Big changes

It has been a tough couple of months for the URSA project. The road to the perfect EC keycaps is a bumpy one, and our quest for greatness is not making it any easier. Without further ado, here’s the highlight of this update because it is a big one: we have switched manufacturer in the middle of the molds production process. We had legit concerns about the quality of the samples we received, and went with a known and trusted manufacturer.

The new ETA is September. This is probably a big disappointment for some of you, while some may have anticipated that it would happen “just as every GB”. We feel your frustration 100% and strongly believe it is for the best. Now before we get into the details, Andreas asked me to share a few words:

A Heartfelt Message to Our Community, Supporters, and Customers

I want to share something from the heart to the entire community—supporters and customers alike.

Throughout this journey, I’ve learned so much about what it truly takes to bring a product to life. I often wonder—if it weren’t for my naïve yet determined approach, combined with having the best partner in FK, would we be at this stage today? The amount of work that goes into the production phase, months after all the design and prototyping with a resin printer, is immense.

Along the way, I’ve frequently reflected on whether my attention to detail and relentless focus on getting every aspect right was causing the revisions with the manufacturer. But in the end, with incredible support from FK, we always returned to one guiding principle: to create a product that meets our high standards—both for ourselves and, above all, for the community.

So, I want to assure you all that we are working tirelessly to fulfill that vision. We truly feel terrible about the delays and the current deviation from the projected timeline. Rest assured, if it were entirely up to us, we’d be spending weekends working directly on the machines responsible for tooling, injection, and packaging. However, the reality is that this entire venture is very costly, and we must carefully navigate that by working closely with and guiding our partners toward the realization of our vision.

– Andreas, URSA designer

When it hits the fan

As we mentioned in our last update, we were already happy with the spacebar molds (single shot, meaning there is no legend on), but the doubleshot ones (esc and return keys) still had issues. It was already the 4th round of samples and we were having trouble to convey and sort out those issues. The fact that after 4 round of samples the keycaps weren’t close to perfect was concerning, both for the final product quality, and the timeframe that kept being extended.

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China, similar to what Christmas season is in the West. This is also a fresh start, and the first days of that year are very important in Chinese culture, where luck and prosperity are what people actually wish to each other then. We couldn’t pick a worse timing to pull out of a deal/partnership, and because we value people and this particular contact person a lot, it was very tough to make that business decision at this time.

We had no choice. We couldn’t see the project being successful and delivered in time with this manufacturer, so we started scouting for alternate options. When the last update was written we were already full steam on that search, running numbers (to see whether we could afford it and how much it would cost us if the issues continued), and making sure we wouldn’t let the early supporters down. You trusted us with your money and we have to make it right. CNY was not a restful holiday for us.

Not all heroes wear capes

Keyreative is the production partner of Yuzu Keycaps, the sister company of FK. We have nothing but good things to say about them and some of you may know that Keyreative is a landmark in the keycaps ecosystem. Its offer is unmatched in China when it comes to the high western standards (and we have visited quite a few!). We went to their factory twice, to see first hand how they operate, and are already in a great business and personal relationship through Yuzu.

When we came to Zhao about URSA, expressing our concerns and the fact that we were exploring solutions on a very tight deadline, he immediately understood the situation and offered his help. Their whole team went hard at work to study the CAD files and the specific EC-related requirements. Long story short, we decided to hand them over the project, along with our crazy quality and timeframe requirements. The project was already to be fulfilled yesterday at this point, and we can’t thank them enough for the commitment and dedication they have shown so far.

Latest samples

Keyreative’s team has already produced stellar work in a very limited timeframe, and shown a lot of dedication to URSA. We had to go again through the initial study process, but at an accelerated pace this time. Some of our previous experience was helpful, but it just went so much more smoothly this time.

As of today, the test mold has been produced and the first samples have been injected.

As you can see, the texture is pristine and consistent, as are the strokes on the doubleshot legends. Those first samples are already very close to what we expect.

There is an issue with the stem length, we haven’t decided yet on the final texture, and need to approve new color samples… Rather small things that are not concerning (in the sense that they can be fixed easily and have been acknowledged already), nor have a big impact on the production schedule. It is just cumbersome and tiring to go through that same process again, while we had everything lined up with the previous manufacturer.

All in all, we arrived much faster to a better result. This gives us a lot of confidence that the rest will follow. At no point are we compromising on the final product quality. Even if it comes at our expense.

With Keyreative as a new partner, we have a achieved a far superior result in a fraction of the time it took the previous manufacturer. Personally, I must say how refreshing the direct exchange with Zhao and his team has been when working on solutions to some technical challenges. To me, it is this interplay of craftsmanship and dedication to quality that lead to the recent outcome.

I couldn’t be more excited and happier.

– Andreas

Aftermath

Now that we got the ball rolling in a better direction and are more confident about the future, we can’t rest just yet. There is a lot of back and forth still happening, as we have to make sure the legends 100% match Andreas’ expectations, and are waiting for a bunch of samples to be approved. But the difficult call has been made, and we are on the right track.

This change in process has had a significant impact on the financials for a small company like FK. We are owning up to our mistake, and cross fingers and toes to make it back in the future. It also cost us a supplier relationship, which is at the heart of what we do, hopefully this will heal too. We didn’t expect it to be all rainbows and unicorns but certainly didn’t expect such complications either.

It is how it is. As Confucius said it “our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”. Pretty cool and motivating quote that is helpful right now!

Kitting and legend changes

There is absolutely no change in what you bought in for, you will get exactly what you ordered. But, we now have a better path forward for the future of URSA.

Thanks to the way Keyreative is designing the molds, you can expect much more flexibility in upcoming URSA sets.

Molds

We will be able to create new legends, with these doubleshot molds. That means novelty sets, and maybe the Sachiko legends and colorway that many of you have asked for. One day, soon(tm).

Below is a beauty shot of Andreas' own 3D printed prototypes, that may become available to everyone in the future.

Kits

While we were pretty restricted on the kitting before, we now have the opportunity to make smaller sets to support alternative layouts or specific extension kits. Nothing planned yet, but it feels good to have some creative room for future collaborations.

Designs

Keyreative’s MOQ being lower, we may have new colorways sooner than expected. We are not out of the woods yet, and that will depend on how the extras sell. One more reason to go have fun with the color picker and share the colorway you would fancy. We may host a contest at some point, we already have a ton of ideas but look forward to hearing about yours.

Timeline update

September is our new target. We have pushed this a few times and don't want it to happen again. We are confident in this ETA, and can’t wait to finally fulfill the pre-orders.

If this is your first group buy, sorry to give you this first experience, which is poor but not as uncommon as you may think. If you are getting impatient to dress up your keyboard, we share your frustration and are looking forward to provide it a new look and feel. If you want to give up on URSA, you can reply to your confirmation email with your request and we will sadly cancel and refund your order.

Thank you all for being around, and your ongoing support. Stay tuned for new (exciting) updates from the trenches 🫡