quit worrying about the stupid stem or whether it snaps. You've got solid work. Just stop being a ***** and sell it".

Don't be a ***** and just do it.

If I have learned anything on Geekhack, it's this exact phrase.

[Kudos]

A few teaser photos of the incoming Mod kit buy:

Bianchi Celeste Green Mod Set with Leopold 660C PBT Alphas


Hyperfvck'd - Bianchi Celeste with Shallow Mallow - Inspired by the famous Hyperfuse color palette


Watermelon - RF Pink Printed Alphas with Bianchi Celeste Mod Set

[dan002]

So I'm glad I found this thread because the progress you've made and reported is very interesting. You mentioned that you work in a toy factory, do you make parts or assemble? Also, did it teach you some techniques for mixing colors for those great key caps?

[RoastPotatoes]

A few teaser photos of the incoming Mod kit buy:

Bianchi Celeste Green Mod Set with Leopold 660C PBT Alphas
(Attachment Link)

Hyperfvck'd - Bianchi Celeste with Shallow Mallow - Inspired by the famous Hyperfuse color palette
(Attachment Link)

Watermelon - RF Pink Printed Alphas with Bianchi Celeste Mod Set
(Attachment Link)

I really like those watermelon ones

[sth]

wow uh... think next time you might give us folks in the EU half a chance to order without being up in the middle of the night on sunday?

[madhias]

Over already? Grabbed a coffee, opened page, too late. Well, at least I saved some money

Mods should move this thread to the artisan board?

[btctopre]

More

quick giveaway (CONUS only):
first person to post a datestamped pic of their topre keyboard wins these blanks (two esc key profile, one tab profile):


the blanks are an older revision, but they are still ridiculously high quality. perfect profile and they snap-in like a standard stock keycap. the blue is slightly darker than the realforce anniversary blue, the grey was pretty much dead on with the darker DK/anniversary/chinese grey iirc.

will ship today via usps priority mail. you pay nothing 

[RoastPotatoes]

quick giveaway (CONUS only):
first person to post a datestamped pic of their topre keyboard wins these blanks (two esc key profile, one tab profile):

Show Image

the blanks are an older revision, but they are still ridiculously high quality. perfect profile and they snap-in like a standard stock keycap. the blue is slightly darker than the realforce anniversary blue, the grey was pretty much dead on with the darker DK/anniversary/chinese grey iirc.

will ship today via usps priority mail. you pay nothing  :thumb:

Edit: oh wait not conus. Sorry

[btctopre]

kudos plz change thread title to keykollectiv romper room so people don't think this is a running blog thread~

[Lurch]

i can has?

[btctopre]

i can has?

Show Image

you can has  ;D

[Lurch]

i can has?

Show Image

you can has  ;D

woohoo! should look rly nice with the darkness.

thanks much! these are going to be a hit!

[joey]

Lurch, you owe me a clack, yeah?

[Lurch]

Lurch, you owe me a clack, yeah?

i gave all of mine to jwaz, you should hit him up

[Kudos]

kudos plz change thread title to keykollectiv romper room so people don't think this is a running blog thread~

Thread's title has been changed. I'm sure people had no idea what they were even clicking on. Thanks bud

[Kudos]

Sale is Over

[sth]

thanks for running the buy in EU time i can't wait to see em in person.

[KatzenKinder]

How did I never see this thread until now ; - ;

You guys are really doing amazing stuff; the mods were super ambitious with the color matching, and you seem to have nailed it!

[Kudos]

thanks for running the buy in EU time i can't wait to see em in person.

No worries. Sorry if you were unable to get into Round 1 if you tried. Hopefully I'll be able to get through a bunch of orders this weekend so expect an invoice next week hopefully

How did I never see this thread until now ; - ;

You guys are really doing amazing stuff; the mods were super ambitious with the color matching, and you seem to have nailed it!

Thanks Katz. It's an honor coming from a skilled artisan such as yourself 

[Binge]

Surprised I haven't seen this thread with its huge thank you in the OP.  Honored to be mentioned.  You've gotten a lot of attention with your blanks

[CPTBadAss]

ya'll made lucky cat caps and I missed it?? ugh

[Kudos]

Surprised I haven't seen this thread with its huge thank you in the OP.  Honored to be mentioned.  You've gotten a lot of attention with your blanks

Binge, your guide/thread was the catalyst for me to start casting. I am truly in your debt. No matter how far I progress along the way, I am only standing on the shoulder of giants. Your most recent sale was crazy. Best of luck with your endeavors.

