FA+
Shop
December Updates + (Sorta) New Management + Closed
Posted 8 years agoHey everyone, this is Quaylak! Just wanted to pop on and share some new updates before 2018 rolls around.
Words can't express the insanity we experienced this year. I know we covered some of it in the last update, but so much more has happened since then. We lost our two eldest pets (one we expected/planned, the other shockingly sudden), experienced a death in the family (my uncle), multiple illnesses, purchased a new car, I had five teeth removed in October...and those are just a few of the bigger events. I went home to Chicago for my first Thanksgiving dinner with my family in 15 years, only to come home with the flu. It's been two weeks and I'm only just now shaking it off, so I wanted to take advantage of my feeling better to do some work for the studio.
Which reminds me!
For the foreseeable future, I (quaylak) will be running the studio myself. With jakejynx working consistent 12-14 hour days and 55+ hour weeks, it's just not feasible for him to keep up with it anymore (the studio was his primary job for several years, whereas I was only responsible for head sculpts). He will continue to do fursuit work as time allows, but I'll be managing emails, keeping this account updated with finished work, and primarily using Twitter for communicating updates/progress moving forward! If you want to know what we're up to, I recommend giving us a follow: savageturtlestudios on Twitter!
As for commission updates: despite the insanity that went on this year, we were able to secure the funds for those who requested refunds, so those are currently being issued as we speak! If you requested a refund but have not received it, check your email for further instructions.
Right now, we have one full suit left that I'd like to have finished before the end of the year. Then, the only large projects remaining are two partial suits (an owl and acat raccoon). I also have an artistic liberty otter partial we started late last year using an old base that I'd like to finish and sell, so he may make an appearance in early 2018!
Future commissions/Future of the studio: Once those last two partial commissions are completed, our commissions will be CLOSED INDEFINITELY. At the moment, we are NOT taking quote requests, as we have no intention of opening commissions for the foreseeable future. With how long our current queue has taken and with as limited as jakejynx's time is these days, we feel it is more appropriate to work on artistic liberty suits and sell them in our free time.
We love you guys and all of the people we've had both the honor and pleasure of working with the last 10 or so years, but we can't risk missing deadlines or having people wait inordinate amounts of time again due to our schedules being overloaded. Both of us work full time jobs outside of fursuit work, so trying to run a studio that takes commissions with any sort of regularity just wouldn't be responsible. At most, I could see us taking ONE suit at a time if we ever did custom work again, but for now, it'll just be artistic liberty suits once our queue is done. We hope you guys understand and of course, you'll be the first to know if that changes in any way!
Honestly, we're both really itching to experiment with new techniques again and have some creative fun with our own designs. It's been a while! So we're not "leaving the fandom" or closing shop any time soon -- more like wanting to rediscover our love for it by not having to rely on it to pay the bills. c:
I'll mainly be posting more frequent updates/happenings/progress on Twitter, but will share finished stuff here as soon as I have it! Any questions/concerns can be emailed to us any time. We appreciate you guys, as always, and hope you have a great holiday season! <3
Words can't express the insanity we experienced this year. I know we covered some of it in the last update, but so much more has happened since then. We lost our two eldest pets (one we expected/planned, the other shockingly sudden), experienced a death in the family (my uncle), multiple illnesses, purchased a new car, I had five teeth removed in October...and those are just a few of the bigger events. I went home to Chicago for my first Thanksgiving dinner with my family in 15 years, only to come home with the flu. It's been two weeks and I'm only just now shaking it off, so I wanted to take advantage of my feeling better to do some work for the studio.
Which reminds me!
For the foreseeable future, I (quaylak) will be running the studio myself. With jakejynx working consistent 12-14 hour days and 55+ hour weeks, it's just not feasible for him to keep up with it anymore (the studio was his primary job for several years, whereas I was only responsible for head sculpts). He will continue to do fursuit work as time allows, but I'll be managing emails, keeping this account updated with finished work, and primarily using Twitter for communicating updates/progress moving forward! If you want to know what we're up to, I recommend giving us a follow: savageturtlestudios on Twitter!
As for commission updates: despite the insanity that went on this year, we were able to secure the funds for those who requested refunds, so those are currently being issued as we speak! If you requested a refund but have not received it, check your email for further instructions.
Right now, we have one full suit left that I'd like to have finished before the end of the year. Then, the only large projects remaining are two partial suits (an owl and a
Future commissions/Future of the studio: Once those last two partial commissions are completed, our commissions will be CLOSED INDEFINITELY. At the moment, we are NOT taking quote requests, as we have no intention of opening commissions for the foreseeable future. With how long our current queue has taken and with as limited as jakejynx's time is these days, we feel it is more appropriate to work on artistic liberty suits and sell them in our free time.
We love you guys and all of the people we've had both the honor and pleasure of working with the last 10 or so years, but we can't risk missing deadlines or having people wait inordinate amounts of time again due to our schedules being overloaded. Both of us work full time jobs outside of fursuit work, so trying to run a studio that takes commissions with any sort of regularity just wouldn't be responsible. At most, I could see us taking ONE suit at a time if we ever did custom work again, but for now, it'll just be artistic liberty suits once our queue is done. We hope you guys understand and of course, you'll be the first to know if that changes in any way!
Honestly, we're both really itching to experiment with new techniques again and have some creative fun with our own designs. It's been a while! So we're not "leaving the fandom" or closing shop any time soon -- more like wanting to rediscover our love for it by not having to rely on it to pay the bills. c:
I'll mainly be posting more frequent updates/happenings/progress on Twitter, but will share finished stuff here as soon as I have it! Any questions/concerns can be emailed to us any time. We appreciate you guys, as always, and hope you have a great holiday season! <3
Spring + Commission Updates!
Posted 8 years agoTime for some Spring updates!
