Happy New Year from Volante Design!

And what a year it will be.

December 31st marked the end of Volante Design’s first full year as a business. Before the start of 2012, Volante Design had only made two jackets, the Snikt, and the Captain America. On top of that only the Cpt. coat could be considered an actual sale.

So, January 2012 started with an average of less than 1 order a month but in late September we got more than 100 orders in one day! Thanks to that day, I’ve hired 2 full time employees, and a few part-timers as well. Now I have to get used to using ‘we’ and opposed to ‘I’ when I write things about the business. And we couldn’t have grown so quickly if it wasn’t for you, our faithful supporters and followers.

Now, it’s 2013, and we’ve got a lot planned for this year. It’s going to be a big one, and we are going to need your help to make it happen. In the last year, we were able to release a total of 6 designs for order. This year we want to release at least double that, hopefully triple.

In order to reach this goal, we need to upgrade our pattern design system. Until now, Volante patterns have been done completely by hand, which is hugely time consuming.

Consider this, the Kenway jacket is made up of more than 60 individual pattern pieces. In order to make a new size, each of those pieces needs to be traced onto a new piece of paper, remeasured, adjusted for the new measurements, and cut out by hand. This could take, at the very least, several hours, but more likely a full day, if not more. With 60+ pattern pieces, even just labeling each piece with it’s name and necessary markings could take an hour or more.

Instead, there are software programs out there that could do the brunt of this work in a fraction of the time. Unfortunately, this software tends to be a little pricey, albeit incredibly useful. Seeing as I started this business with little more than a pocket full of change, Volante Design does not have the capital to invest in such an upgrade.

Which is why I would like to announce that we are about to launch a fundraising campaign through indiegogo.com. Raising this money is going to be necessary to get the next phase of Volante Design off the ground. And the best part is, this phase is just a gateway to the future. There is so much we can do once we have the ability to release new designs more quickly.

I have a good feeling about this year. And we couldn’t have gotten here without you. So, thank you!

Stay tuned for updates about the official launch of the Volante Design indiegogo campaign, and other exciting news.

In the meantime, keep rockin’ on.


-Enzo

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year…

In the spirit of the holiday, I’ve decided to make you something. Sorry I didn’t have time to wrap it, In fact it’s nearly midnight where I am, so I cutting it close.

Volante Design, and more specifically me, Enzo, has opened a new blog to run along side this ‘official’ one. The new blog is called Volante Inspiration, and will serve as a place for me to share/reblog cool things, largely artwork and fashion related posts, that I find on tumblr and elsewhere. It will give me the opportunity to share things that, well, inspire me to create my designs. So if you want some insight into that sort of thing, please take a look.

http://volanteinspiration.tumblr.com

If you like what you see, follow it, or not, either way I will still post on it. At first it will mostly be reblogs, but eventually I may use it to post work-in-progess shots, and rough sketches, and even perhaps some candid thoughts. I don’t know quite where it’ll go, only where it’s starting.

Happy Holidays all.


-Enzo


PS: There are some important updates coming up with the new year. We are working hard to get the initial run of Kenways out, as well as trying to get the future setup ready for launch, and we are likely going to need your help to do it. Keep an eye out over the next few days.

The Demon Killer.

New trench coat design based on Dante from Devil May Cry. I’ve always wanted to design a Dante coat, as I’ve been playing the series since the first game came out. With the newest installment coming out soon, I thought the time was right.

Simple, straightforward, but with pinch of ostentatious thrown in and a Volante twist. The hood will be sewn in to the collar so that when the hood is raised, the collar goes with it, referencing the old Dante tall collar look. [read: DMC2]

It will also be water resistant, with wide-based shoulder epaulettes to help give extra protection from the elements to the tops of your shoulders.

I will be posting detailed sketches about how I see the rest of the jacket being constructed at some point.

Assassin Jacket.

This is the evolved form of the black/yellow beaked jacket from a few weeks ago. The design has been adjusted to increase range of motion so that it is more suitable for parkour and stunting. It also now has zipper pockets, so that you don’t lose your things while jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

This is the third and final Volante jacket to be used as a costume is Assassin’s Creed: Artefact 2

Shown in the Practical Assassin color scheme: grey main, red secondary.