Once I'm at a point where I can actually call myself an artisan, I hope to work together on a project being that you're in the SoCal area 

[Kudos]

ya'll made lucky cat caps and I missed it?? ugh

No worries CPT, we are working on a V2 for MX/Topre soon. I'll be sure you get your hands on one 

[Kudos]

While I've been toiling away trying to crank out Topre Mod set orders, Koala-T's been putting the unused molds to good use. I figured I'd give a little sneak peak on what she's been working on. So far, just Topre but I'm putting together a MX mold for her as well. Not sure if she's going to sell but I'm really proud 

[byker]

While I've been toiling away trying to crank out Topre Mod set orders, Koala-T's been putting the unused molds to good use. I figured I'd give a little sneak peak on what she's been working on. So far, just Topre but I'm putting together a MX mold for her as well. Not sure if she's going to sell but I'm really proud 

(Attachment Link)

Damn those are sick! Let me know if they are ever available. 

[Kudos]

While I've been toiling away trying to crank out Topre Mod set orders, Koala-T's been putting the unused molds to good use. I figured I'd give a little sneak peak on what she's been working on. So far, just Topre but I'm putting together a MX mold for her as well. Not sure if she's going to sell but I'm really proud 

(Attachment Link)

Damn those are sick! Let me know if they are ever available. 

Thanks! I'll relay the message over. They take a while to get right so I'll see if she's up for it 

[linuxhermit]

I'm hoping you do more Topre mods I missed the first sale. But I got the paws and some beta topre keys

[Kudos]

I'm hoping you do more Topre mods I missed the first sale. But I got the paws and some beta topre keys

I've lost so much time/money on this sale so it's unlikely I'll do another run. I am, however, likely to end up with some extras so I'll be sure to post them up once I fulfill the rest of the orders.

[linuxhermit]

I'm so sorry to hear that

[Kudos]

Snackeys Series 1. Now in new flavors. Topre and MX. Coming soon!

[trizkut]

Snackeys Series 1. Now in new flavors. Topre and MX. Coming soon!

(Attachment Link)

Kiwi? Yum. 

[btctopre]

idk if this is even real but it needs to be converted into a snackey~

[Sifo]

idk if this is even real but it needs to be converted into a snackey~

Show Image

wtf yes

[Kudos]

idk if this is even real but it needs to be converted into a snackey~

Show Image

Quit doctoring pictures of blue figs :P. At some point, you have to ask yourself: Does BTC want you to do a blue fig because it looks cool or his keyboard is coincidentally blue as well  :rolleyes:

[btctopre]

idk if this is even real but it needs to be converted into a snackey~

Show Image

Quit doctoring pictures of blue figs :P. At some point, you have to ask yourself: Does BTC want you to do a blue fig because it looks cool or his keyboard is coincidentally blue as well  :rolleyes:

well, i've just taken a poll and 9/10 doctors agree that that picture isn't doctored (and the 10th doctor was ben carson), so it looks like, regardless of my reasoning, you kind of have to make the caps now

[Kudos]

idk if this is even real but it needs to be converted into a snackey~

Show Image

Quit doctoring pictures of blue figs :P. At some point, you have to ask yourself: Does BTC want you to do a blue fig because it looks cool or his keyboard is coincidentally blue as well  :rolleyes:

well, i've just taken a poll and 9/10 doctors agree that that picture isn't doctored (and the 10th doctor was ben carson), so it looks like, regardless of my reasoning, you kind of have to make the caps now

I guess you're right. I am obligated to do it now. BTW, I sent a package to you and it's showing that its undeliverable. Shoot me a PM with your info.

[Binge]

While I've been toiling away trying to crank out Topre Mod set orders, Koala-T's been putting the unused molds to good use. I figured I'd give a little sneak peak on what she's been working on. So far, just Topre but I'm putting together a MX mold for her as well. Not sure if she's going to sell but I'm really proud 

(Attachment Link)

I said it on reddit but I am very happy you are getting into encapsulation.  This was an option I've been toying with to increase the unique nature of keycaps, but never in this format of using seeds to mimic foods.  Great idea with very pure presentation.  Extremely glad this is happening with artisan caps.