We hope you guys have been having a good start to 2017. Ours has been a bit rough (illnesses, tax trouble, a dying primary vehicle, an old pet at the end of his life, the list seriously goes on), but our fingers are crossed things will begin to improve soon. We did not have time to share this here before leaving, but we WERE at Furry Weekend Atlanta this year, as our cancelled plans last year were kindly credited for this year so we did not lose money. We thank FWA for that and for working with us and making all of that possible. c: The con was good and it was great seeing some of our suits around! We didn't have much to sell at all (no partial or "big" items this year), but it was nice to see people and get away for a little while using tables that were already paid for, haha.
On that same note, we have some good news to share! We have recently acquired an "apprentice" who is very interested and motivated to learn about the world of fursuit building. She worked with us the week before FWA to see how we normally prepare for cons and was responsible for most of the inventory we had for sale at our table (which was great because we really did not have much aside from old stock from a few cons ago D:). And she did all of this while both of us were at our normal 40-hour day jobs, woo! She plans to work more closely with us moving forward and will most likely be working to help us with our current queue -- under our strict supervision, of course. ;) Complex things like head sculpting and bodysuits will likely stay between the two of us for the foreseeable future, but our apprentice will be able to do smaller, more time-consuming tasks like cutting out patterns, pinning, simple sewing, patterning head pieces via duct tape, etc. She is not local, however, and may only be able to visit us once a month to help out -- so she won't be doing this full time, but ANY help will be great for us (and you guys!) right now.
At the moment, she is working on patterning/furring an old head base we had laying around from a few years ago since it's been ready for furring all this time and will make a good "test" subject for her. Once that's finished, it will be put up for sale as a partial, as she's already finished the tail and paws. Pretty exciting to see her progress and to have her help when she is able to give it!
One more good piece of personal news to share. jakejynx was just offered a management position at his work, which is what he's been working so hard for the last 1.5 years! We are very excited, however the position requires he work a minimum of 55 hours per week. We were already taxed on time before when he did the standard 40 hours, so this has us a bit concerned, but we're making plans to accommodate the situation. Speaking of!
TO OUR CURRENT COMMISSIONERS: You will be contacted very soon with some updates and offers we want to extend to you. We know everyone on our most recent queue has been incredibly patient, so we hope to work something out with everyone to make sure that you are happy and taken care of moving forward! Expect to hear from us this week. c:
We hope you guys have been having a good start to 2017. Ours has been a bit rough (illnesses, tax trouble, a dying primary vehicle, an old pet at the end of his life, the list seriously goes on), but our fingers are crossed things will begin to improve soon. We did not have time to share this here before leaving, but we WERE at Furry Weekend Atlanta this year, as our cancelled plans last year were kindly credited for this year so we did not lose money. We thank FWA for that and for working with us and making all of that possible. c: The con was good and it was great seeing some of our suits around! We didn't have much to sell at all (no partial or "big" items this year), but it was nice to see people and get away for a little while using tables that were already paid for, haha.
On that same note, we have some good news to share! We have recently acquired an "apprentice" who is very interested and motivated to learn about the world of fursuit building. She worked with us the week before FWA to see how we normally prepare for cons and was responsible for most of the inventory we had for sale at our table (which was great because we really did not have much aside from old stock from a few cons ago D:). And she did all of this while both of us were at our normal 40-hour day jobs, woo! She plans to work more closely with us moving forward and will most likely be working to help us with our current queue -- under our strict supervision, of course. ;) Complex things like head sculpting and bodysuits will likely stay between the two of us for the foreseeable future, but our apprentice will be able to do smaller, more time-consuming tasks like cutting out patterns, pinning, simple sewing, patterning head pieces via duct tape, etc. She is not local, however, and may only be able to visit us once a month to help out -- so she won't be doing this full time, but ANY help will be great for us (and you guys!) right now.
At the moment, she is working on patterning/furring an old head base we had laying around from a few years ago since it's been ready for furring all this time and will make a good "test" subject for her. Once that's finished, it will be put up for sale as a partial, as she's already finished the tail and paws. Pretty exciting to see her progress and to have her help when she is able to give it!
One more good piece of personal news to share. jakejynx was just offered a management position at his work, which is what he's been working so hard for the last 1.5 years! We are very excited, however the position requires he work a minimum of 55 hours per week. We were already taxed on time before when he did the standard 40 hours, so this has us a bit concerned, but we're making plans to accommodate the situation. Speaking of!
TO OUR CURRENT COMMISSIONERS: You will be contacted very soon with some updates and offers we want to extend to you. We know everyone on our most recent queue has been incredibly patient, so we hope to work something out with everyone to make sure that you are happy and taken care of moving forward! Expect to hear from us this week. c:
Fall Updates + Future of the Studio
Posted 9 years agoHappy Fall everyone!
Just wanted to pop on real quick and let you guys know we're still here and kickin' and also give you some updates about our situation, commission queue, and future of the studio in general.
Three Jobs
- jakejynx has taken on a second job "IRL" to help cover bills. He started his first job in February and will be working his second job at the same time. There's a chance the second job may fully replace the first depending on how things go the next few months, but for now, he's looking to keep them both in an effort to pursue potential new opportunities as well as earn extra income. It's stressful and taxing mentally and physically, but he's been doing a great job so far. Combine those two jobs with his third job (fursuits), and you have one very busy bee, needless to say!
Just like the cancelling of our trip to Furry Weekend Atlanta earlier this year, he is working additional jobs to stay afloat financially. Not attending cons and working additional jobs to avoid bloating our commission queue further (by taking on more work) seems like the responsible way to handle our situation, so just know that's why things have been (and will continue to be) slow. And with jakejynx being the primary owner and operator of the studio and responsible for 98% of the fursuit work, you guys can see further why progress has been slower than we'd like the past couple years. But we will keep updating you here with how things are going and keeping in touch with our commissioners via email! We'll never disappear and are always around in some form, so contact us if you ever have questions or concerns about anything (especially true for those on our commission queue!).
Speaking of!
Commission Updates
- we've finished the partial suit version for kieva of his otter character and will need a new DTD before we work on the full bodysuit. furlong_enfield's otter is our current focus, so work will continue on furring the head and finishing the bodysuit entirely. All the other pieces are finished and ready to go! After we finish that suit, we will be moving on to our latest queue from last year (a lion, bird, owl, and cat). Head sculpting will begin soon and all pieces will likely be worked on simultaneously as time allows. Ideally, we would like to clear this latest queue during the first half of 2017.