Women’s Modern Assassin Armor.

This is the denim Modern Assassin Armor, women’s style, in black/red. This particular version is intended for use as costuming in Assassin’s Creed: Artefact 2 as well, for the 2nd of the 3 main characters.

Since the characters will be active in martial arts and acrobatic stunts, we designed special gussets for increased range of motion in the arms.

Special Edition Kenway Vest.

This is planned to be used as the main character’s costume for Assassin’s Creed: Artefact 2, which was plugged in an earlier post.

They are still trying to raise funds for the project, so please consider helping out. The project is really growing, Cas Anvar, the voice of Altaïr ibn La-Ahad in AC:Revelations has even joined the project. There are also several new trailers for the project on the indiegogo page, including this one:

Check out the site and rewards for contributing, every little bit helps.

http://www.indiegogo.com/ac-artefact2


EDIT: Color scheme shown would be the Practical Assassin colors: off-white main, grey secondary, red accent..

xaelith: I understand you're dealing with problems like people stealing your designs and such. I respect you're trying to finish disputes so you can get your stuff out there, but Enzo, Me and many others are already willing to buy your jackets. They're awesome and we're dying to get our hands on them. Maybe there could be some way we could buy them? I just can't wait any longer!!

I am working as hard as I can to get orders back up, but there are a lot of things to pull together, like getting the pattern made in enough sizes, setting up a manufacturing contract, and finding the right fabric, and enough of it, for starters.

As soon as I have enough information to open preorders for the second run, I will do so. I appreciate your patience, but it no longer is only in my hands, and I now need to wait for other people to get back to me, it takes time.

-Enzo

Get out your bad review pens.

I hate to keep making these posts, but I’m tired of all the knock-offs being sold while I work diligently to get my orders back up so that more of the original Kenways can be on the street.

Please, if you have a few minutes on your hands, go to the amazon link below and write up a 1 star review. If you feel so inclined, add a link to volantedesign.us in your review.

http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Conner-Kenway-Cosplay-Costume/dp/B00AATDFI0/ref=sr_1_285?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1354808263&sr=1-285&keywords=assassin%27s+creed

Thank you for your support.

-Enzo


EDIT: The I looked at the other viewed items, and realized this is probably a completely futile battle. So here’s the deal, follow this blog, subscribe to our mailing list http://eepurl.com/pJB6v, and follow the store. We will never sell my items anywhere but from my own online store—or perhaps the Ubiworkshop store, if they ever contact me—so if you want to be certain of getting what is shown in the picture, buy it here.

That’s the best we can do.

bbsoulcrush: Hello, i just wanted to say that i love your designs so much they are amazing but i have a question, as a bigger person being 6 foot 4 inches tall and having a very broad chest will there be X-large sizes available in the express purchase or will i have to make a custom order?

Yes, there will be extra large and x-small available through express. Currently, since express orders are not available, we had not updated each item to reflect the correct sizes. The 5 sizes will be visible on the site by the end of today, but will probably be edited before orders open.

lunaluckystars: hi! So, I'm completely in love with your clothing line and by God if I had enough money would throw every dollar towards buying every piece you create, but I digress, I noticed you have coats but in your rough sketches have entire costumes. And I was wondering, do you only make the tops? or do you also make the pants, boots, cowls, gloves etc etc. Eager to know so I can collect the necessary funds. Sincerely, an eager fan.

As yet I have only made the coats from the sketches I have done, and I still have many to go, because I can draw faster than I can design new patterns. I do plan on making almost everything I have thus far designed, including pants, cowls, shirts, etc.

Unfortunately I do not have any of the equipment, setup, or know-how to make boots or gloves, nor do I see that happening any time soon. I would love to, and perhaps someday I will find a glove-maker, or cobbler in need of a designer, or at least willing to go into some sort of affiliation. But until then, I’m going to have to stick with apparel, rather than accessories and shoes.

Version 2.0 of the Volante Design Store is Up!

