Alright, here's my take on it.
There's a strong distaste for PheonixStarr's work, whatever quality it might be. I commissioned her services some time before her Keylace fiasco, but it seems even then, none of you like the idea that she's worked on it. Pushing onwards, I felt that it would have been deceptive if I didn't explicitly mention her involvement. Nevertheless, I'm very sorry for getting this IC off on a bad, bad note. Moving forward, I've decided to scrap what work we've started together and hunt for a new PCB designer. I want to get this keyboard GB off the ground, and if this is what I have to do, it'll be done.
As for the renders, they'll be shortly replaced by prototype photos (whenever it is they arrive).
You're missing the point entirely.
No one has a distaste of PheonixStarr's work. From what I can see, the designs and renders are good.
What people have, is a distaste for her ethics and business practices.
As someone who has essentially worked for her business, and essentially learned from her, the microscope is now firmly fixed on your ethics and business practices. Your judgment is also under the microscope by aligning yourself with her.
Your profile on keylace (which presumably you wrote) said you were involved in design and logistics, but now you say it's only spreadsheets and data entry, so you've completely resiled from that previous claim. Not to mention you've practically thrown PheonixStarr under the bus in this thread, despite her obviously mentoring you in some respects and providing work for your board.
No one's crapping on your board. But the decision-making on display here is extremely suspect.
From someone whose account is 20 days old, whose only connection to the community is to a member who recently showed themselves incapable of responsibly handling a GB, and who no one really knows, you're going to have to do a bit more than say "just trust me" when you're asking people to fork over $500.