Future of SavageTurtleStudios
Once all of our commissions are finally cleared, we are thinking of taking commissions one slot at a time. That way, we only have one commission on our plate at any given time and as soon as that commission is cleared, we can open up a new slot for a new person. We're hoping that will reduce the stress level of having 3-4 suits at the same time and will allow us a buffer between projects if we need it (so a gap between openings should our time become less available during the year).
We are also considering focusing on artistic liberty suits ONLY and discontinuing commissions indefinitely. That too will allow us to work at our own pace and create what we are interested in as opposed to someone else's criteria. Both ideas have a lot of promise and can definitely be considered the future of our studio! We still very much enjoy making suits for people and hope to continue doing so -- it's just the process of getting caught up that has us pinned down right now. But we're getting there and appreciate everyone's continued patience! Hopefully, we'll have some cool things to share soon as we wrap up some projects.
Just wanted to pop on real quick and let you guys know we're still here and kickin' and also give you some updates about our situation, commission queue, and future of the studio in general.
Three Jobs
- jakejynx has taken on a second job "IRL" to help cover bills. He started his first job in February and will be working his second job at the same time. There's a chance the second job may fully replace the first depending on how things go the next few months, but for now, he's looking to keep them both in an effort to pursue potential new opportunities as well as earn extra income. It's stressful and taxing mentally and physically, but he's been doing a great job so far. Combine those two jobs with his third job (fursuits), and you have one very busy bee, needless to say!
Just like the cancelling of our trip to Furry Weekend Atlanta earlier this year, he is working additional jobs to stay afloat financially. Not attending cons and working additional jobs to avoid bloating our commission queue further (by taking on more work) seems like the responsible way to handle our situation, so just know that's why things have been (and will continue to be) slow. And with jakejynx being the primary owner and operator of the studio and responsible for 98% of the fursuit work, you guys can see further why progress has been slower than we'd like the past couple years. But we will keep updating you here with how things are going and keeping in touch with our commissioners via email! We'll never disappear and are always around in some form, so contact us if you ever have questions or concerns about anything (especially true for those on our commission queue!).
Speaking of!
Commission Updates
- we've finished the partial suit version for kieva of his otter character and will need a new DTD before we work on the full bodysuit. furlong_enfield's otter is our current focus, so work will continue on furring the head and finishing the bodysuit entirely. All the other pieces are finished and ready to go! After we finish that suit, we will be moving on to our latest queue from last year (a lion, bird, owl, and cat). Head sculpting will begin soon and all pieces will likely be worked on simultaneously as time allows. Ideally, we would like to clear this latest queue during the first half of 2017.
Future of SavageTurtleStudios
Once all of our commissions are finally cleared, we are thinking of taking commissions one slot at a time. That way, we only have one commission on our plate at any given time and as soon as that commission is cleared, we can open up a new slot for a new person. We're hoping that will reduce the stress level of having 3-4 suits at the same time and will allow us a buffer between projects if we need it (so a gap between openings should our time become less available during the year).
We are also considering focusing on artistic liberty suits ONLY and discontinuing commissions indefinitely. That too will allow us to work at our own pace and create what we are interested in as opposed to someone else's criteria. Both ideas have a lot of promise and can definitely be considered the future of our studio! We still very much enjoy making suits for people and hope to continue doing so -- it's just the process of getting caught up that has us pinned down right now. But we're getting there and appreciate everyone's continued patience! Hopefully, we'll have some cool things to share soon as we wrap up some projects.
FWA Cancellation + Still Working
Posted 9 years agoIt is with a heavy heart that we announce our cancellation of our trip to Furry Weekend Atlanta (FWA) this year. We've been attending annually for nearly 9 consecutive years, so believe us when we say, we did not come to this decision lightly.
The past couple of years have not been kind to us in regards to a lot of personal matters that have happened in our lives. Unfortunately, that has affected our ability to move quickly through our commission queue, which has lead to longer than expected completion times. For our commissioners, we can't apologize enough and say how much we appreciate everyone's patience with us.
With that said, we cannot in good conscience dedicate time to anything other than our current commission queue. The thought of spending time making inventory (or a partial) to sell at the convention when we still have people waiting is not right in our minds. And if we don't have items to sell to cover costs, we cannot justify making the trip nor the time spent away from home. So our best option was to cancel the trip and focus on working through our queue.
Ideally, we would like to attend next year once things are more settled for us, we are in good financial shape, and we have totally caught up on everything we owe. We apologize to those who were looking forward to seeing us. It sucks, we know, and we will miss you guys. But this is the best call we can make as professionals, so we hope you understand our reasoning and enjoy the con!
We'll be fine and are hopeful things will begin to improve for us soon. Just last month, jakejynx started working a second job to help out our finances, so hopefully, that will alleviate some of our stress with time and help us get back on track.
As always, if anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us any time! We're always around, even if we're quiet. c:
The past couple of years have not been kind to us in regards to a lot of personal matters that have happened in our lives. Unfortunately, that has affected our ability to move quickly through our commission queue, which has lead to longer than expected completion times. For our commissioners, we can't apologize enough and say how much we appreciate everyone's patience with us.
With that said, we cannot in good conscience dedicate time to anything other than our current commission queue. The thought of spending time making inventory (or a partial) to sell at the convention when we still have people waiting is not right in our minds. And if we don't have items to sell to cover costs, we cannot justify making the trip nor the time spent away from home. So our best option was to cancel the trip and focus on working through our queue.
Ideally, we would like to attend next year once things are more settled for us, we are in good financial shape, and we have totally caught up on everything we owe. We apologize to those who were looking forward to seeing us. It sucks, we know, and we will miss you guys. But this is the best call we can make as professionals, so we hope you understand our reasoning and enjoy the con!
We'll be fine and are hopeful things will begin to improve for us soon. Just last month, jakejynx started working a second job to help out our finances, so hopefully, that will alleviate some of our stress with time and help us get back on track.