You can take a look at it at: volantedesign.us

Unfortunately, this does not mean orders have reopened. We are still working hard to complete the initial run of Kenway orders, and have a few months left to go.

The new layout is how the store will look as we move into expanding our portfolio. It is currently built to support the aforementioned Express orders, which will be produced on a larger scale with somewhat standard sizing and a selection of predetermined color schemes. In the future there will be an entirely new section of the store designed to optimized the custom ordering and special commission process, so keep an eye out for that.

Because we are still a small company, and do not yet have the customer base to support having a constant stock of all items, and because we want to try and keep up with and least some of the customization even in the Express orders, we will be opening up orders for individual pieces at a time. These will be on a pre-order basis, so that once pre-orders are closed for a particular garment, we will send out the job to a local manufacturer to have those orders made. The manufacturing process will take about 8-10 weeks after pre-orders close. There will be some leftovers in stock after the pre-orders are shipped out in case you miss the pre-order window, but sizes and color schemes will be limited.

Orders for each garment style will be opening individually, so if you are waiting to order something and want to be apprised as soon as pre-orders open for that garment, please subscribe to the mailing list and follow the blog. The link for the mailing list is http://eepurl.com/pJB6v

Please be aware that the store is still under construction and that prices are subject to change based on what the manufacturing cost turns out to be.

Once again, thank you all for your patience and support. Insieme per la vittoria.


-Enzo

So, we hit 5k followers over the weekend, which is pretty amazing. I wasn’t expecting it, so I didn’t have a special post planned, unfortunately.

But then my sister sent me an email. She had finally gotten Cosplayfly to send her a picture of the actual Kenway jacket they are making and selling on ebay using my photography as marketing material. So here they are, with my original photos, without background exclusion or touchups.

I leave the comparison up to you, I think the disparity in quality of material and craftsmanship is fairly clear, but I would like to draw attention to a few points in particular.

Please note:

- In the top picture, the seams in the white fabric on the tails of Cosplayfly’s piece are clearly visible as being more white. This is a sign of a thin fabric which can be seen through.

- The difference of design in the shape of the blue waistband. This isn’t a question of quality, because it is a matter of opinion what the shape of the waistband should be, but the difference makes it clear that these cosplay sites are not using the official pattern, and therefore are using my photos not only illegally but also as false advertising.

- The hood.


Thanks for reading. Thank you all for your support, we love you all.

Pass it on.


-Enzo


EDIT: Changed images to clarify which is Volante-made and which is not.

mrakuheiryoku: I've seen your Connor jacket in other places for sale, HelloCosplay makes them as well.

There are indeed many versions out there. Lots of them even use pictures stolen from this very website. If you look at the other products available in their stores though, for instance in HelloCosplay’s store, you will be able to get a more accurate idea of the quality of the products they produce. Volante Design is not affiliated with any other stores, and will never be sold in any online stores other than our very own volantedesign.us. This means that any store claiming to sell our Kenway jacket, or any other Volante products, are not doing so with our permission, nor are they using the original pattern to produce the jacket.

I take great care in designing my jackets, as designing the best product I can is what matters most to me, where other companies, especially companies with the gall to steal my designs just because they are getting attention from the public, are clearly in it o make a buck, rather than to produce a high-quality product.

I guarantee that a Volante Design Kenway jacket bought elsewhere will make you feel like you are wearing an assassin costume, but a Kenway jacket bought directly from the source will, without a doubt, make you feel like an Assassin.

The same goes for anything else Volante-made.

Insieme per la vittoria!


-Enzo

kuiarasu: This is a pretty serious question. There are tons of pictures used here of your Assassins Creed (Kenway) Jackets on Ebay of people using your design. Do you have an opinion or anything to say about this?

I have a whole lot to say on the matter, but most of it is profanity. Unfortunately, there is very little I can do to stop it from happening. None of those ebay sellers (or other websites) are at all associated with me. I suspect they are all Templars.

Color Choice Polls

Pick your favorite. I know it will be hard, but I have faith in your ability. We’ll start with the Kenway, and the second poll will be for the Beaked Jacket. There’s no pressure here, this is just to give me an idea of what the most common preferences might be.