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AbbyShot Finds Success in Japan!
 AbbyShot has just returned from an amazing journey to the land of Astro Boy! From March 22-25, we were exhibitors at the Tokyo Anime Fair 2007. What an experience - on the first public day of the fair, fans were literally running through the aisles! There was plenty to be excited about, with anime success stories like Naruto and One Piece displayed alongside newcomers such as the upcoming Devil May Cry anime.
The highlight of the trip was certainly our meeting with costume retailer Candy One who has agreed to be an Authorized AbbyShot Agent in Tokyo! If you're in Japan and need AbbyShot gear, Candy One is your contact! It's a partnership you'll certainly be hearing more about in the coming months!
A full report on our time in Tokyo has started on our AbbyShot blog, so please check it out for more info! |
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Month of Releases: Three New Products!
What a busy March! Three new products on our site!
Motoko Shrug Released!
Ghost in The Shell fans as well as fashion-savvy ladies LOVE the Leather Motoko Shrug! At the Tokyo Anime Fair, we received a lot of attention from the staff of Production IG (Motoko's production studio) as well. People from their booth marveled at how accurate it was! Check out our blog release for details.
Alucard Ultimate Released!
Many Hellsing Ultimate fans have expressed their pleasure with the Alucard Ultimate Trench. The improvements we made have really completed the design. We received a few emails about the hat and gloves too, we're giving the trench some time in the spotlight first to gauge fan responses before we invest in more Alucard products. So if you want the hat and gloves, show us that the trench is a good idea!
Japan Loves The Elric Coat!
We debuted our Full Metal Alchemist Edward Elric Coat at the Tokyo Anime Fair to rave reviews! It was easily the most popular item with many people wanting to see and wear it! We're going to be redoing our photos to make them even better and we have an offer to make: Do you live in Newfoundland? Do you look like Elric? We're looking for an Elric model to use on our web site. Send your photo to info@abbyshot.com and you may get your own Elric coat! (Sorry, but unless you're willing to fly into AbbyShot HQ, "out-of-towners" need not apply.)
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AbbyShot Wins Another Exporting Award!
Following on the heels of the "Atlantic Canada Craft Award for Excellence" in the "Outstanding Exporter" category in February, March saw us winning the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's "Exporting Award of Merit" given out by the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. The whole AbbyShot team were present for the award's dinner and we all wore AbbyShot garments. While we weren't the only award winners that day, we did steal the show! :-) Once again, we'd like to thank all our loyal fans and customers for helping us get to where we are today. Your support means the world to us and we consider this to be yet another award that we've won together. |
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What's On The Horizon From AbbyShot?
AbbyShot is always cooking up some new products and features, here's some of what we're working on now.
Squall's Jacket Nearly Here!
You've seen the blog posts, you've critiqued our prototype, now you're salivating over the prospect of owning your own Final Fantasy VIII Squall Leonhart Jacket from AbbyShot! Well, the wait is almost over! Our highly-anticipated full leather "Squall Jacket" is going to be released in the last week of April at a price of $229.00 USD. As a special treat for fans, we're going to have a surprise accessory to be released along with this jacket! Stay tuned for more...
Cloud's Advent Children Vest!
We announced in our blog that we were considering Cloud's Advent Children Vest and this garnered a lot a responses from the fans! Many of you replied with more screencaps (thank you!) and several people commented on material choices and accessories. This hasn't progressed far enough to become an actual "Coming Soon" item on our web site yet, but we're hoping to reach that stage very soon. Stay tuned for more info!
New Mechanical Browncoat Buckles!
We're improving this product to make it even better than before! We've developed a mechanical working buckle and are getting them handmade out of solid brass. These will look absolutely awesome and will be screen-accurate to the TV buckles. We can't wait to show them to everyone, so stay tuned to our blog for more updates on these. We should have pictures for everyone by the end of this month!
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Deckard Trench Undergoes Customer Review!
Thanks to all the great feedback on our blog from Blade Runner fans, the final design changes have been implemented on the Deckard. Issues like buttons, stitch lines, and collar length have all been made even more screen-accurate.
One comment we've received from some fans is that our fabric colour still isn't perfect. So we've issued a "Deckard Colour Challenge" Send us objects that you think are the perfect colour and we'll compare them to our fabric. We think that it's extremely close. This is your chance to show us what you think the colour is. We've set a deadline of April 30th to receive your submissions.
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Sunstalker Farewell Sale!
We're saying goodbye to our Sunstalkers this month. This was one of our first products, (the original Sunstalker was released in Oct 2002!), and had enjoyed a high level of popularity over the years. We made the first one soon after the first BLADE movie, and with BLADE II and BLADE Trinity, the popularity continued. We recognized the signs of a product that's reached the end of the road, and so we are giving everyone a set time frame to acquire this design before it's gone forever.
Starting on this Friday, April 13th and running until Sunday, May 13th, we will be holding a "Farewell Sale" of the Sunstalker designs. The pleather Sunstalker 1 and 2 will sell for $399 USD, and the leather Sunstalker 1 and 2 will sell for $875 USD. While it is sad to say good bye to the Sunstalker, we are glad to be able to give it such a great send off! |
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Cleric Coats Discontinued
On the topic of discontinued items, the Cleric Coats are gone as well. We held onto them as long as possible, but we reached a point where we had to face facts and realize that they simply weren't as popular as they once were. We do have an EXTREMELY limited supply of Cleric materials remaining, so if you were "almost ready" to place your Cleric order, you can still do so by contacting us directly. This offer will only last for a VERY short time and is on a "first come" basis. Existing orders will of course be filled without any delay, they are not affected by the discontinuation of the Cleric. |
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Is Otakon for AbbyShot?
While at TAF, we were approached by several representatives from Otakon. They were very impressed with our products and expressed a strong desire to have us attend. For those not in the know, Otakon is an annual anime-focused fan convention held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It's a three day event which saw over 22,000 attendees last year. This year it is taking place from July 20th - 22nd.
What do you think? Is Otakon the kind of place where AbbyShot would fit in? Would we likely sell our clothing there? Do any other clothing companies attend? Send us your opinions, share what you know. You can contribute to our decision regarding this event.
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Upcoming Movies
 Here's a couple of films coming out later this year which we're keeping an eye on.
NEXT - The latest supernatural movie starring Nicolas Cage. This time he's not on fire, instead he can see a few minutes into his own future. This puts him on the FBI's "most wanted" list when they decide that to combat terrorists they need the edge that his ability can give them. Cage spends much of the film wearing a smart looking tan leather jacket. Here's a picture of it, what does everyone think?
I AM LEGEND - Starring Wil Smith as the last human alive on an Earth filled with undead led by Johnny Depp as the Vampire King, this movie is certainly going to get some attention. Smith is wearing a nice black jacket. Take a look for yourself. Any takers? |
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We know that this newsletter will surprise some people, shock others, and excite some people too. We're going through a lot of changes at AbbyShot as we continue to grow and improve. Stay tuned to our newsletter and blog to hear about everything that we do.
Sincerely,
The AbbyShot Team,
AbbyShot Clothiers |
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