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geekhack Marketplace => Group Buys and Preorders => Topic started by: Piperaceae on Wed, 30 April 2025, 14:52:48

Title: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Extras now at SPKeyboards!
Post by: Piperaceae on Wed, 30 April 2025, 14:52:48
(https://i.imgur.com/yf3vM2u.jpeg)
SA A History of Violets


Vendors
US - Extras at SPKeyboards (https://spkeyboards.com/products/sa-history-of-violets)
EU - Presale at CoffeeKeys (Sold out) (https://coffeekeys.eu/en-us/products/preorder-sa-a-history-of-violets-eng?_pos=1&_sid=9e94889d7&_ss=r)
UK - Extras at ProtoTypist (https://prototypist.net/products/in-stock-sa-a-history-of-violets-keycaps)
US - Interrobang at Saber Keebs (https://saberkeebs.com/products/sa-history-of-violets-interrobang)



Inspiration
Violets came about out of a desire to recreate the bygone era of the early and mid-2010s; a period of the hobby I missed out on, when sets came with amazingly flexible and extensive coverage, offered through a large number of specialized kits.

(https://i.imgur.com/ZpHtJev.jpeg)

I've tried to recreate the look of early SA sets, with retro full-word legends, the formerly ubiquitous lotus icon dating all the way back to SA Commando 23, and layout options rarely seen in post-pandemic era. Colemak and Dvorak support, ergo modifiers, and macro columns are all available; alongside retro terminal legends, NorDe coverage, and vivid purple cadet alphas.

I pitched this design with no fewer than a dozen extremely niche kits, and I'm happy and grateful that such a large number of those survived the interest check phase, and are now available for purchase as a part of this run.

Additionally, switchbox.studio (https://switchbox.studio) has contributed a new violet novelty, designed to match the look of the vintage lotus flower.


Colors and Materials
Doubleshot ABS, in Signature Plastics stock colors
RDR Purple
REC Dark Purple
WCK Cream

(https://i.imgur.com/WzgHscE.jpeg) (https://i.imgur.com/qKVraWq.jpeg)
Colors in indirect and direct sunlight


Dates
Now! Presale beginning May 1, 2025
Shipping approximately 8-12 weeks later (barring unforeseen circumstances)


Pricing (USD though SPKeyboards)
Base: $145
Extension and Macros: $27
Numpad and Numerals: $28
40% and Ortho: $36
Violet and Lotus Novelties: $35
NorDe: $22
Cream Alert: $23
Typist: $31
Ergo Mods: $54
Vim/Emacs: $50 (SPKeyboards exclusive)
Monokit Bundle: $212


Kitting
SP is offering this both as individual kits for more flexible customization, or a giant monokit bundle containing a mix of keys from multiple kits.


Monokit Bundle
(https://i.imgur.com/rb8XqxU.jpeg)
A "greatest hits" collection combining multiple individual kits for convenience. Includes UK ISO, Cream Alert row, Alice split bars, improved 40% coverage versus the standalone base, some novelties, numpad and cadet numerals, and a selection of minibars.

Individual Kitting Base
(https://i.imgur.com/MJgvJgS.jpeg)
Includes UK ISO, split Alice bars, and basic 40% support.

Extension with Macro Columns
(https://i.imgur.com/v6iJVeb.jpeg)
Includes cadet pointer novelties, HHKB support, and macro columns.

Numpad and Numerals
(https://i.imgur.com/hEhFuvB.jpeg)
Includes 108-key coverage via cadet numeral keys.

40% and Ortho
(https://i.imgur.com/XS8QaMC.jpeg)
All bars are convex (as are the larger bars included in other kits.)

Violet and Lotus Novelties
(https://i.imgur.com/rMkOxfx.jpeg)
Switchbox.studios violet novelty, and classic lotus flower novelty, in various rows and sizes.

NorDe
(https://i.imgur.com/8ISUVIH.jpeg)
Note that the row 1 keys are purple, and so won't match with either the monokit or the Cream Alert accent kit.

Typist (Colemak and Dvorak)
(https://i.imgur.com/maeOHVd.jpeg)

Ergo Modifiers
(https://i.imgur.com/n3xFuBW.jpeg)
Featuring weird, retro terminal legends from the SP archives.

Cream Alert Accent Row
(https://i.imgur.com/aXnzOn2.jpeg)
One concession to the 2020's - the mandatory accent numrow.

Limited Edition Vim/Emacs
(https://i.imgur.com/NYCKoOL.jpeg)
Adds the Vim keys from the IC, along with Emacs keys and a few other keys to expand the Typist kit's coverage.


