Happy New Year!
3 months ago – Thu, Jan 01, 2026 at 01:02:14 AM

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

FINAL PROJECT UPDATE - CLOSING THE ALVA PROJECT
4 months ago – Wed, Nov 19, 2025 at 03:58:45 AM

Hi everyone,

This update is long overdue, and I want to say upfront: I messed up, and I’m genuinely sorry. You should have had clarity much sooner.

I tried everything to make ALVA work, but the project fell apart. The money raised simply wasn’t enough for the world we were in - with materials, silicone, tooling, electronics and especially shipping rising constantly through 2021–2022. Even the most stripped-back version of ALVA ended up costing more to produce than the entire campaign raised, and I couldn’t come back and ask you for more money just to cover those increases.

I kept pushing - redesigns, cheaper components, tooling, sampling - but by the time it became clear ALVA couldn’t be manufactured at all, the remaining funds had already gone into those attempts. There was no viable way forward.

In the manufacturing environment of 2021–2022, there were no winners here. A project we all believed in failed: you didn’t receive the rewards you were expecting, and I wasn’t able to bring a product to market that I’d hoped would continue long after this campaign.

My biggest mistake was not saying this sooner. I held onto hope for too long, and the silence wasn’t fair on you. That responsibility is mine.

So to be clear: this project cannot be produced. It has failed, and this update formally closes the campaign.

I’m truly sorry I couldn’t deliver what you backed. I hope this gives you the closure you deserved - but I understand completely if it doesn’t.

/ Josh

Tooling Underway + Final Sampling
over 3 years ago – Sat, Nov 05, 2022 at 12:24:20 AM

Hello everyone, another delayed update here. 

 Why are we behind?

Speaking openly and candidly. Everything with this project is a bit of an uphill battle, truth be told the funds raised were not enough to make it an easy journey. A combination of far higher than forecast advertising costs, exchange rates being all over the place, raw material costs being up and everything else going on in the world... it has been a real challenge to keep this project alive. Slowing things down and triple checking every supplier has been the only way to meet our quality expectations while also delivering the project on budget. 

Tooling

With the torch samples finally locked in and approved, a bit of time was spent tweaking and changing the strap design to make sure the new torches fit perfectly. We'd previously added the extra hole in the strap that people had requested in the campaign so it fits smaller wrists and have now used the BackerKit quantities to nail down the production quantities for each colour.

The tooling has now been paid for and as soon as we have samples in hand an update will be posted showing them! That'll be in December. 

All being well we will approve main production shortly after. CNY in January may get in the way, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 

Apologies that this is not the news you wanted to hear, and the lack of updates are frustrating. I want nothing more than to get ALVA out in the world as I love the product and know all of you are patiently waiting. 

Now... to quote a comment we received from Ann Lazar the other week - time to give one of my buddies projects a push:

DOCKET | Productivity Tools For Home & Office

UN&I's two-part Docket system ends in the next few days. Made up of a floating glass whiteboard and a hardwood to-do card stands, they're designed to help you focus on that days tasks. They've launched plenty of times before and the window for getting in on these is ending fast.

If you're looking to be more productive, their tools are well worth looking at.

See the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unandi/docket-productivity-tools-for-home-and-office?ref=ecsdn8

[Just for you Ann]

STATIO: Watch Stands | from Marked By Time

Watches, bracelets... ALVA's? Probably a bit excessive for ALVA. But a great place to store your watch! These stands from Marked By Time are great. It's a small campaign from UK-based creators. Just what Kickstarter is all about!

Head to the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markedbytime/statio-watch-stands-from-marked-by-time?ref=5w3fge

Red Module Sample Arrived FINALLY
over 3 years ago – Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 07:28:19 AM

The team at UN&i has reached out, they (like many of you) would like more frequent updates and they have suggested their new product is something I need to buy to keep focused on important tasks like letting you all know whats happening... More on their project later.

Red Modules

In the last update I explained that we have now moved over to a different LED torch supplier which has resulted in a better quality product. The downside was they (at the time) only made white-LED versions and we needed to order the red-LED unit specifically for testing. This is not as simple as just placing a red piece of plastic in, it is a change to the LED-chip itself from white to red. 