[trizkut]

While I've been toiling away trying to crank out Topre Mod set orders, Koala-T's been putting the unused molds to good use. I figured I'd give a little sneak peak on what she's been working on. So far, just Topre but I'm putting together a MX mold for her as well. Not sure if she's going to sell but I'm really proud 

(Attachment Link)

I said it on reddit but I am very happy you are getting into encapsulation.  This was an option I've been toying with to increase the unique nature of keycaps, but never in this format of using seeds to mimic foods.  Great idea with very pure presentation.  Extremely glad this is happening with artisan caps.

Agreed.    Some of my favorite encasements in glass are of opals, I wonder if they could be encased in plastics as well to similar effect.

[Kudos]

While I've been toiling away trying to crank out Topre Mod set orders, Koala-T's been putting the unused molds to good use. I figured I'd give a little sneak peak on what she's been working on. So far, just Topre but I'm putting together a MX mold for her as well. Not sure if she's going to sell but I'm really proud 

(Attachment Link)

I said it on reddit but I am very happy you are getting into encapsulation.  This was an option I've been toying with to increase the unique nature of keycaps, but never in this format of using seeds to mimic foods.  Great idea with very pure presentation.  Extremely glad this is happening with artisan caps.

Thanks so much for the encouragement. We've been wanting to do encapsulation since we first started. Unfortunately, with the limited dimensions, a lot of our ideas were not feasible. The options out there put us dangerously close to the "Resin Jewelry" community (gaudy/tacky). And frankly, those people are weird.

[nmur]

Snackeys Series 1. Now in new flavors. Topre and MX. Coming soon!

(Attachment Link)

dude these are amazing, so juicy

if you could also somehow make a red/white one with seeds (strawberry) that would also be nice

[sth]

hot dog, sweet keys

[sth]

oh yeah - think you'll ever make other qwer/asdf row keys? I know you have the molds from the hhkb arrow set and im trying to fill my whole board up with blanks 

[DanielT]

These are awesome ! I hope I can get some when those will be available 

[tokidokijake]

amazing caps!

[dustinhxc]

Snackeys Series 1. Now in new flavors. Topre and MX. Coming soon!

(Attachment Link)

There are so sweet! Literally. Hehe

[Sed8op8]

Wow these are beautiful kudos and Koala

[ghostjuggernaut]

I have completely missed this thread. Caps look great. I'll be keeping an eye out for future sales.

[Kudos]

Snackeys Series 1. Now in new flavors. Topre and MX. Coming soon!

(Attachment Link)

dude these are amazing, so juicy

if you could also somehow make a red/white one with seeds (strawberry) that would also be nice

Haha. Funny you mentioned that. We are still working out Strawberry, Dragonfruit and many others. Be sure to check the thread for updates 

oh yeah - think you'll ever make other qwer/asdf row keys? I know you have the molds from the hhkb arrow set and im trying to fill my whole board up with blanks 

When I'm done with this sale, I'll compile and test all the extras. I'll keep you updated on what the final inventory would be. My office floor is literally covered with keycaps 

amazing caps!

Thanks bud. Keep an eye out for updates

Snackeys Series 1. Now in new flavors. Topre and MX. Coming soon!

(Attachment Link)

There are so sweet! Literally. Hehe

We're thinking of making this a staple to our lineup. Hence the "Series 1" in the name 

Wow these are beautiful kudos and Koala

You are too kind Sed! Lots of amazing stuff coming down the pipeline!

I have completely missed this thread. Caps look great. I'll be keeping an eye out for future sales.

Thanks for checking out the thread. All sales will be announced in the Artisan Services thread but you can get a head start by signing up for our newsletter 

[bcredbottle]

This might be an odd question but do you have any advice on thickening caps? I am trying to make master keys for Alps cap molds, but Alps caps tend to be thin. I've resorted to first pouring resin to thicken the "roof" of the cap, then applying a million layers of liquid green stuff to thicken the sidewalls.

[Kudos]

This might be an odd question but do you have any advice on thickening caps? I am trying to make master keys for Alps cap molds, but Alps caps tend to be thin. I've resorted to first pouring resin to thicken the "roof" of the cap, then applying a million layers of liquid green stuff to thicken the sidewalls.

