We are proud to announce... The Sarcophagus
over 4 years ago
– Mon, Dec 23, 2019 at 09:17:04 PM
One of our guiding ambitions at Tune & Fairweather is to create modern-day treasure.
That was part of the inspiration for minting copper coins as one of our Kickstarter rewards. I gave a T&F Copper Coin to a close friend as a Christmas gift last night and he instantly remarked on how heavy it was. We want the things we make to feel substantial.
While designing product for the You Died Kickstarter we felt The Coffin version of the book was the pinnacle of what we could achieve in terms of production value. A custom black leather-bound edition in a pine-box storage case. That felt pretty damn opulent.
Yet halfway through the Kickstarter campaign our designer Andrew came to the rest of us and proposed the idea of having a master stonemason create a polished stone enclosure for the book. We thought he was joking. I mean... the idea was ridiculous. Fascinating, sure; lust-inducing, no question; but 100% ridiculous. Even still, the idea evolved from being a vague "what if" to something increasingly defined. And just because something is ridiculous doesn't mean you shouldn't consider doing it.
So: we're doing it.
Craftsman James Elliott has signed on to work with us on a project we're calling... The Sarcophagus.
Elliott won design accolades for crafting the tomb marker for Richard III housed in Leicester Cathedral. The piece was, appropriately, fit for a king.
Since the whole design thematic of You Died – from its name through to its original paperback cover illustration of Knight Artorias' tomb in Darkroot Garden – revolves around death and dying and graves, it seemed fitting to reach out to a stonemason who'd already designed a tombstone.
The Sarcophagus project has gotten Elliott so excited he's even picked up a copy of Dark Souls and begun playing it. He should get on okay. He's used to chipping away at hard objects.
We are creating two of these rare items for the Kickstarter – one black marble and one white, handcrafted and etched with the custom archtree insignia and Tune & Fairweather logo in platinum leaf. Both cases will house the rarest edition of You Died in existence: a stunning white-leather edition that will only be included with the two Sarcophagus Kickstarter rewards and never sold again. Each will contain a certificate of authenticity, signed by Tune & Fairweather's lead designer Andrew Hind and the company's founder Jason Killingsworth.
We appreciate that, due to the price and rarity of The Sarcophagus, it will be out of the reach of most people reading this update. That said, we hope it symbolises the fact that every book we produce, everything we do, we want to invest as much care as we're putting into this item. Even if you end up picking up the "standard" black edition, we want it to feel like a treasure in its own right. That emotional response is the success bar we've set for ourselves.
All of us at Tune & Fairweather are proud that Dark Souls is the recipient of this lavish Sarcophagus, what we're hoping will be the most beautiful video-game book ever produced.
Thanks for helping fund this dream project. We are humbled and inspired by your support. Feel free to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts on The Sarcophagus. We're curious who will become the proud owners of these unique works of art.
Jason