As always, if anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us any time! We're always around, even if we're quiet. c:
Commission Updates!
Posted 10 years agoHey everyone! Just wanted to pop on here and clear out that old journal with some new stuff. :D It's nearing holiday season so it is time for some much needed updates!
We've been chugging away at quite a good pace the past few months and have cleared out some older projects and commissions from a rather dusty queue. Right now, we have two awesome otters left on our queue that will be our main focus for the next month. Our goal is to have them finished as soon as possible, as our commissioners have been wonderfully patient with us after a very trying year! We appreciate the hell out of you guys and are so excited to finish up your projects so you can see our hard work. Expect to hear from us soon with some photos of our progress (also check our Twitter for additional WIP photos and daily/weekly progression). :D
Both otters have most of their pieces finished except for the bodysuits and heads (which just need furring), so we don't have a whole lot left to do. Once they are both finished, we will begin work on our latest queue, most likely some time in December. That should keep us busy into the new year and we may or may not have time to open for new orders until after FWA in March, as we have some premade costume ideas we would like to explore to test out some new techniques.
Overall, progress was slow for a bit over the summer due to IRL issues and scares, but we are catching up quickly! We plan to start using our Twitter account more often for quick updates and WIPs pictures daily (as well as other general happenings), so follow us there if you want the latest and greatest.
We hope you all enjoy the Halloween festivities this weekend and we look forward to sharing some new work very soon!
We've been chugging away at quite a good pace the past few months and have cleared out some older projects and commissions from a rather dusty queue. Right now, we have two awesome otters left on our queue that will be our main focus for the next month. Our goal is to have them finished as soon as possible, as our commissioners have been wonderfully patient with us after a very trying year! We appreciate the hell out of you guys and are so excited to finish up your projects so you can see our hard work. Expect to hear from us soon with some photos of our progress (also check our Twitter for additional WIP photos and daily/weekly progression). :D
Both otters have most of their pieces finished except for the bodysuits and heads (which just need furring), so we don't have a whole lot left to do. Once they are both finished, we will begin work on our latest queue, most likely some time in December. That should keep us busy into the new year and we may or may not have time to open for new orders until after FWA in March, as we have some premade costume ideas we would like to explore to test out some new techniques.
Overall, progress was slow for a bit over the summer due to IRL issues and scares, but we are catching up quickly! We plan to start using our Twitter account more often for quick updates and WIPs pictures daily (as well as other general happenings), so follow us there if you want the latest and greatest.
We hope you all enjoy the Halloween festivities this weekend and we look forward to sharing some new work very soon!
Commissions Closed!
Posted 10 years agoAlrighty, commissions have closed. :)
Actually should have announced that a while back, but kind of forgot about it, once the influx of emails stopped. :p
So this time around we got some GREAT characters to work with, and I'm super excited. We've got a lion, an owl, and a finchy-type-looking bird of indeterminate species (haha)! These characters are going to be awesome to work with.
If you didn't make it onto the list this time around, don't despair. There's always next time!
Thanks for all of the interest, folks! :)
Actually should have announced that a while back, but kind of forgot about it, once the influx of emails stopped. :p
So this time around we got some GREAT characters to work with, and I'm super excited. We've got a lion, an owl, and a finchy-type-looking bird of indeterminate species (haha)! These characters are going to be awesome to work with.
If you didn't make it onto the list this time around, don't despair. There's always next time!
Thanks for all of the interest, folks! :)
Commissions OPEN!
Posted 10 years agoSavage Turtle Studios has opened for new work! :)
We've had a pretty hectic time these past few months that really set us back on our work, so unfortunately we weren't able to complete our commission queue when we'd hoped. Therefore, these new slots are for completion in late 2015 so that we can finish off our other suits first. Due to the carryover, this also means that we have limited slots this time around, so if you want a suit, time is of the essence. We're doing first paid deposit, first served. :)
If you're interested in getting a quote, fill out the form here: LINK
If you are NOT interested in getting a suit at the moment and just want to get an approximate cost for a future commission, I am going to ask that you save us both some time and skip filling out the form. We are always available for giving general price ranges on projects--all you need to do is email us your reference sheet at savageturtlestudios[at]gmail[dot]com. Tell us what you want (head, partial, fullsuit, or padded fullsuit) and we will respond with an approximate price range. The quote request form is for a specific price and takes a good bit of time for us to calculate as it involves finding and pricing all of the furs and materials to be used. So this time around, please do not fill out the form unless you are considering getting a slot in the upcoming queue. :)
Thanks folks! :D
We've had a pretty hectic time these past few months that really set us back on our work, so unfortunately we weren't able to complete our commission queue when we'd hoped. Therefore, these new slots are for completion in late 2015 so that we can finish off our other suits first. Due to the carryover, this also means that we have limited slots this time around, so if you want a suit, time is of the essence. We're doing first paid deposit, first served. :)
If you're interested in getting a quote, fill out the form here: LINK
If you are NOT interested in getting a suit at the moment and just want to get an approximate cost for a future commission, I am going to ask that you save us both some time and skip filling out the form. We are always available for giving general price ranges on projects--all you need to do is email us your reference sheet at savageturtlestudios[at]gmail[dot]com. Tell us what you want (head, partial, fullsuit, or padded fullsuit) and we will respond with an approximate price range. The quote request form is for a specific price and takes a good bit of time for us to calculate as it involves finding and pricing all of the furs and materials to be used. So this time around, please do not fill out the form unless you are considering getting a slot in the upcoming queue. :)
Thanks folks! :D
SavageTurtleStudios.com is Live!
Posted 10 years agoWe were in desperate need of a facelift for our site, especially with the use of mobile technology these days, haha. So we hired a friend to redesign and rebuild our site from scratch last year and are pleased to announce that it is now live and ready for use! It is mobile-ready, too, which is just what we needed.