Hey there! I've done the resin pour for the "roof" and have had mixed results. In terms of the walls, it's a tough one. There's simply no easy way to do it. I've had some luck with epoxy and a nice set of dental tools. Don't be afraid to utilize ample lighting and maybe a magnifying apparatus. You can always take a Drexel to sand out the inside if you've got good hand control. Good luck!

[trizkut]

I did, however, have to dremel the stem of the left shift a fair bit to get it to fit and stop sticking.

[Kudos]

Show Image

I did, however, have to dremel the stem of the left shift a fair bit to get it to fit and stop sticking.

These look great with the pink. Never thought the teal would go that well with it. Pink RF blanks!!!!  :eek:

[Kudos]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time )

[byker]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time ) (Attachment Link)

Wow, great job! They look amazing for one of your first tries. 

[Kudos]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time ) (Attachment Link)

Wow, great job! They look amazing for one of your first tries. 

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I can't take full credit as Binge has been giving me advice along the way

[Sed8op8]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time ) (Attachment Link)

dayyyyuuummm

[Kudos]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time ) (Attachment Link)

dayyyyuuummm

A landmark for me is a set for Bromono. Jerk wouldn't even let me keep them

[Bromono]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time ) (Attachment Link)

dayyyyuuummm

A landmark for me is a set for Bromono. Jerk wouldn't even let me keep them

 

[mobbo]

These caps are incredible. Not a huge fan of a lot of the robo/skull artisans out there but I am really digging the snack caps!

[bcredbottle]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time ) (Attachment Link)

Did you have some method for timing the pours or was it just trial-and-error?

[dan002]

How about a toothpaste look? You know with the sparkle and the layers of white and blue. 
How about Sailor Moon?

[ApocalypseMaow]

Boy, have I been missing out!!!

I saw those watermelon ones a minute ago... I just want to eat them!!!

[Kudos]

Hey guys,

It's certainly been a while since our last update. I figured this would be a good chance to update everyone on what we are currently working on for our next project. For those who aren't signed up for the the newsletter, here's what you missed out on:

As we bid farewell to SnacKeys, Koala-T and I have been experimenting with new methods. The end result is this little critter. A culmination of everything we've learned along the way. We took aspects of every KeyKollectiv release we've had thus far and poured it into this project. Color matching from our Topre modifier keys. Encapsulation from SnacKeys.

We married Koala-T's love for all things adorable and my fascination with the macabre to create Furt. Of course, this photo is just a proof of concept. There are still many details that need to be ironed out and we are nowhere near production. Koala-T tried to convince me to wait before I teased it but I couldn't wait.

But that's not all. KeyKollectiv has already finished prototyping for our next 3 releases so if Furt isn't your cup of tea, we're sure one of them will. Please look forward to an announcement and release in the coming weeks!

[bcredbottle]

Hey guys,

It's certainly been a while since our last update. I figured this would be a good chance to update everyone on what we are currently working on for our next project. For those who aren't signed up for the the newsletter, here's what you missed out on:

As we bid farewell to SnacKeys, Koala-T and I have been experimenting with new methods. The end result is this little critter. A culmination of everything we've learned along the way. We took aspects of every KeyKollectiv release we've had thus far and poured it into this project. Color matching from our Topre modifier keys. Encapsulation from SnacKeys.

We married Koala-T's love for all things adorable and my fascination with the macabre to create Furt. Of course, this photo is just a proof of concept. There are still many details that need to be ironed out and we are nowhere near production. Koala-T tried to convince me to wait before I teased it but I couldn't wait.

But that's not all. KeyKollectiv has already finished prototyping for our next 3 releases so if Furt isn't your cup of tea, we're sure one of them will. Please look forward to an announcement and release in the coming weeks!

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Sick. Epoxy exterior?

[Kudos]

Hey guys,

It's certainly been a while since our last update. I figured this would be a good chance to update everyone on what we are currently working on for our next project. For those who aren't signed up for the the newsletter, here's what you missed out on:

As we bid farewell to SnacKeys, Koala-T and I have been experimenting with new methods. The end result is this little critter. A culmination of everything we've learned along the way. We took aspects of every KeyKollectiv release we've had thus far and poured it into this project. Color matching from our Topre modifier keys. Encapsulation from SnacKeys.

We married Koala-T's love for all things adorable and my fascination with the macabre to create Furt. Of course, this photo is just a proof of concept. There are still many details that need to be ironed out and we are nowhere near production. Koala-T tried to convince me to wait before I teased it but I couldn't wait.

