Dear All
So much is happening at the moment. I have been with the engineers to see where we are and it looks like we are rolling June and July into a single rollout (most of which have been sold). I have 500 puzzles on order and needed to have regular stock which we can draw down each month. Here is the schedule we have now agreed:
Puzzle Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Aqua 25 15 10 15 20 15
Blue 25 15 15 15 20 10
Green 20 10 5 10 15 15
Bronze 25 15 15 15 20 10
Indigo 15 5 5 5 15 5
Gunmetal 15 5 5 5 15 5
Copper 3 - 2 - 20 -
We have had to make all the puzzles in one go that is taking longer as well as the engineers having a very busy period taking up a lot of the machine slots. We are doing our best to expedite the first batch, but after, we are able to have stock here each month rather than backordering, which over the summer I want to finally phase out.
Everything is ready for the connection to be made for our long awaited 3-phase to get the machine up and running. I have been programming the Salmon and Mint to be the first to come off the Emco E25 TCM. I will be putting up videos and running a blog as well.
While the cost of the machine is only a part of the investment, getting everything else has been a long hall. This included Tooling - tool tips, holders and VDI16 accessories, measuring equipment, oil, safety equipment, airlines, compressors and clamping. That is without the wiring of all the internals and the external trunking.
As soon as the machine powers up - I will announce it!
In addition to all the other preparation work, I have learned Fusion 360, which will help with the designs and control the drawings. Salmon with all its internals has been tough to get sorted, but I am getting there. Same with Mint.
People who have had orders outstanding are being addressed as a matter of priority and a few have been in touch, which I have responded to. I have also been having spam issues with on average 200 emails per day. We are having them filtered, but some genuine emails are being missed. I am looking at ways I can improve this as it is not my intention to avoid anyone.
I have
forum@revomaze.co.uk setup if you wish to email me on that, but some of my most important customers will get their won direct email communications so I do not ever miss their requests.
Once the machine turns on, I have so much I need to run this side of Christmas (including CE Sets and R2), it is important that I have the time to get up and running. Once we can get control, we can then feel able to start offering puzzles without the hassle and cost of people paying up front. This I hope will be the case for Christmas as long as I have everything else in hand.
As you may know, I have been working totally on my own, which is being channelled into getting up and running. I do hope in the future we can get someone who is extremely well organised, excellent communications and a superior empathy towards our fantastic puzzling community. I know at the moment I have to focus on the technical side of the business and get a much better service going before committing to and putting a large amount of my time in bringing someone up to speed.
Both Jill and I have now invested everything into this venture, because when we get it right, everyone is happy and delighted at what we produce. It is the constant reminder that people do enjoy puzzles and demand a superior quality that drives me to press on with my dream of coming up with a world beating puzzle. I thank all of you for being so loyal and patient – which I hope soon I can deliver.
Please keep in touch with me and I will get round to you.
Kindest regards
Chris