Check it out here: SavageTurtleStudios.com
We wanted to point out a couple of new features while you guys look around. First being our new Etsy store where we plan to sell any unsold inventory as well as offer custom orders for items like tails and smaller pieces. And secondly, we now have a mailing list at the bottom of our site's homepage! The mailing list will also act as a waiting list for those interested in commissioning us in the future. If you sign up, you will be given advance notice (at least 24 hours) of all future commission openings. You can get a jump start on submitting your quote request and snagging your spot in the queue. This is something offered exclusively to those who visit our site and join the mailing list, so be sure to check it out. c:
So if you have the time, drop by and take a look around and let us know what you think. We're excited to have our site back, especially in time for FWA this coming week!
Check it out here: SavageTurtleStudios.com
We wanted to point out a couple of new features while you guys look around. First being our new Etsy store where we plan to sell any unsold inventory as well as offer custom orders for items like tails and smaller pieces. And secondly, we now have a mailing list at the bottom of our site's homepage! The mailing list will also act as a waiting list for those interested in commissioning us in the future. If you sign up, you will be given advance notice (at least 24 hours) of all future commission openings. You can get a jump start on submitting your quote request and snagging your spot in the queue. This is something offered exclusively to those who visit our site and join the mailing list, so be sure to check it out. c:
So if you have the time, drop by and take a look around and let us know what you think. We're excited to have our site back, especially in time for FWA this coming week!
Updates + FWA Tail Preorders!
Posted 10 years agoHey everyone!
It's been a little while since we've updated our journal here, and we have a few announcements and things to share.
First up, we're all moved in and unpacked and currently back to work on our commission queue. We have two otters, a dragon, and a bunny to finish by the end of April, as we are planning to reopen for new commissions that month. We will also be attending Furry Weekend Atlanta (FWA) our first (and only) con of the year during the first week of April. The next several weeks promise to be busy, so expect to see updates and WIP images posted here and on our Twitter.
Also, our studio website has been down for the last several months while we worked on switching hosts and basically recreating the site from scratch (it required a much needed facelift). The new site is about 98% finished and just waiting on some images for the new gallery to be uploaded! Once it's ready for launch, we'll announce it here and hopefully get some feedback from you guys about what you think of it. c:
We'll be happy to have our site back up and running and have it linked to our new Etsy store. The store will house any unsold inventory or stock items we create, so check back (especially after cons) if you're looking to buy premade fursuit parts and accessories that are ready to ship immediately!
Lastly, we are open for FWA fursuit tail preorders if you plan on attending the con and need a custom, fuzzy extension from your butt in time for the weekend (or if you aren't attending, we can ship it to you!). :D You can fill out the form by clicking here. Prices are discounted on tails for this special offer!
We hope you all have had a happy start to the year and we appreciate your patience and understanding during what was an insanely hectic and stressful 2014. A lot happened in our personal lives and the move at the end of November really pushed our productivity back a few notches. We're happy it's over and we are ready to get back to more regular updates and clearing our queue. As always, you guys can contact us any time with questions or concerns by emailing savageturtlestudiosATgmail.com. c:
It's been a little while since we've updated our journal here, and we have a few announcements and things to share.
First up, we're all moved in and unpacked and currently back to work on our commission queue. We have two otters, a dragon, and a bunny to finish by the end of April, as we are planning to reopen for new commissions that month. We will also be attending Furry Weekend Atlanta (FWA) our first (and only) con of the year during the first week of April. The next several weeks promise to be busy, so expect to see updates and WIP images posted here and on our Twitter.
Also, our studio website has been down for the last several months while we worked on switching hosts and basically recreating the site from scratch (it required a much needed facelift). The new site is about 98% finished and just waiting on some images for the new gallery to be uploaded! Once it's ready for launch, we'll announce it here and hopefully get some feedback from you guys about what you think of it. c:
We'll be happy to have our site back up and running and have it linked to our new Etsy store. The store will house any unsold inventory or stock items we create, so check back (especially after cons) if you're looking to buy premade fursuit parts and accessories that are ready to ship immediately!
Lastly, we are open for FWA fursuit tail preorders if you plan on attending the con and need a custom, fuzzy extension from your butt in time for the weekend (or if you aren't attending, we can ship it to you!). :D You can fill out the form by clicking here. Prices are discounted on tails for this special offer!
We hope you all have had a happy start to the year and we appreciate your patience and understanding during what was an insanely hectic and stressful 2014. A lot happened in our personal lives and the move at the end of November really pushed our productivity back a few notches. We're happy it's over and we are ready to get back to more regular updates and clearing our queue. As always, you guys can contact us any time with questions or concerns by emailing savageturtlestudiosATgmail.com. c:
New Homeowners! + Moving
Posted 11 years agoWell everyone, change of plans! We are now homeowners as of November 12th. c:
In short, we decided to take the house we were planning to back out of after careful consideration. Things got ugly last week after our last post, but suffice to say and to save you all time, it was a better decision to take the house and avoid a legal battle. We are happy with our decision and will buy our "dream house" a few years from now when we are more financially capable and ready. Our first home buying experience was less than smooth, but we've learned a lot and know what to do better next time.
So, with all that said and done, we will unfortunately be experiencing a bit more radio silence while we get the new house cleaned and painted prior to moving in. This week will be dedicated doing just that, as well as to packing everything and getting it all moved to the new place on Sunday. Next week, we will be trying to get everything back on track and unpacked while still enjoying the holiday. We promise this year has provided some legitimate extenuating circumstances that have lead to longer than normal completion times on a lot of projects, and we are eternally grateful to our ever patient commissioners for being understanding about it all. You guys are awesome and we will have fun things to share once everything settles down and we are able to focus entirely on commission work again. Work has never truly stopped, only slowed, but we anticipate it picking up quickly once the move is over and this entire year is behind us.
Thank you everyone for being so understanding and supportive over the past few months. You guys have made these situations easier and we can't wait to share the things we've been working on with you! If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact us any time via email and we'll try to get back to you when we have a chance. :D
In short, we decided to take the house we were planning to back out of after careful consideration. Things got ugly last week after our last post, but suffice to say and to save you all time, it was a better decision to take the house and avoid a legal battle. We are happy with our decision and will buy our "dream house" a few years from now when we are more financially capable and ready. Our first home buying experience was less than smooth, but we've learned a lot and know what to do better next time.