Additional Board Renders
More
(https://i.imgur.com/pjRsgTM.jpeg)

(https://i.imgur.com/55V0I77.jpeg)

(https://i.imgur.com/4thjccW.jpeg)

(https://i.imgur.com/GEOd6uE.jpeg)


Thanks
Switchbox.studio for the Violet novelty design; MadMax13, Mori, and all of the denizens of the Keyboard Designers Forum Discord; the folks from the SPKeyboards Keycap Design Ideas channel; Dvorcol for help fixing the Typist kit; Will and Melissa at Signature Plastics; Francesco at CoffeeKeys; PotatoWire for the Vim molds; BodyOrgan for making the Vim/Emacs kit happen; and everyone else who helped with feedback on this over these past six months.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: mr_foggy on Thu, 01 May 2025, 03:21:05
ahhh I love me some good SA profile. excellent color choice as well.
will consider the basekit (and one child kit or two given the reasonable pricing on those)
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: Piperaceae on Thu, 01 May 2025, 05:23:40
Thank you! Links should be live later today, at least for SPKeyboards. I know it's a holiday for much of the world outside the US, but hopefully CoffeeKeys will go up today as well.

SP usually launches stuff around 11am or 12pm US Eastern time.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: rowie on Thu, 01 May 2025, 07:43:10
Wonder if there will be any matching deskmats and metal artisans. Would very much love a deskmat at the very least as I’d have a hard time finding one to match this set. Love this set though.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: Piperaceae on Thu, 01 May 2025, 08:12:12
I'd certainly be open to it. I'm still kind of new to this, and have never done a collab before so I'm not sure what's needed from my end. SP has done deskmats for a couple recent sets, but I haven't heard anything about one for Violets.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: Piperaceae on Thu, 01 May 2025, 09:37:02
SPKeyboards listing is live!

https://spkeyboards.com/collections/new-releases/products/sa-history-of-violets

I'll update CoffeeKeys when they're ready.

Looks like SP has the monokit bundle after all! Updated the thread to reflect that. Don't be thrown by the initial price shown, because it is for the big bundled monokit. The individual kits, including the regular base, are displayed after it.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: NoPunIn10Did on Thu, 01 May 2025, 11:55:50
Great kitting on this. Hopefully having both the standard TKL base plus the monokit won't cause split MOQ problems; overall though I think this is really well-done.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: Piperaceae on Thu, 01 May 2025, 12:08:27
Thank you! The two forms of kitting are a result of SP themselves wanting to offer it both ways; this seems to be their model for the time being. (Macrodata Refinement R2 is a monokit, but R3 is supposed to have individual kits.) If this does wind up being a successful strategy, I expect they'll keep it, and if not then we may not see it again.

I get the idea behind it - especially for people who are new to custom boards; the monokit will likely cover everything, and be less confusing than picking and choosing from among nine other kits. But it is A Lot of Keycap™!
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: Piperaceae on Thu, 01 May 2025, 15:29:18
A couple small things have been brought to my attention. The base render shows "Alt Graph" while the monokit has "Alt" on the right Alt key. "Alt" is the correct legend; the base and monokit should match. I'm asking SP to fix that.

There are also two keys missing from the Typist kit (quote and D); I'm submitting a fixed render to include those.

Once SP posts the new renders, I'll fix them here as well.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: Piperaceae on Fri, 02 May 2025, 11:07:02
Typist kit has been fixed to re-add the two missing keys from earlier renders. Individual base kit render's right Alt has been fixed to the correct "Alt," matching the monokit. Renders on SP's site and here are up-to-date now.

Also, CoffeeKeys is live now!

https://coffeekeys.eu/en-us/products/preorder-sa-a-history-of-violets-eng?_pos=1&_sid=9e94889d7&_ss=r
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | CoffeeKeys is live; Typist Kit Fixed!
Post by: konstantin on Fri, 02 May 2025, 14:32:24
Lovely set. GLWGB! I hope the monokit reaches MOQ despite the high price tag.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | CoffeeKeys is live; Typist Kit Fixed!
Post by: Piperaceae on Wed, 07 May 2025, 12:47:44
Quote from: konstantin on Fri, 02 May 2025, 14:32:24
Lovely set. GLWGB! I hope the monokit reaches MOQ despite the high price tag.

Thanks, I hope so too! I'd love to see more extensive kitting like this be offered on the regular again.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | ProtoTypist now live!
Post by: Piperaceae on Thu, 08 May 2025, 15:22:21
ProtoTypist's page is now up!

https://prototypist.net/products/pre-order-sa-a-history-of-violets
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | ProtoTypist now live!
Post by: aumz.work on Fri, 09 May 2025, 20:28:10
Monokit Bundle is look gorgeous
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Bonus Vim and Emacs kit added!
Post by: Piperaceae on Wed, 14 May 2025, 16:00:29
We have a late addition to the set! Thanks to the work of a dedicated superfan who helped fund this kit with his own money, the Vim keys (courtesy of PotatoWire) from the IC are now available, along with Emacs keys, and a handful of other keys to expand the Typist kit's coverage. The Vim kit had been dropped during the IC phase, so having it resurrected is a small miracle.

