In 2023, everything seemed to finally fall into place before it all fell apart faster team we could catch it. It was our third year on this project, and the first where things truly felt aligned. Reaching unprecedented heights, our monthly revenue exceeded previous annual earnings, placing us at the pinnacle of success. However, our joy was shattered in mid-November. Despite gearing up to celebrate a remarkable year with over 3,500 fulfilled orders, a successful marketplace pop-up, a rapidly growing team, a new warehouse expansion, and the launch of our MAUD customizer, the next 14 days brought a drastic shift.

Escalating monthly expenses, unforeseen infrastructure investments, and increasing costs collided with the worst of bad luck, creating a perfect storm at the worst possible time. The week before Black Friday, we unexpectedly lost 75% of our primary credit line without warning, causing a crucial marketing bill to bounce and disabling our ability to advertise during BFCM. This directly led to significant lost sales in the tens of thousands. Instead of celebrating, we found ourselves in a challenging position—struggling with 250 orders, letting go of half our team, and facing one of the darkest periods in our company's history.

In 2024, we are on a mission for redemption, diligently working to rebuild and reclaim our peak. These lessons, though challenging, are ones we would have preferred not to learn through experience. Unfortunately, they resulted in the largest mass delay to date, affecting our incredibly supportive follower base. To all those impacted, I sincerely apologize on behalf of our MAUD team. I regret not providing timely updates on the situation, as I was unaware of the extent of the damage and uncertain about when we could fulfill many of these orders. I hesitated to share the full scope of the situation with the people who make our project possible, and for that, I am genuinely sorry.

Having acknowledged the challenges we faced, I am delighted to announce that at least 150 out of the 215 unfilled orders will be shipped this upcoming Friday, January 12th. As we strive to rectify our situation, we extend our heartfelt thanks for your patience and understanding. Our commitment remains strong to pushing boundaries, championing art, and aspiring to become a symbol that success is not measured by how many times you get knocked down but rather by how many times you get back up.