So, with all that said and done, we will unfortunately be experiencing a bit more radio silence while we get the new house cleaned and painted prior to moving in. This week will be dedicated doing just that, as well as to packing everything and getting it all moved to the new place on Sunday. Next week, we will be trying to get everything back on track and unpacked while still enjoying the holiday. We promise this year has provided some legitimate extenuating circumstances that have lead to longer than normal completion times on a lot of projects, and we are eternally grateful to our ever patient commissioners for being understanding about it all. You guys are awesome and we will have fun things to share once everything settles down and we are able to focus entirely on commission work again. Work has never truly stopped, only slowed, but we anticipate it picking up quickly once the move is over and this entire year is behind us.
Thank you everyone for being so understanding and supportive over the past few months. You guys have made these situations easier and we can't wait to share the things we've been working on with you! If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact us any time via email and we'll try to get back to you when we have a chance. :D
Here's what we've been doing..!
Posted 11 years agoThose who know us on a more personal level may be aware that Quaylak and I have been in the process of buying a house over the past couple of months. We spent over 6 weeks looking, found a place, and started the buying process. I cannot overstate how incredibly taxing and time consuming this process has been. With Quaylak working the typical 9-6, I'm the one who has been doing most of the work. I literally would spend entire days either on the phone or on the computer doing research so that we could understand the process. Work has fallen by the wayside. We are very behind right now.
The bad news is that only 3 days from closing, we've decided to back out of the house that we chose. It just wasn't the right decision for us; we weren't in love with the house. Now we have to start all over again.
The good news? After this process, we know what we need to do, and we know better exactly what we want. We're already working on making an offer on another house that we've had our eye on for a long time. So hopefully we can speed through it this time without as much hassle.
We may have a decent lull here where I can speed through some work, so ideally I can push to get a bit back on track. :) A couple of people are still on our commission list, but due to being behind on work, we may need to open up for new commissions soon so that we can keep a flow of income going to ensure we have enough for the move.
If you've been looking to get a suit, keep an eye on us here, because we'll make announcements of new openings. The wait before we start on new commissions will be a couple of months, though since we'll need to finish what's on our list before we get started. Just something to be aware of. :)
-Jakejynx
The bad news is that only 3 days from closing, we've decided to back out of the house that we chose. It just wasn't the right decision for us; we weren't in love with the house. Now we have to start all over again.
The good news? After this process, we know what we need to do, and we know better exactly what we want. We're already working on making an offer on another house that we've had our eye on for a long time. So hopefully we can speed through it this time without as much hassle.
We may have a decent lull here where I can speed through some work, so ideally I can push to get a bit back on track. :) A couple of people are still on our commission list, but due to being behind on work, we may need to open up for new commissions soon so that we can keep a flow of income going to ensure we have enough for the move.
If you've been looking to get a suit, keep an eye on us here, because we'll make announcements of new openings. The wait before we start on new commissions will be a couple of months, though since we'll need to finish what's on our list before we get started. Just something to be aware of. :)
-Jakejynx
Expected Delays
Posted 11 years agoJakejynx here. Just a notice to everyone, commissioners especially: my father is currently in the hospital and will be requiring assistance and care for approximately 6-8 weeks. I'll need to make weekly trips down to my parents' house to help with his care and do the things he normally takes care of around the house.
As such, there will likely be delays on our current commissions. Quaylak will continue to work on things while I am away to try and keep to our usual pace, so hopefully the impact will be minimal. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
As such, there will likely be delays on our current commissions. Quaylak will continue to work on things while I am away to try and keep to our usual pace, so hopefully the impact will be minimal. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Commissions Closing!
Posted 11 years agoJust a quick journal to let people know commissions will be closing at 12am tonight. If you wanted a suit, now's the time to get in your quote requests! :)
Here's the link if you're interested: http://goo.gl/1zgW2m
Here's the link if you're interested: http://goo.gl/1zgW2m
Quote Requests/Commissions Open!
Posted 11 years agoGreetings all! As promised, quote requests for commissions are now OPEN! c:
Though we still have a bit more work left in our queue, we will be able to provide our earliest completion dates in July. So if you were hoping to get a suit from us before Anthrocon this year, be sure to get your quote requests (and your deposits) in early!
Another big announcement is that this will be the first time that we are OFFICIALLY offering digitigrade fursuits. We have done them in the past under certain circumstances, but this is the first time that we have offered them outright to the public.
As usual, there is no set number of commission slots available. We typically stay open for quotes for about a week (maybe a bit longer), and our standing rule is that if you get a quote request, you can get on the commission list regardless of when we close for further quotes. :)
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us via email, comment, or note.
If you'd like to request a quote, head on over to our website!
We're looking forward to some exciting new projects! :D
Though we still have a bit more work left in our queue, we will be able to provide our earliest completion dates in July. So if you were hoping to get a suit from us before Anthrocon this year, be sure to get your quote requests (and your deposits) in early!
Another big announcement is that this will be the first time that we are OFFICIALLY offering digitigrade fursuits. We have done them in the past under certain circumstances, but this is the first time that we have offered them outright to the public.
As usual, there is no set number of commission slots available. We typically stay open for quotes for about a week (maybe a bit longer), and our standing rule is that if you get a quote request, you can get on the commission list regardless of when we close for further quotes. :)
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us via email, comment, or note.
If you'd like to request a quote, head on over to our website!
We're looking forward to some exciting new projects! :D
Possible Website Outages
Posted 11 years agoJust wanted to give you guys a heads up that our website, SavageTurtleStudios.com may experience some outages over the next few weeks. We are in the process of giving the site a huuuuge face lift with the help of a web developer friend of ours, so we expect things may go down or offline entirely now and then. We apologize for any trouble the downtime may cause, but it will totally be worth it in the end! That poor site's needed an overhaul for yeeeeaaars, haha. It will look entirely different when we're finished with it, so we are very excited! c:
Commission Slots Opening Soon!
