September 2017 Update

With so much exciting stuff going on, I’m going to jump the gun by a few days on the September update and post now. There’s a lot of great stuff to cover!

Shipping status

Our awesome customers now find themselves in two categories: excited to have their Glowforge, and dying to find out when they’ll get theirs. For those of you whose wait isn’t quite over yet, we’ve heard your requests for more information about when it’s going to arrive.

As you may know, our next milestone is to ship all of the orders placed during our 30-day crowdfunding campaign by the end of October. (Actually, our goal is to have them delivered by then - but that’s harder for us to track). Once that’s done, we’ll work to ship all remaining pre-orders in the following 30 days.

We launched our 30-day campaign on September 24, 2015. All things being equal, we ship based on order date. That means we can let you know which date we’re shipping, and you can get an idea of when we’re close to shipping yours - or if, heaven forbid, you missed your shipment notification!

From here forward, we’ll regularly share our shipping progress like this:

  • US Basic orders: Shipping orders placed on Day 4
  • US Pro orders: Shipping orders placed on Day 1
  • International orders: Starting soon

We’ll update this status every week so you can keep an eye on when your turn is coming up.

Checking on your shipment

We’ve already shipped all US Basic orders placed on or before September 26. (Pro will be catching up quickly!) If you’d like to check on your shipment, you’ll need to know your order date. Just follow these steps:

  1. Go to https://glowforge.com
  2. Click ‘Sign in’ and enter your username & password
  3. Click your email in the top-right corner of the screen
  4. Click ‘Purchase history’

We’re now shipping US Basic orders placed on Day 4 of the preorder campaign. That means if:

  • your shipping address is in the United States, AND
  • you ordered a Glowforge Basic (with or without Air Filter) AND
  • your order date is September 24, 25, or 26th…

then we should have already emailed you about receiving your shipment. If you haven’t seen that email, let us know at support@glowforge.com and we’ll get you squared away. Before you do, though, be sure to add support@glowforge.com to your contact list so you get our reply.

I can’t tell you how excited we are at Glowforge headquarters to be delivering production units to people. The only thing that gives us more joy is seeing the amazing things that everyone is making with them.

Finally, it’s launching: the Design Catalog!

Starting today, we’re launching the Design Catalog. Right now, it is only available to Glowforge owners who have received their units (It’s not yet available to customers who are waiting for delivery, or invited guest users - stay tuned).

The catalog has premium designs that have been painstakingly tested and documented by our in-house design team. The instructions are meticulous and fully illustrated; the designs have been built over and over again to make sure they go together perfectly every time.

For each item, you have your choice: you purchase a license for just one print, or you can buy a license for unlimited personal prints. It’s easy to whip up a batch of dominoes for game night, a personalized wine caddy for your friend’s housewarming party, or a handsome leather wallet or clutch that no one will believe you made yourself.

You’ll also notice two thank-yous for being a Glowforge Founder. First, your 10% Founders’ Discount is already enabled for every product. Second, we’ve added four designs from the launch video (with many, many more to come) - as a founder, you’ve got these free, and you’ll find them right in your Glowforge Dashboard, starting now. Enjoy!

Do note that prices, inventory, policies, layout, and everything else imaginable about the catalog will change in time! (And yes - we’re working on a way for you to submit designs to the catalog, too.)

You told people about Glowforge. We’d like to reward you.

If you’re one of the thousands of Glowforge customers who shared your referral code, I have some terrific news.

You already know that if someone uses your referral code they get a $100 discount and you get $100. Well, we’re making that better.

Starting this week for US customers (and soon for international customers), every time we ship a Glowforge unit to its forever home, the person who referred that buyer will get their reward. They can opt for the $100 they signed up for, of course. But some of you had a better idea, and we decided to do it.

A $125.00 gift certificate.

That’s right: if you refer someone to buy a Glowforge unit, you can upgrade your reward to a $125.00 gift certificate good for anything Glowforge sells. Proofgrade materials, Catalog designs… even a second Glowforge unit! Just watch your inbox - when their unit ships, you’ll get an email asking you which you’d prefer, the $100 payment or the $125 gift certificate.

Finally, more good news: you can still achieve referrals! You can check on the status of your referrals or grab your link to share by clicking the Referral link on the top navigation bar in the app. Include your link when you post photos of your best Glowforge projects on the web. All your friends who are green with laser-envy can take advantage of the discount, and you’ll rack up even more referral dollars. Win-win!

Thank you, as always, for supporting us - we can’t wait to get everyone their Glowforge!

Introducing the Glowforge Grant Program!

You might’ve caught @bailey’s post about the Maker Faire Glowforge Grant Program. Thank you to everyone who asked questions, discussed, and applied - we know it’s not possible for everyone to make it to NYC in September, but we sure wish it were.

Then we got a great suggestion: what if we could expand this opportunity beyond just New York, and beyond just Maker Faires? We heard from you that there are hundreds of interesting events and opportunities for you to show off your Glowforge projects, experiments, and presentations all over the world, and we want to help out if we can.

So, here’s how the NEW Glowforge Grant Program works:

  1. Apply to display your Glowforge (or future Glowforge) and project(s) at an event, festival, or show that you are excited about. This could be a local Maker Faire, a steampunk festival, a hackathon, an educators conference, a leatherworking showcase, a home & garden expo, etc.

  2. Once you have a confirmed booth at the event, you can apply for a grant from us. Just fill out this form to tell us about it and apply for a grant of $500 (plus extra for Proofgrade materials, if needed), which you can use to make your booth or presentation really shine.

  3. We’ll evaluate each application and do our best to get back to you within 2 weeks about whether we’re able to offer you a grant.

Important note: you may apply for these opportunities before you’ve received your Glowforge. If you are chosen for a grant and you don’t have your delivery in time, we’ll send you a loaner.

While we’re thrilled to be able to help more people share Glowforge with the world, we’re also sad to know we won’t be able to help everyone. The truth of the matter is that we have an unbelievable number of talented and awe-inspiring Glowforge users, and a limited supply grants to offer. We appreciate your understanding, and we’re cheering for all of you!

We love your feedback

Our company, software, referral program, catalog, grant program, and everything else we do wouldn’t be what it was without your feedback. Thank you for your posts and participation, and please jump into the comments to let us know what you think!

Please join us in the comments here.

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