But that's not all. KeyKollectiv has already finished prototyping for our next 3 releases so if Furt isn't your cup of tea, we're sure one of them will. Please look forward to an announcement and release in the coming weeks!

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Sick. Epoxy exterior?

Nope. PU for both.

[mobbo]

Oh my lord. What the HELL is that backlit picture?!

Perfect balance between creepy and cute.

LOVE LIVE FURT.   

[raymogi]

Me likey so much.

[ApocalypseMaow]

How tute!!!

[bcredbottle]

Hey guys,

It's certainly been a while since our last update. I figured this would be a good chance to update everyone on what we are currently working on for our next project. For those who aren't signed up for the the newsletter, here's what you missed out on:

As we bid farewell to SnacKeys, Koala-T and I have been experimenting with new methods. The end result is this little critter. A culmination of everything we've learned along the way. We took aspects of every KeyKollectiv release we've had thus far and poured it into this project. Color matching from our Topre modifier keys. Encapsulation from SnacKeys.

We married Koala-T's love for all things adorable and my fascination with the macabre to create Furt. Of course, this photo is just a proof of concept. There are still many details that need to be ironed out and we are nowhere near production. Koala-T tried to convince me to wait before I teased it but I couldn't wait.

But that's not all. KeyKollectiv has already finished prototyping for our next 3 releases so if Furt isn't your cup of tea, we're sure one of them will. Please look forward to an announcement and release in the coming weeks!

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Sick. Epoxy exterior?

Nope. PU for both.

Holy ****. I hope when enough time has passed you'd be willing to give a bit of insight into this technique. Honestly I don't know of any other artisan that's taken embedment to the level that you have.

[Kudos]

Hey guys,

It's certainly been a while since our last update. I figured this would be a good chance to update everyone on what we are currently working on for our next project. For those who aren't signed up for the the newsletter, here's what you missed out on:

As we bid farewell to SnacKeys, Koala-T and I have been experimenting with new methods. The end result is this little critter. A culmination of everything we've learned along the way. We took aspects of every KeyKollectiv release we've had thus far and poured it into this project. Color matching from our Topre modifier keys. Encapsulation from SnacKeys.

We married Koala-T's love for all things adorable and my fascination with the macabre to create Furt. Of course, this photo is just a proof of concept. There are still many details that need to be ironed out and we are nowhere near production. Koala-T tried to convince me to wait before I teased it but I couldn't wait.

But that's not all. KeyKollectiv has already finished prototyping for our next 3 releases so if Furt isn't your cup of tea, we're sure one of them will. Please look forward to an announcement and release in the coming weeks!

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Sick. Epoxy exterior?

Nope. PU for both.

Holy ****. I hope when enough time has passed you'd be willing to give a bit of insight into this technique. Honestly I don't know of any other artisan that's taken embedment to the level that you have.

Thank you for the encouragement. I'll be happy to share my findings once I'm able to refine the technique to be more reliable. As it stands, timing is the biggest hurdle. The process is surprisingly temperamental as A deviation of 30 minutes can make or break the end result.

[bcredbottle]

Hey guys,

It's certainly been a while since our last update. I figured this would be a good chance to update everyone on what we are currently working on for our next project. For those who aren't signed up for the the newsletter, here's what you missed out on:

As we bid farewell to SnacKeys, Koala-T and I have been experimenting with new methods. The end result is this little critter. A culmination of everything we've learned along the way. We took aspects of every KeyKollectiv release we've had thus far and poured it into this project. Color matching from our Topre modifier keys. Encapsulation from SnacKeys.

We married Koala-T's love for all things adorable and my fascination with the macabre to create Furt. Of course, this photo is just a proof of concept. There are still many details that need to be ironed out and we are nowhere near production. Koala-T tried to convince me to wait before I teased it but I couldn't wait.

But that's not all. KeyKollectiv has already finished prototyping for our next 3 releases so if Furt isn't your cup of tea, we're sure one of them will. Please look forward to an announcement and release in the coming weeks!

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Sick. Epoxy exterior?

Nope. PU for both.

Holy ****. I hope when enough time has passed you'd be willing to give a bit of insight into this technique. Honestly I don't know of any other artisan that's taken embedment to the level that you have.