That took far longer than expected and the first one was actually lost in transit. UPS then had a delay on the 2nd one due to a late cargo plane departure - but now finally it has arrived, we've tested it, and are satisfied! 

Charging

Another thing we wanted to test before proceeding with the order was the charging. The new all-metal torch module unscrews from the middle and is much more waterproof than our previous design. The Micro-USB cables will come with every unit. 

GBP, RMB, USD

Now is not a brilliant time to be in overseas manufacturing as a British company. This project was already financially challenged but now those pressures are even higher. Thankfully our silicone factory has been very understanding. The project was already delayed and we do not want to continue postponing things now the red sample has arrived. 

We need to action production. And get a lot better at posting updates. This project is far from dead, the end product will be worth the wait but we are very delayed. For that I can only apologise.

Productivity Tools

UN&I is launching their two-part Docket system in the next couple of weeks. Made up of a floating glass whiteboard and a hardwood to-do card stands, they're designed to help you focus on that days tasks. They've launched numerous projects and by the sounds of things are extremely excited to get this one out there. 

If you're looking to be more productive, their tools are well worth looking at. 

See the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unandi/docket-productivity-tools-for-home-and-office

Hawthorn Leather Wallets - in time for Christmas.

Finally, I wanted to share the first project from a good friend of mine. He spent 2020 honing is leather-crafting skills. He's made some beautiful pieces on commission but this bi-fold wallet campaign is the first limited-run release he is doing.

There are very few wallets left - so if you're interested for yourself, or as a beautiful gift for the holidays, go check it out asap: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hawthornleatherco/handmade-bifold-wallets-by-hawthorn-leather-co

Always have a Plan B...
over 3 years ago – Fri, Jul 29, 2022 at 01:41:14 AM

Hi All,

Firstly, let me apologise for the near 2-month delay since the last update. I really do not know where the time has gone. It’s flown by and up until now I didn’t really have anything to share with you.

To cut a long story short, the original factory for our torch module did not work out. When it came time to get production cracking, the components kept changing, quality suffered and pricing was up… way up.

If you look at the total raised on this campaign, it'll come as no surprise to learn that there isn’t exactly a surplus of profit to swallow up an increase in unit price. We’ve had to work damn hard to keep this product viable.

Quite amazingly - and I have to thank those in my supply chain for outstanding work on this - we have not only managed to keep the production costs on target, but also landed on a better finished product.

Let me explain…

We have moved from a custom-moulded plastic torch to a metal version. This means ALVA is now a lot more rugged and tough than it was previously, but also we’ve got a bigger battery and more powerful LED in there - so now battery life and the all-important torch brightness is better too!

We’ve also moved away from a push-button to twist-action to turn the torch on and off. This is much less fiddly than before - so now if you’re wearing gloves, have cold/wet hands or are starting out in total darkness, you can twist the front housing (in black as before) to turn the torch on, rather than feel around for the small button location.

Finally I can confirm that we’ve added the extra sizing hole in the wrist strap so it’ll fit better on kids.

Below is a photo showing the update - not that there is much to see, it looks exactly the same as before!!

We’re currently waiting for the final torch samples to be sent over for thorough testing, and then we’ll have new prototype silicone straps made to showcase everything together. This process will be within 3-4 weeks which I know is not want you want to hear, but we are saving ~50 days of plastic injection mould tooling so the overall project delay is actually less than it would have been.

Silicone tooling is very fast to make by comparison so we’re hoping to get production started and finished in September.

Watch this space.

Project We Love:

C13 Deskboard: The Minimalist Carbon Fibre Whiteboard

Check out Carbon13's 7th project - Minimalist carbon fibre desk whiteboards! Essential WFH or office productivity tools for keeping track of notes, meetings & ToDo’s. 

They're in the last day of their campaign so head over fast before they're all gone! 

CLICK HERE to see the campaign.

HNGR: The Wall-Mounted Camera Storage System

HNGR (Pronounced Hanger) is the worlds first wall-mounted, quick-access storage solution for your photo and video equipment.

Born from the need to store gear more securely and space-efficiently, it's designed for all photographers & videographers, from hobbyists to professional. 

Head to the campaign now to order yours!