Each year, we backcast the Gatewear timeline based on the date in August we need to have all the items in-hand in order to pack them with us to the playa.
This year, that date is August 15. Let's break down what that looks like:
Since most of our pieces need up to 14 business days to ship (so we can get the cheapest shipping rates), in order to get them to us by August 15 they'll need to ship by July 29.
And since most of our products take 4-6 weeks to produce, we need to have orders collected, tallied, and submitted to our vendors by our Gatewear deadline of June 21.
We like to have Gatewear orders open for at least 2 pay periods since we know that some of these pieces are investments and budgeting is real. The goal this year was to have the sale open on May 6 in order to give us 6 weeks of orders so people can prioritize their dollars how they need. In case anyone is doing the math, that goal date was missed by 4 days, but we're still feeling confident that we can be on track to not need to have anything expedited.
Prior to the logo announcement, we've spent the last month negotiating products and rates with vendors (in case you missed it, we were able to negotiate lower prices on nearly every product this year!) and setting up the products in the online store, so that as soon as the logo was announced we could create mockups and turn everything on.
So there you have it! If you were wondering why the logo contest happens in April when the event doesn't happen until late August, now you know! And, if you haven't checked out the products this year, do it. You have until June 21 at 5pm to get your pre-event order in. ☠️
Love you, mean it,
Love you, mean it,
GingerBeer and Xander