🎃 October Updates
October Updates
- As mentioned in last month's update, I had the chance to attend the DMV Keyboard Meetup in Arlington, VA and bring some prototypes of the Theseus75—and I was blown away by the support and interest. 🫶 Getting to meet so many stellar folks in the community (even some of you!) made for a genuinely great time. 10/10 would do again. (Shout-out to @danielsun in the District Keyboards Discord server for organizing the event!)
-
At the moment, there are a few things in production that I'm waiting on before moving forward:
- The latest PCB assemblies have been finished and should be undergoing testing by the manufacturer this week—excited to share the final results.
- Designs for a custom carrying case have been sent to the manufacturer and sample production is underway.
- After vetting samples from multiple cable manufacturers, I've chosen one to move forward with for the included LEMO-compatible interconnect cable and panel-mounted counterparts; both are currently in production. As you may have noticed in last month's photos, the connectors are not limited to the standard silver color, and can come in a few different finishes straight from the factory—namely silver, gold, rose gold, and rainbow—so I've decided to pair each with the case colorways I think would match best. Once the cables arrive and I can compare these colors in person, I'll share the results.
-
Speaking of cables and colors, I've been waiting for the right time to announce some collaborations:
- Although each base kit will come with a LEMO-compatible cable, I admit that adopting a unique interconnect means slimmer pickings when it comes to customization. That's why it was important to find and partner with a reputable cable artist to make sure you could still achieve the aesthetic you want without worrying about where to get it. Therefore, I'm excited to announce that VoxelMods will be an official vendor for custom Theseus75 cables. If you haven't seen his art (and BTS reels) before, I highly recommend checking out his account! 🔌 I've learned quite a bit just from watching his work.
- As some of you may have seen in Discord, another collab has entered the chat: CadLab. 🔥 They'll be working their magic on some of the unfinished stock to come up with one-of-a-kind Limited Edition colorways. If you've seen their work before, you'll know why I'm excited.
- There are a few more collaborations I'm looking forward to sharing, but have to stay tight-lipped until they're further along. 🤐 So stay tuned!
-
Lastly, I'd like to talk about timelines. As prototyping comes to a close, I'll be looking to finally announce prices and launch dates in the coming weeks. When I started this project a year ago, my original (and naïve) goal was to launch in Q4 of this year; however, so much has happened in the hobby between then and now, and given the community's notable loss of trust in the wake of high-profile GB failures and scams, I would rather wait until the project is fully ready to begin production than try to meet an arbitrary deadline, especially if it minimizes the time you have to wait between sale and fulfillment. 🤝 So with that, the current goal is to officially launch the Theseus75 Group Buy in Q1 of 2024. 🎉 This may seem like a long wait, but to put things into perspective, there are only 63 days left in 2023. Where has the time gone?!
As always, I sincerely appreciate you all, and I look forward to sharing more. Until next month!