Thank you for the encouragement. I'll be happy to share my findings once I'm able to refine the technique to be more reliable. As it stands, timing is the biggest hurdle. The process is surprisingly temperamental as A deviation of 30 minutes can make or break the end result.

Looking forward to it. You've definitely piqued my interest.

[trenzafeeds]

Wow, that new cap looks so adorable, but also a bit creepy 

[ccarlitos2]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time ) (Attachment Link)

Hey guys,

It's certainly been a while since our last update. I figured this would be a good chance to update everyone on what we are currently working on for our next project. For those who aren't signed up for the the newsletter, here's what you missed out on:

As we bid farewell to SnacKeys, Koala-T and I have been experimenting with new methods. The end result is this little critter. A culmination of everything we've learned along the way. We took aspects of every KeyKollectiv release we've had thus far and poured it into this project. Color matching from our Topre modifier keys. Encapsulation from SnacKeys.

We married Koala-T's love for all things adorable and my fascination with the macabre to create Furt. Of course, this photo is just a proof of concept. There are still many details that need to be ironed out and we are nowhere near production. Koala-T tried to convince me to wait before I teased it but I couldn't wait.

But that's not all. KeyKollectiv has already finished prototyping for our next 3 releases so if Furt isn't your cup of tea, we're sure one of them will. Please look forward to an announcement and release in the coming weeks!

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Bruh.. between furt and the triple shot fantastic work as usual.. those are beautiful. are the triple shots gonna be part of the next sale?

[Kudos]

Oh my lord. What the HELL is that backlit picture?!

Perfect balance between creepy and cute.

LOVE LIVE FURT.

Don't say uncle kudos never gave ya nothing

[CPTBadAss]

Oh my lord. What the HELL is that backlit picture?!

Perfect balance between creepy and cute.

LOVE LIVE FURT.

Don't say uncle kudos never gave ya nothing

Show Image

I don't think there's enough fire emoji's to inform readers how lit this is.

[ccarlitos2]

Oh my lord. What the HELL is that backlit picture?!

Perfect balance between creepy and cute.

LOVE LIVE FURT.

Don't say uncle kudos never gave ya nothing

Show Image

I don't think there's enough fire emoji's to inform readers how lit this is.

[Bromono]

Triple shot blanks are harder than I thought. Thanks to Binge for imparting his wisdom. <3<3<3. (Yes, I know, I need to clean the dust off before I shoot next time ) (Attachment Link)

Dis still da MVP

[mobbo]

Oh my lord. What the HELL is that backlit picture?!

Perfect balance between creepy and cute.

LOVE LIVE FURT.

Don't say uncle kudos never gave ya nothing

Show Image

GUYS IM DONE WITH KEYBOARDS. TAKE MY TICKET. I'M COLLECTING HAND DRAWN ART NOW. THANK YOU UNCLE KUDOS <3


I already sent you a very sappy message on reddit, but thank you, thank you, thank you! I absolutely love it.

[Kudos]

I ain't done! Happy early Christmas CPT

[CPTBadAss]

I ain't done! Happy early Christmas CPT

Show Image

I just went 6 to midnight. All hail kudos <3

[trenzafeeds]

plz bby.

[Kudos]

Killing time while at work. Also wanted to test my new tablet.



Watch a quick time lapse of the process 
Not a valid vimeo URL

[dgneo]

Killing time while at work. Also wanted to test my new tablet.

(Attachment Link)

Watch a quick time lapse of the process 
Not a valid vimeo URL

This is ****ing awesome! Thanks for the timelapse, love seeing a behind the scenes look at art.

What kind of tablet did you get?

[Kudos]

Killing time while at work. Also wanted to test my new tablet.

(Attachment Link)

Watch a quick time lapse of the process 
Not a valid vimeo URL

This is ****ing awesome! Thanks for the timelapse, love seeing a behind the scenes look at art.

What kind of tablet did you get?

It's an iPad Pro with Apple pencil. App is Procreate. I was skeptical at first but it's as accurate and responsive as my Cintiq Companion 2. Thanks!

[suicidal_orange]

Nice toy put to good use - that's a lot of detail for a little avatar )

[Kudos]

Nice toy put to good use - that's a lot of detail for a little avatar )

Haha thanks. If your username wasn't so damn long, I'd make you one in Orange

[ccarlitos2]

Killing time while at work. Also wanted to test my new tablet.