This is a very small run, and only available through SPKeyboards:
https://spkeyboards.com/collections/new-releases/products/sa-history-of-violets?variant=50035008962838
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Bonus Vim and Emacs kit added!
Post by: BodyOrgan on Wed, 14 May 2025, 23:53:44
Quote from: Piperaceae on Wed, 14 May 2025, 16:00:29
We have a late addition to the set! Thanks to the work of a dedicated superfan who helped fund this kit with his own money, the Vim keys (courtesy of PotatoWire) from the IC are now available, along with Emacs keys, and a handful of other keys to expand the Typist kit's coverage. The Vim kit had been dropped during the IC phase, so having it resurrected is a small miracle.

This is a very small run, and only available through SPKeyboards:
https://spkeyboards.com/collections/new-releases/products/sa-history-of-violets?variant=50035008962838

I'd be that super fan. With "A History of Violets" being one of the few sets getting a Typist (Colevrak+) kit these days, I wanted to make sure it also got a solid Vim key (HJKL) option that not only works for normies (QWERTY), but alt layout typists as well. This is an extremely small MOQ (14 sets) of which I'm subsidizing every set sold to get the price as low as it is, so if you're a Vim (Vi IMproved) fan, but especially if you're an alt layout user don't miss this chance because I'm not aware of a single other sculpted set to ever offer Vim keys for alt layouts.

For those wondering, the Emacs keys are there for fans who might be using that text editor with the EViL (Extensible Vi Layer) package which provides it with Vim like modal editing and motions. Not to mention since the set is purple it just kind of goes along with the Emacs logo.

See the following images for supported layouts (thanks dvorcol):
More
[attach=1]

[attach=2]

[attach=3]

[attach=5]

[attach=4]

[attach=6]

[attach=7]

[attach=8]


Don't know what Vim or Emacs are? Some meme videos to get started:
More
Two Simple Steps to go from IDE to Vim

Learn Vim in Less than 2 Minutes


Just some user who wanted to take notes. I've timestamped it (12:32) to Emacs and Vim, but I highly recommend anyone watch the whole video for entertainment purposes.
Simple, Non-Commercial, Open Source Notes


Okay, a real introduction, and why you might want to be using Vim:
More
Vim As Your Editor - Introduction

Why I use Vim in 2022


I can whole heartedly recommend Vim - the best text editor known to man, Emacs - the best operating system only lacking a good text editor, or both.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Bonus Vim and Emacs kit added!
Post by: kennnyshiwa on Mon, 23 June 2025, 10:48:00
The more I look at this the better it gets, saw it rendered on a purple board and it sold me on it, looking forward to getting a copy of this!
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Bonus Vim and Emacs kit added!
Post by: Piperaceae on Sun, 27 July 2025, 07:48:48
This set should be shipping soon! I think the July target date will slip to August, but I haven't heard anything about dramatic delays, and expect extras to be available from vendors next month.

(https://i.imgur.com/9bMJTFb.jpeg)

(https://i.imgur.com/e0ZTTSj.jpeg)

(https://i.imgur.com/rx2Jow6.jpeg)
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Shipping Mid-August!
Post by: Piperaceae on Fri, 01 August 2025, 13:29:13
SP has confirmed this will be shipping in about two weeks.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Shipping delayed due to resin shortage
Post by: Piperaceae on Tue, 19 August 2025, 13:09:27
Violets shipping is delayed; SP ran out of the lighter purple used for the alphas. Melissa is trying to expedite delivery of more resin, but there will be a delay until that arrives. They're going to update the product page shortly.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Final collating taking place!
Post by: Piperaceae on Wed, 10 September 2025, 13:50:23
Great news! The resin came in, the final collating is taking place, and shipping should commence in a couple days.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Shipping begins Sept 15!
Post by: Piperaceae on Sun, 14 September 2025, 17:18:15
Shipping begins tomorrow (Monday September 15th)! It usually takes a week for anything from SP to reach me, so it'll be a while before I can inspect everything. The Vim/Emacs/Extended Colevrak kit was a private commission, so I won't receive one of those to check out, but I will be able to look over everything else.

Not sure if there will be any extras or not; SP removed the listing from their site, which often means no extras will be available. But I don't know if it will maybe be relisted later, nor do I know about Proto and CoffeeKeys's plans.

