Hei hei everyone! 

We hope you've had a great, Omicron-free start to 2022. Our team has been plugging away diligently in the cold north & the far east, so here's our January update with lots of exciting news. The summary:

• We remain on track for our updated manufacturing schedule, i.e. shipping beginning in May/June.
• We'll start sending out BackerKit surveys this weekend and early next week. Look out for them in your inboxes! 
• We've teamed up with Moment! You'll be able to order Moment Lenses, Drop-In Lens Mounts, MagSafe Tripods, etc. in BackerKit and our online store.  They'll ship together with your Fjorden Grip.
• We have a new referral program. Give your friends $10 off on their own Fjorden Grip, and get $10 when they order via your link.
• And we have a new logo! Check it out below.

Manufacturing update

Norwegians know a thing or two about black metal. Hence, Fjorden's various buttons and dials are CNC-machined from solid blocks of metal and then anodized in matte black.  We've just received the first samples in our Oslo office. They look & feel great!

Meanwhile, our manufacturing team in China has produced the "first shots" (injection-moulded parts) using our actual production tools. Here is a photo of the engineers doing an assembly trial run:

So far, everything looks good! We should receive the samples in Oslo by the end of this month. They'll still look rough (the textures and finishes won't be applied to these samples), but we'll be able to check and fine-tune the haptics of the shutter button, dial, and zoom lever. 

On the packaging front: Our original concepts (which you saw in the last update) were designed purely for shipping from the warehouse directly to you. However, we've realised that Fjorden will probably be on retail shelves sooner rather than later, so we've redesigned the box for that purpose: 

Let us know what you think!

BackerKit surveys coming & buy Moment gear! 

Long-promised, long-overdue, but finally here: The BackerKit surveys will be on their way to your inboxes over the next week! BackerKit sends out a small batch first (the so-called "smoke test") to spot any problems before sending it to all backers, so it might be several days before you get your survey. 

And we've got some fantastic news: We've teamed up with the wonderful people at Moment to transform your iPhone into a more professional, more complete, more kick-ass compact camera! 

Moment lenses have been rated the #1 Best Mobile Lenses years on straight by The Wirecutter. They're the highest quality glass available for your phone. Now you'll be able to order the Fisheye 14mm, Wide 18mm, Tele 58mm, and Macro 10x lenses - plus corresponding Drop-In Lens Mounts for the Fjorden Cases - in BackerKit and in our Fjorden store. You'll also find the Moment MagSafe Tripod Mounts, leather camera straps (which will work with the Fjorden Cases), and other gear. 

Everything will ship together with your Fjorden Grip, giving you a premium camera setup right out of the box.

Give your friends $10 off on Fjorden!

As a startup, we depend on word of mouth to keep growing. So we've created a referral program! You can give your friends $10 off on their own Fjorden Grip (in addition to the pre-order discounts we still offer!). If they order via your referral link, you get $10 in cash as well - not to mention our gratitude for your help! Get your personal referral link here: 

Check out our new logo!

You've already spotted it above: We've got a new logo! 

Our previous logo was a take on an iconic Norwegian landmark (Trolltunga rock), rendered as aperture blades in a diamond-shaped icon. While we liked its retro-industrial look, we also felt that it didn't always work harmoniously with the "Fjorden" wordmark and in different contexts, such as round spaces. 

Our redesign combines the Fjorden "F" with the idea of a mountain landscape seen from a distance and with analog gears/dials. The end result also reminds us of a snowflake, and what could be more Norwegian? 

Here is a comparison of the old vs new logo in different contexts:

We hope you like it as much as we do. Let us know what you think in the comments or in the Fjorden Community!

Cheers and speak soon,

Victor