(Attachment Link)

Watch a quick time lapse of the process 
Not a valid vimeo URL

This is so awesome!!! How do you like the Ipad pro?

[suicidal_orange]

Nice toy put to good use - that's a lot of detail for a little avatar )

Haha thanks. If your username wasn't so damn long, I'd make you one in Orange

Several people across multiple forums have offered to make me an avatar depicting a fruit with a death wish and one was even going to do a comic strip - none of them delivered!  At least you didn't string me along )

[Kudos]

Nice toy put to good use - that's a lot of detail for a little avatar )

Haha thanks. If your username wasn't so damn long, I'd make you one in Orange

Several people across multiple forums have offered to make me an avatar depicting a fruit with a death wish and one was even going to do a comic strip - none of them delivered!  At least you didn't string me along )

[suicidal_orange]

Nice toy put to good use - that's a lot of detail for a little avatar )

Haha thanks. If your username wasn't so damn long, I'd make you one in Orange

Several people across multiple forums have offered to make me an avatar depicting a fruit with a death wish and one was even going to do a comic strip - none of them delivered!  At least you didn't string me along )

(Attachment Link)

Haha!  It would be a challenge but I don't think it's worth the effort as it would be so small.  On other forums I was keen as nothing relevant was a suitable representation of me, but a sloth with headphones is pretty close and it's orange!

Thanks for the thought though

[dohbot]

Nice toy put to good use - that's a lot of detail for a little avatar )

Haha thanks. If your username wasn't so damn long, I'd make you one in Orange

Several people across multiple forums have offered to make me an avatar depicting a fruit with a death wish and one was even going to do a comic strip - none of them delivered!  At least you didn't string me along )

(Attachment Link)

Haha!  It would be a challenge but I don't think it's worth the effort as it would be so small.  On other forums I was keen as nothing relevant was a suitable representation of me, but a sloth with headphones is pretty close and it's orange!

Thanks for the thought though

By the way how did you crop yours?

[Kudos]

Leave it to me to turn a perfectly cute keycap into something creepy. More details to come next week 

[Hexterdude]

Leave it to me to turn a perfectly cute keycap into something creepy. More details to come next week 

(Attachment Link)
[/quote

My body is ready

[DAVYtm]

Leave it to me to turn a perfectly cute keycap into something creepy. More details to come next week 

(Attachment Link)

*F5*

[Kudos]

Leave it to me to turn a perfectly cute keycap into something creepy. More details to come next week 

(Attachment Link)

*F5*

I better hurry so you're not doing that for too long! 

[Zapheo]

Getting this in the mail made my week.

[DAVYtm]

Leave it to me to turn a perfectly cute keycap into something creepy. More details to come next week 

(Attachment Link)

*F5*

I better hurry so you're not doing that for too long! 

I got my black PurrKey and Chocolate Mint MeowCap last night, I'll be satisfied for a bit. My girlfriend loved them by the way! To quote, "These are the first caps you've bought I actually like, why don't you get more cat ones?"

[Kudos]

Show Image

Getting this in the mail made my week.

Glad you got them so quickly. Stoked that they are in a good home  ;D

Leave it to me to turn a perfectly cute keycap into something creepy. More details to come next week  :thumb:

(Attachment Link)

*F5*

I better hurry so you're not doing that for too long!  :'(

I got my black PurrKey and Chocolate Mint MeowCap last night, I'll be satisfied for a bit. My girlfriend loved them by the way! To quote, "These are the first caps you've bought I actually like, why don't you get more cat ones?"

Got to thank Koala-T for that one. She's got an eye for cute stuff. I'm just here to crank out caps  :thumb:

[eat_the_food]

Leave it to me to turn a perfectly cute keycap into something creepy. More details to come next week 

(Attachment Link)

Loving this "embedded" thing you two have going on.  Cant wait to see this little guys skin/shell/pod 

[ccarlitos2]

Leave it to me to turn a perfectly cute keycap into something creepy. More details to come next week 

(Attachment Link)
[/quote

Furt 2.0?? or something else? Whatever it is im probably gonna like it...  so uhhh can I has?

[Zapheo]

Show Image

Getting this in the mail made my week.

Glad you got them so quickly. Stoked that they are in a good home  ;D

Can't wait to see what else you have in store for us!