Saber Keebs and I are going to be offering a very limited number of SA row 3 interrobang keys in the Violets alpha colors, as a final salute to the most ostentatious SA set of the decade. (Going out with an (interro)bang?) The invoice has been paid, and Melissa said production should be very quick, considering it's a single key. Those will be listed on Saber's site when they arrive.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Shipping begins Sept 15!
Post by: bkrownd on Wed, 17 September 2025, 20:47:15

Thanks for the updates - I haven't been paying much attention here since the keeb world went to heck a couple years ago.  The last keycap set I bought before SA Violets was SA Dasher Nights last year.  ;) 
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: jac on Fri, 19 September 2025, 12:57:52
Quote from: Piperaceae on Thu, 01 May 2025, 15:29:18
A couple small things have been brought to my attention. The base render shows "Alt Graph" while the monokit has "Alt" on the right Alt key. "Alt" is the correct legend; the base and monokit should match. I'm asking SP to fix that.

There are also two keys missing from the Typist kit (quote and D); I'm submitting a fixed render to include those.

Once SP posts the new renders, I'll fix them here as well.

bad news, my keycaps from SP just arrived sans quote and D, and _with_ "alt graph" haha. Anybody else get theirs in and have the correct keycaps? Or have heard if the right ones were made and just need shipped out separately?

The quote key is important for Dvorak so I'm pretty sad about the delay on that, but what was the D meant for? Colemak-DH?

edit: the SP page is dead now too, do they archive them somewhere?
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Shipping begins Sept 15!
Post by: Piperaceae on Fri, 19 September 2025, 13:07:19
Sorry to hear that! I don't think they archived the page, but the production sets should match the renders in the original post here at the top of the page. If anything is off, email Melissa at SP to have it corrected.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Shipping begins Sept 15!
Post by: jac on Fri, 19 September 2025, 13:25:06
No worries, it happens! Hofstadter's Law applies here too -- there will always be unexpected delays with keycaps/group buys, even when you take into account an expected amount of delays as part of Hofstadter's Law. It's definitely a hobby for the patient :)

I reached out to SP around the time of my post but wasn't expecting a quick response. She actually did already get back to me though. Sounds like the quote and D weren't made at all so she's going to get them into the queue to be made ASAP.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Shipping begins Sept 15!
Post by: Piperaceae on Fri, 19 September 2025, 13:29:06
Whew! I'm glad they're getting on top of that. I haven't even had my set shipped yet, and stuff takes a week to get here from Custer, so I haven't been able to inspect anything. I kind of expected some mistakes since it's such a big and complex set, and there were two minor issues when SMRT shipped back in February. Both of those got corrected very quickly, thankfully.
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Presale Begins May 1st!
Post by: dvorcol on Sat, 20 September 2025, 18:49:25
Quote from: jac on Fri, 19 September 2025, 12:57:52
bad news, my keycaps from SP just arrived sans quote and D, and _with_ "alt graph" haha. Anybody else get theirs in and have the correct keycaps? Or have heard if the right ones were made and just need shipped out separately?

The quote key is important for Dvorak so I'm pretty sad about the delay on that, but what was the D meant for? Colemak-DH?

edit: the SP page is dead now too, do they archive them somewhere?

R2 D is used by Workman, Niro, and Norman.
R4 D is used by Colemak-DH and ColemaQ.

(https://i.postimg.cc/csJ45pKw/101-Keycap-Summary-240423.png)
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Shipping begins Sept 15!
Post by: Piperaceae on Mon, 22 September 2025, 08:13:21
Extras in-stock at ProtoTypist now!

https://prototypist.net/products/in-stock-sa-a-history-of-violets-keycaps
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Extras instock at PT!
Post by: Piperaceae on Mon, 22 September 2025, 17:17:16
The alpha-colored R3 interrobang keys arrived at Saber Keebs today!

https://saberkeebs.com/products/sa-history-of-violets-interrobang

This is the final bow for the most ostentatious SA set of the decade. Grab yours before it's history!
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Extras and Interrobangs!
Post by: Piperaceae on Tue, 23 September 2025, 14:49:46
Fix kits for the Typist kit's missing keys should be done by the end of the week!
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Extras and Interrobangs!
Post by: Piperaceae on Thu, 25 September 2025, 10:36:29
Interrobangs are now arriving!

(https://i.imgur.com/n4oUTXr.jpeg)

Still a few interrobangs left at Saber Keebs! (https://saberkeebs.com/products/sa-history-of-violets-interrobang)

And still some Violets bases and Norde kits at ProtoTypist! (https://prototypist.net/products/in-stock-sa-a-history-of-violets-keycaps)
Title: Re: [GB] SA A History of Violets | Extras and Interrobangs!
Post by: Piperaceae on Fri, 26 September 2025, 11:09:27
Extras now available at SPKeyboards in the US!
https://spkeyboards.com/collections/sa-keycaps/products/sa-history-of-violets?variant=49968161980694

And a real product photo mounted on a Mode Sonnet
(https://i.imgur.com/5Jp00xd.jpeg)