Posted 11 years agoYep, we made it out alive, haha. Con-crunching was pretty intense, but we did well to finish a lot of work in time for FWA and managed to go have some fun and relax while we were there. We met a ton of new people and potential customers, so we thank those of you who stopped by and had expressed an interest in working with us in the future. It means a lot and we look forward to it! :)
Our snow leopard partial sold at the con and will soon be going home to live with martog once he gets an eye color change. ;) And of course, if you attended the con, we're sure you probably ran into our newest suit that leolightmane was running around in. We're very proud of how he turned out and feel we're getting better with feline suits. We strive to try and make toony suits that do not suffer from "everything is a dog" syndrome, so it's always a fun challenge when we get to work with cats or birds or something less common.
With FWA behind us, we have three suits left in our queue, two of which will be completed over the next few weeks. After that, we only have a partial left, which means it is almost time to reopen for commissions! Our tentative reopening date is April 14th, but that date may change depending on how our house-hunting goes. Either way, if you're interested in getting a suit from us, we will soon be opening up some slots for fulls and partials.
We will have more to share here soon, so keep an eye out! Thanks as always for everyone's support and kind words and we look forward to sharing more with you all and working with some of you in the future. c:
Our snow leopard partial sold at the con and will soon be going home to live with martog once he gets an eye color change. ;) And of course, if you attended the con, we're sure you probably ran into our newest suit that leolightmane was running around in. We're very proud of how he turned out and feel we're getting better with feline suits. We strive to try and make toony suits that do not suffer from "everything is a dog" syndrome, so it's always a fun challenge when we get to work with cats or birds or something less common.
With FWA behind us, we have three suits left in our queue, two of which will be completed over the next few weeks. After that, we only have a partial left, which means it is almost time to reopen for commissions! Our tentative reopening date is April 14th, but that date may change depending on how our house-hunting goes. Either way, if you're interested in getting a suit from us, we will soon be opening up some slots for fulls and partials.
We will have more to share here soon, so keep an eye out! Thanks as always for everyone's support and kind words and we look forward to sharing more with you all and working with some of you in the future. c:
FWA 2014 + Con-crunchin'!
Posted 11 years agoIt's been a while since we updated this journal, so we thought the announcement of our attendance of FWA in Atlanta in a couple of weeks would be a good reason to pop in real quick and say hello!
This year, we will be in the Dealer's Den at table 9 in the back. Technically, SavageTurtleStudios is one table, while quaylak has her own right next to it. She will be selling plush and sketches while you can find fursuit parts, a brand new white tiger partial for sale, and (new this year) furry hats at the STS table. We will have examples of said hats soon, just trying to make a few more first. c: Basically, lots of good stuff! So we encourage you guys to stop by, say hi, and check out what we have going on. And come suiting with us after hours, of course!
We're currently in full con-crunch mode right now and will be sharing what we can, when we can, between now and our first convention of the year. For the moment, it will be our ONLY convention of the year, as we are considering trying for MFF again in December, but can't guarantee it yet. So if you'd like to meet and hang out with us, this will be your only confirmed chance, haha. We LOVE meeting new people, meeting customers, making new friends, and hanging out with old friends, and FWA is always cozy and easy to see everyone often. It's just the right size for us, so we hope we see you guys there!
This year, we will be in the Dealer's Den at table 9 in the back. Technically, SavageTurtleStudios is one table, while quaylak has her own right next to it. She will be selling plush and sketches while you can find fursuit parts, a brand new white tiger partial for sale, and (new this year) furry hats at the STS table. We will have examples of said hats soon, just trying to make a few more first. c: Basically, lots of good stuff! So we encourage you guys to stop by, say hi, and check out what we have going on. And come suiting with us after hours, of course!
We're currently in full con-crunch mode right now and will be sharing what we can, when we can, between now and our first convention of the year. For the moment, it will be our ONLY convention of the year, as we are considering trying for MFF again in December, but can't guarantee it yet. So if you'd like to meet and hang out with us, this will be your only confirmed chance, haha. We LOVE meeting new people, meeting customers, making new friends, and hanging out with old friends, and FWA is always cozy and easy to see everyone often. It's just the right size for us, so we hope we see you guys there!
Discounted Tail Commissions -- FWA pickup available!
Posted 11 years agoI'm going to be opening up a few slots for slightly discounted tail commissions. Pickup at FWA is available if you're going, so you can save on shipping. This offer isn't exclusive to FWA attendees, though. I'm happy to mail the tails off if you won't be at the convention!
If you're interested in getting a price quote, fill out this short form here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15a.....eCmcE/viewform
Currently taking 6 slots. If I finish them fast enough and still have time, I may take a few more prior to the con.
We don't typically sell single items like this, so it's a good opportunity to get a quick, quality, custom tail from us. c:
If you're interested in getting a price quote, fill out this short form here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15a.....eCmcE/viewform
Currently taking 6 slots. If I finish them fast enough and still have time, I may take a few more prior to the con.
We don't typically sell single items like this, so it's a good opportunity to get a quick, quality, custom tail from us. c:
Weasyl Account
Posted 11 years agoJust an announcement to let everyone know that we have activated a Weasyl account and will be slowly transitioning our current works to said account:
https://www.weasyl.com/~savageturtlestudios
This account will not be leaving FA. But for those making the move, please watch us over there. :)
Thanks!
https://www.weasyl.com/~savageturtlestudios
This account will not be leaving FA. But for those making the move, please watch us over there. :)
Thanks!
Commissions Closed!
Posted 12 years agoWe're going to be closing commissions for a while as we work through our queue. We're expecting to reopen sometime in the first half of 2014, so keep an eye out for announcements if you're hoping to get a suit from us in the future. :)
Thank you again to all of our current and new watchers! We hope you all like our upcoming works!
Thank you again to all of our current and new watchers! We hope you all like our upcoming works!
Welcome new watchers!
