Fall Updates - 000 Ti7068, Japan, Future Projects & More
by Jeffrey PangNovember 08, 2022
It feels like it has been a long time since I've done a post but really I think just a lot happened in October. The 000 54SE that was released in September was a huge success - I ended up selling out all units through my direct store. During October it was a grind of getting those orders out the door. I received the Ti-7068 000 and Fulvia, but only half of the accessories and stickers. It's why I had to separate them from this 000 release. The Fulvia sold more than I expected - the Champaign colorway sold so quick I had to pull some from the store for retailers.
It was my 30th birthday at the end of October. I felt super stressed out working so much. being a one man operation started taking a toll on me during these bigger releases. I remember looking at the tickets to Japan for an hour deciding if I should go or if I should grind through more work. In hindsight I'm really glad I went. I knew I was going in 2023 but it was awesome catching up with so many friends and planning for next year. It would be cool if I could move there for a few months leading up to worlds. I met up with Eiji Okuyama of Mowl (https://shop.mowl.jp/) who showed me around Osaka - it definitely felt good having a local show you the cool areas. Eiji is such an awesome dude. I got to meet a bunch of OG THP people and had so much good food. We did end up working on a yoyo design together, but it has been on and off since the first time I met him in Germany so time will tell if it makes it to production. His dedication and attention to detail is actually really impressive - something that inspires me to keep pushing with my own product releases.
I also had the chance to visit one of the most famous drift tracks with a car friend of mine who I've known since I was 19. It was just nice to scope out Japan since I know i'll be there for longer term next year. One of my dreams is to have a drift car in Japan, but the logistics of that is a bit insane.
I brought my grey 000 on the trip as my main throw - I debated on bringing a Fulvia but I found the lightness of the 000 was less fatiguing as a travel yoyo. It's definitely a much more casual weight distribution compared to the weight rings of the Fulvia.
I really only do blogs for when I explain a new design process. You can check the one I did for the Ti-7068 Fulvia and 000 here. The addition of the anodized finishes explores having different textures on certain surfaces of the yoyo. For both the Fulvia and 000, I requested a bead blast only on the functional grind surface, or "catch zone" while keeping the hub area a more glossy premium machined finish. This interesting contrast really changes how the anodizing looks. The smoother machined surface was also masked off near the bearing seat area, creating a continuity of the hub texture.
For the Fulvia I focused on a warmer fall pantone, while the 000 represents a change to the winter season. The cooler grey, silver and teal colors compliment each other. I also find the cooler colors work well with the softer less aggressive profile of the 000. The same edge and bearing seat engraving has been applied as a minimalist branding touch.
As far as releases goes, it has been super interesting transitioning to a new material and a different price point. It's crazy to think the year is almost over. One of the last things I wanted to update people on is the mentioned full plastic Luftverk yoyo. It will be available for preorder soon - I am super proud of the new manufacturing technique that was developed to make it. I'll explain more on it later, currently I have the final prototypes in hand so it's pretty close to release. I am aiming for a pretty low price point - it has definitely been a challenge with the shipping cost hikes and increasing material prices. With the first batch of yoyos being 3000 pcs I really need the community to help. Hopefully I to pay off the insane amount of money I've dumped into the project but I know that it's on me to make a good product as well.
Anyway that's pretty much everything that's going on in my world. Next year will be interesting - I really see a big change in the manufacturing world. When I started Luftverk 7 years ago, it just felt like such a different place. A lot of my friends are starting to do their own projects so It will be interesting to see where it goes from here! Sorry if this blog post was a bit all over the place - but to wrap it up i'll be dropping the 000 next week!
Both models will be available for purchase on Sunday, Nov 13th at 10:00pm EST in the Luftverk store.
It has been a year an a half living in Osaka, crazy how time flies. I remember releasing the Plastic Fulvia just before leaving Toronto, a product that I could argue changed the trajectory of everything. At that moment, Luftverk grew exponentially, with the support of retailers around the world. At that moment, I developed so many behind the scenes processes for management that it became much more of a corporate job then a creative one. Huge projects like Cheatcode, and the CLYW collaboration definitely had its creative sides dont get me wrong, but the addition of moving to a foreign city, learning a new language, pursuing motorsports and delegating tasks behind the scenes with razor sharp margins meant for a lot of it I was on the brink of burnout. I questioned if I even still liked doing yoyo stuff at all, or if it was just to keep food on the table.
Crazy to think it has been 2 years since the original release of the Plastic Fulvia and Plastic 000. Both models as of now are pretty much sold out everywhere, and I knew it was about time to update both with a small batch of new colors as well as fix a few small issues with the first designs. I appreciate everyone who has reached out anticipating a restock of these - as the manufacturing process is very timely for sure so restocks can't happen as quick as I'd like.
In January, I released the AKURA MG, a yoyo made from Magnesium. This material has a very low density and I talked about how it performs more like a plastic than anything else. But what made that yoyo really special is the aesthetic. I loved the lines on that yoyo. The proportions with the chunky rims were just perfect. One of the biggest aesthetic challenges though were that after the ceramic coating the lines were quite subtle which hid the design.
Jeffrey Pang
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