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Cherry Blossom Ita Bag + Tea Bear Enamel Pins

Created by Melissa Francis

A versatile version of the popular Ita style bag to show off your enamel pins and other accessories!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Final Update! Purses and Pins Have Been Shipped!
almost 3 years ago – Tue, May 11, 2021 at 10:45:31 AM

With the exception of two people that have not completed surveys, all of the pins and purses have been shipped! 

Leftover purses and pins will mostly only be available at conventions (schedule at the end), but I will try to list them in my Etsy as I have time. 

Currently, I plan to only list the marked down purses, two colors at a time, to clear the bulk of them out (over 50 of each color -_-): https://www.etsy.com/listing/1016995405/sale-flawed-ita-bag-purses-original?ref=shop_home_active_1

With my schedule being a bit heavy, my store will be closed most of this month, but is currently open until Wednesday, at 6AM Central Time, May 12th.

If you wanted a regular purse, coin purse, inserts, the tea bear pins, paper crane pins, washi, or stickers; please feel free to send me a message and I'll create a special listing for you until I have time to make actual listings for each of those. 

Thank you all so much for your support, and I'm so glad we were able to get these made! I would love to continue this line with a matching back pack and clutch style wallet at some point. 

For further updates on future projects, I'm most active on either instagram, or patreon


My upcoming plans for 2021 are the following:

  • May 21-23: Pensacon (Outdoor Tent) - Pensacola, FL
  • June 3-6: Colossalcon - Sandusky, OH
  • June 12: ABC Summer Remix - Memphis, TN
  • June 25-27: MS Comic Con - Jackson, MS
  • July 23-25: Mechacon - New Orleans, LA
  • August 14: Free Comic Book Day/The Destination - Louisville, KY
  • August 28-29: Louisiana Comic Con - Lafayette, LA
  • September 11-12: Arkansas Comic Con - Little Rock, AR
  • September 24-26: Ramencon - South Bend, IN
  • October 8-10: Tsubasacon - Charleston, WV
  • October 15-17: Anime Senpai - St. Louis, MO
  • December 10-12: Yama Con - Pigeon Forge, TN

Thanks again, and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Pink Straps Have Arrived!
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 25, 2021 at 09:23:55 PM

The new pink straps have arrived and I've shipped the replacements to those that were waiting. 

There are two of you that have issues with your payments in BackerKit still for shipping / add-ons that I've sent multiple messages and emails to. Please try to resolve them asap so I can clear yours out! 

I only have 59 purses left to send, and have put a hold on all other projects to try to get them finished before the end of the month. Please make sure any final address changes take place now! You will receive a shipping notice from PirateShip when your purse is on the way. 

Once all of the purses have shipped, I will begin listing them in my Etsy for $65 each ("free" shipping automatically on them, which is why they are $10 higher than what they will be in person). I have a significant amount with flaws, so those will be marked down anywhere from 15-40% off, with bag specific photos listed so every one knows exactly which flaws they are receiving (so only 6-9 listed at a time). 

Thank you all for your support and your patience! 

Pink Strap Update
almost 3 years ago – Mon, Mar 29, 2021 at 02:30:22 AM

The company is willing to repair the pink straps, not replace. I'm not sure how long this will take, as I have to open every box, pull out every purse, unzip and pull out every strap x 200 purses (less what I've already shipped out, which is around 20 of them).

Weigh, ship to them.

Once they receive it, they will begin to take the clasps off and replace them, then ship back to me.

Not the solution I was hoping for, but more affordable than paying for 200 + 50 xl straps to be remade and shipped to me, which would cost in the hundreds, if not close to a thousand dollars.

I just hope this happens quickly, as I don't want to go past my original timeline of fulfillment :(

URGENT FLAW IN PINK BAG STRAPS; SHIPPING OF THAT COLOR WILL STOP FOR NOW
about 3 years ago – Sat, Mar 27, 2021 at 08:25:19 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Purses/Coin Purses/Extra Long Straps are Here!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 18, 2021 at 09:48:31 AM

Twenty very large boxes were delivered, so we are now ahead of schedule! Initially I had placed this as April/May fulfillment to allow time for any unforeseen delays, but now we will be working with March/April fulfillment. 

Any address changes need to be made ASAP, as I plan to try to ship 5-10 packages a day, to complete fulfillment before the end of April. 

I'm going to work on fulfilling coin purse only tiers this week, and potentially some of the purse tiers. The boxes that I ordered initially are too big for single purses, but will work for anyone that ordered multiple. 

I had a smaller size ordered from a local Nashville company last week, but they won't be ready for pick up until next week since I ordered them in bulk. 

As a head's up, the "filler" paper that I use in the boxes to keep things from shifting around are the backs of my shipping labels. In an effort to reduce waste, I will be crumpling those up instead of ordering packing peanuts/packing paper, etc. It's not the prettiest, but the label paper serves a dual purpose of helping me ship and helping me pack! 

The coin purses will be shipped in recycled poly mailers, which are just a plain dark gray color. 

I have also signed up for an outdoor event in Nashville on Friday, April 2nd, called the East Nashville Night Market. If anyone is local and would like to pick theirs up, let me know ASAP (once you receive a tracking number notification, it's too late!). For anyone picking theirs up, you will get a free enamel pin of your choice, or two mini pins, from any that I have ($10 value for the $8 postage paid on BackerKit). 

I won't have any on me other than those that I'm holding for pick-ups, so please make sure you have received confirmation from me before showing up, to make sure I have both your purse + the pin(s) you selected.  

Thank you, again, and I'm excited to finally wrap this up!