Posted 12 years agoWe just wanted to welcome all of the new watchers that have been popping in lately. Chances are you came across our ad here on FA. Thank you for taking the time to view our work, and for thinking it was good enough to merit a +watch. We definitely appreciate it!
If you were curious about our commissions, they are indeed open. We are currently taking quote requests right here on our website.
In the meantime, don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments. Thanks again, guys! :)
If you were curious about our commissions, they are indeed open. We are currently taking quote requests right here on our website.
In the meantime, don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments. Thanks again, guys! :)
Updates + New Commission Policy
Posted 12 years agoWe've done a few updates to our website, including streamlining our policies page (which was absorbed into the "commission information" area of the site). Most of it was just minor edits and clarifications.
The only big thing to note is that we now have a minimum order policy. All orders must now be $300 or more. So basically, if you want a set of ears, you'll need to purchase some other pieces as well, or pay $300 for them. This is to ensure that the time we dedicate to responding to emails and corresponding with our clients is covered by the payment we receive.
We apologize to anyone who is not fond of this new policy. We want to be able to continue to accept smaller orders for those who do not want a fullsuit/partial, and this is the only way we could do that. Please note that the minimum order amount does not apply to anything purchased in our store. It is only for commissioned items.
Other than the web updates, we are busy as usual and continuing work on our current list of projects. We are still accepting commissions and doing our best to reply promptly to quote requests for partials and fullsuits! We appreciate everyone's patience and look forward to working with you. c:
The only big thing to note is that we now have a minimum order policy. All orders must now be $300 or more. So basically, if you want a set of ears, you'll need to purchase some other pieces as well, or pay $300 for them. This is to ensure that the time we dedicate to responding to emails and corresponding with our clients is covered by the payment we receive.
We apologize to anyone who is not fond of this new policy. We want to be able to continue to accept smaller orders for those who do not want a fullsuit/partial, and this is the only way we could do that. Please note that the minimum order amount does not apply to anything purchased in our store. It is only for commissioned items.
Other than the web updates, we are busy as usual and continuing work on our current list of projects. We are still accepting commissions and doing our best to reply promptly to quote requests for partials and fullsuits! We appreciate everyone's patience and look forward to working with you. c:
A Message to be Heard
Posted 12 years agoJust an announcement that we at Savage Turtle Studios will never try to obtrude our opinions onto any of our customers or watchers. We love each of you equally, and as a business we do not hold any personal opinions anyway. :)Open for Commissions -- 2 Head Slots!
Posted 12 years agoHey everyone! So we're making some changes to our setup here at the Studio. We are going to be shifting our focus back to producing fursuits for a while. For the time being, we are once again open for commissions of all small items (ears, tails, feet, paws). This will likely be one of our last batches of small orders that we accept for quite a while, as we will be switching to making only partials and fullsuits in the near future. So if you are interested in getting parts and pieces from us, now is the time.
Additionally, we are opening slots for two head-only commissions. We may accept a head+paw+tail commission, as long as it's kept on the simple side. The catch is that we want two of the same species, though. So two canines, two felines, etc. We'll be giving a small discount on these heads if we're able to find two commissioners with the same species.
If you're interested in getting a commission from us, head on over to the quote request on our site and fill out the pertinent info!
EDIT: To add some extra details, these two head slots are for quick completion--sometime in the next 1-2 months. We will be opening for more commissions (including partials and fulls) soon as well, so if your desired character or schedule don't fit for these slots, there will be more available soon!
Additionally, we are opening slots for two head-only commissions. We may accept a head+paw+tail commission, as long as it's kept on the simple side. The catch is that we want two of the same species, though. So two canines, two felines, etc. We'll be giving a small discount on these heads if we're able to find two commissioners with the same species.
If you're interested in getting a commission from us, head on over to the quote request on our site and fill out the pertinent info!
EDIT: To add some extra details, these two head slots are for quick completion--sometime in the next 1-2 months. We will be opening for more commissions (including partials and fulls) soon as well, so if your desired character or schedule don't fit for these slots, there will be more available soon!
Husky Suit FOR SALE + Uncertain Future
Posted 12 years agoAside from that, we're home safe and will be getting back to work shortly. For the next couple months, we will be focusing on clearing out our older, smaller commission items. You can check our profile/front page of this account to see where we're at and what we have going on. It is updated pretty regularly.
As we mentioned a little while back, FWA was our only con for the year, so we will not be at AC. We have a lot going on IRL and a bunch of changes that have been coming along that affects our ability to work and take on new projects. For the foreseeable future, our fursuit commissions will be closed indefinitely until we can decide what needs to be done with the studio. If you don't follow jakejynx or quaylak, then you are probably unaware of the fact that both of us are now working full time jobs (and actually, jakejynx is now working 60 hours a week rather than the typical 40). Needless to say, that has affected our ability to work on suits and is part of the reason behind some of the delays we've been experiencing.
Right now, there is just no telling how much time we will have for fursuit commissions and new work. We were considering only making premades and things to sell for a while until our schedules stabilize, our queue is cleared out, and we are able to find a balance between work, free time, and the fandom. jakejynx ran the studio full-time before he found his job a few weeks ago, which was a challenge in itself for just one person. So the fate of the studio is undecided right now as we adjust to these changes. It's doubtful that we would ever completely shut down, as we would love to continue making suits (and other crafts) from time to time as it's a fun hobby for the two of us to do together, but we may stick to premades and personal suits and stop taking commissions. We just don't know yet but will keep you all posted as time goes on.
TL;DR: We won't be open for new work for a few months. If you want to own a piece of it right now and in time for the summer convention season, buy our husky! lol Otherwise, commission slots for partials and fullsuits will be few and far between while we adjust to our new schedules and take care of our current queue. We apologize to those of you interested in commissioning us. The earliest I can see us potentially opening for new work/larger projects is some time this summer, and even that is up in the air right now since we have a ton of IRL stuff to plan and organize that takes precedence.
That's all the updates we have right now! Thank you to everyone who dropped by our table to say hello and check out our work. We loved meeting new people and saying hello to old friends and previous customers. You guys are awesome! c:
