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  • Beware: Lemonbrat


    camarofurry
    • Who: Artist
      Where: http://www.lemonbrat.com
      When: 12/12/2018
      What: Fursuit/ Fursuit Parts

      Resolved
    Message added by James

    Update 08.01.19, 10pm central:  Lemonbrat's response can be found here.

    Update 08.03.19, a "pending resolution" tag has been added as the suit is en route to the client.

    Update 08.03.19, 10:30pm central:  Images of the repaired suit have been added.

    Update 08.09.19, this has been marked as resolved.

    Message added by James

    Howdy Twitter!

    Before commenting please review our Code of Conduct.  All comments are moderated, meaning they are manually approved.

    08.09.19:  Comments have been reopened given there are some concerns.  Our members more experienced in suits please feel free to leave insight.

    Situation:   I ordered a custom suit from Lemonbrat in late 2018.   With the understanding that the suit would be paid off 3 months prior to July, as I needed to suit to be finished and shipped in time for Eurofurence (leaving 12 August 2019).   The terms of service changed somewhere in Febuary or March when I actually paid off the suit.

    Initial Deposit:  https://images2.imgbox.com/3f/d1/LIZAfgSE_o.jpg

    Final Payment: https://images2.imgbox.com/89/8c/s9pQ3s2C_o.png

    Assurances on Finish Time: https://images2.imgbox.com/2a/50/9gHwLCC3_o.png

     

    They changed the refund policy from (cost of materials and labour will be taken from refund, and at our descretion) to (no payments are refundable)

    They changed there creation time from 2-3 months after complete payment, to 3-4 months for people who pay upfront.   They also changed the deposit terms.

    I can't remember what the original percentage was, but it changed to 100% payment before construction. 

    The person dealing with my suit told me that I was bound to the old TOS since I paid off the suit before the changes were made.

     

    From the time of being paid off I have had nothing but issues.    Communication was extremely bad right from the start.  I had to go out of my way to contact them every week or two to get any information.    The suit was supposed to have started construction 3 months prior to July, and didn't start construction until the last few days of June.  Giving them around 30 days to start a suit, a suit I had assumed they had already started.   That was a shock.  

    Image:  Re-confirming a July finish:  https://images2.imgbox.com/b9/d3/qhIVTi77_o.jpg

    I didn't recieve any progress update images until mid-july, the date the suit was supposed to ship.   twice after that, I got assurances the suit would be finished and shipped by the 'end of the week', twice I was told this, and twice the deadline was missed, making three missed deadlines.

    My fursuit head was made into a mouse head, it had to be completely redone.

    head1.JPG

    head9.jpg

    head8.jpg

    head2.JPG

    old head.jpg

    My tail was made short and curly, and I was told that it was exactly the same as my reference image. 

    When I pointed out that it wasnt - and therefore not what I asked for, they said, "Oh, but this is right for your suit - trust us."

    tailmsg.JPG

    tailmsg2.JPG

     

    I pressed again, that it was not what I asked for an they eventually redid it.    To my horror, they had made it supersized to the point that it would need carried.

    teamofpeople.JPG

    Even though I asked them to keep it long and skinny, and anotomically correct. 

     

    Several extras have been added to the suit (against my wishes) to try and compensate me because they realised they messed up.

    They added airbrushing, they're bumping up the shipping to Express International, and now they made a oversized tail (something I didn't pay for or want)

    They're completely designing the suit they way the *think* it should look and not what I asked for, and its more than just a "style" thing.

    Tail (first attempt)  https://images2.imgbox.com/90/17/Pa3F9l6Q_o.jpg

    Tail (second attempt)  https://images2.imgbox.com/84/2c/iYrvQ5KF_o.jpg

    Fursuit references: https://images2.imgbox.com/e1/13/sFGrxjpO_o.jpg

    https://images2.imgbox.com/5c/b1/GSVYWuhI_o.jpg

    https://images2.imgbox.com/03/ea/izTVbu2S_o.png

    1 out of 4 fursuit reference that was sent has not been posted here due to it being NSFW

     

    I get the feeling the person dealing with my suit is new.   By his own admission,  he had to pass on the fursuit head to a head artist to have it completely redone.

    They also said that a whole team is working on my suit to try and get it done on time, this is not a good sign.

    I have over 40 emails from Lemonbrat from my back and forths with them since December of 2018.   I've uploaded some of those emails but seeing as there are so many, I'm gonna limit what I've uploaded, if anyone needs anything specific will be happy to add it later.

     

    Other images: https://images2.imgbox.com/3c/16/AoO5elCV_o.jpg (Tail argument)

    https://images2.imgbox.com/05/52/5NevIVAT_o.jpg (Tail argument)

     

    Other proof:

    depconstruct.JPG

    target.png

     

    Update:  They've sent pictures of the suit.

    DSC_0761.jpg.3d7180b53beb0c95582302800ce88a23.jpg

    DSC_0763.jpg

    snip.png

    Update:  08.03.19

    The suit has been repaired, and is now en route to the client.  The email confirming shipping is being withheld to protect the client's privacy. 

    camaro-183.jpg

    camaro-203.jpg

    camaro-205.jpg

    camaro-207.jpg

    Update: 08.09.19

    Hi there, quick update.

    The suit arrived, with the ears fixed.   Not sure how they did it, as I assumed they weren't going to.

    The suit is snug and fits neatly, and although I am excited and happy to have it there were a few issues:

     

    Minor Issues:

    - No care instructions

    -No instructions on how to fit cushions into the digigrade legs properly or how to put on.

    (a lot of trial and error to get it right)

    Serious Issues:

    -The suit arrived with fur stuck in the zipper, and the zip had been driven over and beyond the jam

    (I managed to fix it with some gentle tugging to release the fur from the middle of the zip but it was really worrying)

    -The zip is extremely tempromental and sticks.  It requires two people to suit up and out.  Almost got stuck inside trying it on (wanted to make sure it fit because of the issues previous)

    -The tail is detachable, and attaches with a belt loop on the rear of the suit.  (this is something that kind of gripes me as it breaks the magic, but there's not much I can do about it.   They claim it was the 'only' way to fix the horrible bulge they had on the rear of the suit, and it's still there, it's just less noticeable. 

    Other points

    -They included the repairs with the cost of fixing there mistakes.   I asked them to put the value of the materials only on the customs form for cheaper import fees.   They bumped the price up to 600$ I suspect they included the price of used materials for the repairs to their own mistakes, I didn't like this, but I shrugged it off, as I didn't want to argue with them anymore.

    (A few friends have expressed that they feel the price is a bit hefty but I have no knowledge of these things so please don't take my word as fact here)

    Overall, I'm happy with the suit, I still have a few gripes about it, and clearly it was a fight to get it "this good" and it's still not perfect.   I'm not trying to be a 'nightmare' customer, I just expect professionalism from a "big name" in the fursuit making community.   A suit arriving with fur jammed, and run over with a zipper, no care instructions, and no instructions on how to actually use the "large cushions" they provided to pad out the legs is a little sloppy in my oppinoun.

    And then there's the issues that was listed on my beware previously.  I feel they only went so far with there repairs to save their own reputation, had I not made the beware and kept pressure on them to fix the mistakes I don't know what the suit would look like, they initially refused outright to do any further repairs after the head recarve.

    If they did bump up the price of the material cost, simply for shipping purposes as a payback for all the repairs they did, I find that a little petty. 

    All in all, I've decided not to go to Lemonbrat for anything again, and a lot of people have given me there support on this without asking, saying they won't even buy things from there stalls anymore.

    I appreciate all the support the AB team and the people who read my posts and twitter have given me.   And if you chose not support Lemonbrat, that is your choice, but I wouldn't blame you.

     

    All the best,

    Camaro.




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    • Administrator
    5 minutes ago, Vibri said:

    I'm sorry to burst your conspiracy theory bubble, but I'm not a member of Lemonbrat staff. I'm not even American. I'm just a dude who read though the info. (I see what Lemonbrat meant by you trying to "read between the lines).
    I can tell you right now, you are a nightmare customer. I've seen the emails, and you don't exactly come out smelling like roses in them.
    The reason you are being "Bullied" (if you want to call it that) is because you have been unreasonable since the story broke. Within 20 hours you had a gofundme going and have been milking the situation for attention ever since. In their final email to you, Lemonbrat was more than reasonable and laid out all the issues they had with you (while providing evidence in their full reply). You rebutted it but without supplying evidence. Right now your side of the story is looking flimsier and flimsier, especially since they have offered to edit the suit. The emails where you offer to send the DTD but they refused have yet to surface.
    The only REALLY valid complaint is that the tail on the suit looks bad. Everything else is just heavily opinionated hearsay.

    That's about enough.

    It's fine to critique the OP, but at this point given how users have been behaving offsite and then coming here to continue the behavior we'll be locking the thread until Camaro and Lemonbrat can speak further on the matter.  Absolutely nothing justifies harassment.  Ever.  

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    7 hours ago, armaina said:

    /cut

    I dunno if you're confused but I'm not defending Lemonbrat or part of their group, I was just saying that suit reads way more as feline than what Camaro received. I wasn't necessarily saying it's more accurate of a big cat either, just that it's clearly feline while Camaro's head is obviously a rodent head, and the tail is much thinner and more accurately represents a feline tail than the one Camaro got. 

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    • Senior Staff
    7 minutes ago, Bourbon said:

    I dunno if you're confused but I'm not defending Lemonbrat or part of their group, I was just saying that suit reads way more as feline than what Camaro received. I wasn't necessarily saying it's more accurate of a big cat either, just that it's clearly feline while Camaro's head is obviously a rodent head, and the tail is much thinner and more accurately represents a feline tail than the one Camaro got. 

    Didn't think that you were defending lemonbrat at all, because it does look a little better than what Camaro got. Rather, I was pointing out consistent issues in shoddy work for Big Cat characters that clearly both used that mouse head as a base, I can tell they both used the same base and I didn't want them to come in and go 'but it's the same'.

    The rest of the post was in no way aimed at you, only Lemonbrat

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    • Administrator

    Given numerous individuals are following the post, and mod messages don't ping you:

    The suit has been repaired.  Fixed images have been attached.  It is now en route to the client.  The tag has been updated to "pending resolved" as we would prefer posters have the item in hand before we mark a post as fully resolved.

    The comments will remain closed.  Everything that needs to be said has been said, and we thank both parties for resolving this issue.

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    • Administrator

    Comments have been reopened for the time being because Camaro has some concerns.  If any of our members experienced in suits can help clarify on these items, that would be appreciated.

    Comments that are here to only further the behavior from Twitter won't be approved.

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    • Administrator

    Hiya!  This is from @snowhawkwhom is away from her PC at the moment:

    The zipper sticking is a common thing with new zippers. Some bar soap on the teeth can help

    Detachable tails are very common, and if the home placement isn't right, it'll cause a bulge. (LB should have REQUIRED a dtd)

    Care instructions are keep it out of the dryer, but hand wash.

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    Gosh, the seams on the body suit are just so strangely placed.. Hm.

    At any rate, I came here to offer a suggestion about the tail problem. I have a tail of similar length and size on one of my personal suits and it's sewn directly into the suit. A tail of that size should cause no problem on the body suit and it shouldn't stretch the fur over time. It looks pretty light!
    You should also be able to wash it in a machine or tub while it's attached. For drying tho, I would suggest getting a fan not only just for the body suit but also a dedicated fan for just the tail as the tail will take much longer to dry than the bodysuit since the tail is stuffed. Otherwise there should be 0 issues here.

    So see what you can do about getting someone to sew it directly into the hole (or whatever the attachment thing they did is) where it goes into. You can keep the belt loops on the tail and use a belt to help keep the tail secure and transfer whatever weight it does have onto your own waist vs the bodysuit-- but you probably won't need to use a belt tbh. Just an extra measure you could take.

    I hope this helps and wasn't too confusing! If you have questions, feel free to reply and Ill try my best to help.

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    Regarding fursuit care instructions, I can offer up a few things:

    Washing/Cleaning
    -Faux fur is safe to put in the wash, but I would turn the suit inside-out first. This will give you access to the digitigrade padding, which may allow you to remove it (If you do remove it, take notes/pictures of what you removed from where, and maybe also mark the pieces with a fabric marker so that you can put them back together in the right place).
    -Always wash your suit in cold water.
    -A delicate detergent is generally ideal, but your mileage may vary. (Sometimes, carpet cleaner is the only thing that works.) Some detergents, delicate or not, don't interact well with some furs. If you have concerns and have some of the fur available fur repairs, test it on a scrap piece before using it on your suit.
    -If you use a washing machine, use a delicate cycle. Also put your suit into a laundry bag to prevent it from getting caught on anything. Put your paws, hand and foot, into pillow cases to keep them from getting any weird stains onto anything else.
    -If you're hand-washing, your tub is your friend and you can use it for soaking.

    Drying
    -Fans are helpful. Very helpful.
    -Do not use heat for drying. It will melt the fur.
    -While a lot of folks will hang up their suits to dry, the weight of the damp fur can cause stretching at the shoulders.

    At Con Care
    -Dryer sheets are super useful for quickly drying out your head and paws. Scented ones can also help combat odors.
    -Disinfecting sprays (water and rubbing alcohol) are your friend and will help keep your suit fresh between wears. Keep the spray away from anything airbrushed or electronic on your suit. You may also need to keep it away from the eyes, depending on how they've been made.
    -If you haven't, invest in some UnderArmor and a balaclava to help keep moisture away from the suit whenever possible.
    -Take frequent breaks and put your health at a priority over anyone else's idea of magic.

    Travel
    -Have some kind of tote for travel. Some folks have things like footlockers. Others have plastic totes. I use a hard-shell suitcase.

    Hope that helps with some of the confusion around fursuit care. Sorry I can't help with any of the other issues!
     

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    So, I asked for the care instructions and "how-to" put the suit on information (for my specific suit) from Lemonbrat 2 weeks ago, the email finally arrived last night. 
    The care instructions seem pretty generic, maybe even copied and pasted from some website online I don't know, it says nothing specifically about short, minky fur.

    It's not really an issue.  I've asked for the material colours and the source, I said for repair reasons, but... I may have had other ideas in mind like comissioning a new suit from someone else using the same colours. 

    I felt if I told them that, they would not have told me.   Anyway, the sent me what seems to me like a really confusing image of the colours.   Now, I only remembering choosing two colours.  Champaign and Tawny, possibly Minky Black for my details.   Now I asked them to add information on which furs where used for which parts.    There are 3 shades of black alone.  (I originally thought two) In total there are 7 different colours of fur listed in there email. 

    As this is my first fursuit, I'm not sure it is normal practice, but I thought it might be worth mentioning anyway.   Either I am having a really hard time understanding basic information, or communication is an really big issue.    I've been at my first convention and already the fur is starting to bald in places.  This is not a good sign.   The zipper is constantly jamming, even when you ensure to make sure the fur is not in the way when you zip up.    They've put a plastic puller on a metal zip on both the head and the back.

    It seems like instead of seperating the fabric and the fur, they've simply turned the zip backwards somehow - it's really strange.   The zipper and fabric seem to seperate on the inside, but not where it counts on the outside. 

    I'll provide more pictures soon.   They're is no possible way to put this suit on, or get out of it without help.   If you really need to get out of suit quickly in a medical emergency, be prepared to get cut out of it if you don't have a handler because it can easily take an hour just to get in and out of suit.  30-40 minutes if you really try to hurry.  (impossible if you are on your own)

    Again, not sure if this is normal, this is my first fullsuit, but I thought my experience might be worth mentioning. 

     

    [Edit: Thought it might be worth mentioning that the Fursuit Team and Security at EuroFurence, were constantly saying things like "Oh, the zipper keeps jamming, this must be a Lemonbrat suit"  Just thought that might be worth noting]

    Camaro.

    update00.JPG

    update01.JPG

    update03.JPG

    update04.JPG

    Edited by camarofurry
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    This is how the suit looks now.   It's better.  That's all I can say.

    A lot of people have been making lovely comments about how I acted well at the convention, and worked really hard to make people smile even though my suit wasn't ideal. 

    The love and support I've gotten in the community these past few weeks has been humbling.  I love you all. 

    I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions from the photos.

    Camaro.

    photo_2019-08-15_23-08-54.jpg

    photo_2019-08-16_16-25-22.jpg

    photo_2019-08-18_14-16-53.jpg

    photo_2019-08-19_13-13-36.jpg

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    • Administrator

    One comment was not allowed through due to it being proxy. Users may only report on their own transaction.

    Also please upload proof of the balding.

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    I've uploaded these images by request.

    My camera sucks and doesn't really show you what I see.

    The honeycombing underneath can be seen and there seems to be a 'lump' of fur missing, and some of the fur looks like it's been 'shaved' too short.   It's the best way I can describe it.   The size is about the size of the area is about the size of a giant peanut.  (can think of anything else to describe the size)

    bald1.JPG

    bald2.JPG

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    4 minutes ago, camarofurry said:

    I've uploaded these images by request.

    My camera sucks and doesn't really show you what I see.

    The honeycombing underneath can be seen and there seems to be a 'lump' of fur missing, and some of the fur looks like it's been 'shaved' too short.   It's the best way I can describe it.   The size is about the size of the area is about the size of a giant peanut.  (can think of anything else to describe the size)

    ...

    Where is this patch (head, body, hands) and is it like that all the time? Even with high quality fur you can still see the backing if you part the fibers.

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    On 8/22/2019 at 10:18 PM, Dergish said:

    Where is this patch (head, body, hands) and is it like that all the time? Even with high quality fur you can still see the backing if you part the fibers.

    I only noticed this area because there was a visible 'line' in the fur that won't go away with brushing. 
    I feel that there's not much more I can say about the issues with the suit, and I want to thank everyone so much, especially the AB team, and the
    community for there love, and support.   It has been a hard few months for me, and I couldn't have made it without you.  I will never forget your kindness.

    I have made a final statement regarding everything that happened, and if you want you can read that.   It's a pretty long statement, about just over a page on word.  I express my thanks and my final thoughts there and you can read that here if you wish.   I'll be requesting a thread lock from the moderation team, but that decision will ultimately be up to them.   I feel there's not much more that can be contributed to this issue, and again, I really want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for there love, support, and advice over these past couple of months.   It really means a lot to me.

    Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BHMnCcpFPrwHTP3nqUlnabLIfcK6ykmTbYh50fQ7GTI/edit?usp=sharing

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    On 8/1/2019 at 3:25 PM, Kiarra said:

    So I've gotten a suit from Lemonbrat and they have been nothing but kind and courteous and prompt with their responses. 

    This to me looks like buyer's remorse. The images you provided make it seem like you were contacted in March about your due date and work had started on the suit in June. Which you received wips for. Where are the rest of the emails from them? In order to clear the air I would provide them.

    Tmk Lemonbrat doesn't make changes unless it's requested by the customer. They send wip pictures and you need to approve them before more work is done on the suit.

    They have their customers choose the fur colors, they even send swatches. So that's on you. The fur looks like short pile fur, maybe sable or seal, it wrinkles. It's gonna happen with shorter furs. You're going to see seams unless you're using lux or another long pile fur. 

    Lemonbrat has a team of people who work on these suits, I have met several of them and they're always super friendly. You sound like an awful customer.

    You provided a ref from the lion king first off.  You need consistent reference images. Looking at the main one the tail is curved. Have you seen a big cat like a panther? Their tails naturally have a curve so they don't drag on the ground.

    I don't see the airbrushing you speak of, to be fair I see absolutely nothing that would suggest it was airbrushed at all. It all looks like fur and shadows of fur in the images. 

    I couldn't agree with you more. I recently just bought a new suit from them (picture attached below) and they've been nothing but kind. It was a premade and we decided to get magnetic eyebrows so they had to take the head back to their shop. Since then communication has been absolutely wonderful, and the head is promptly on its way.

    The commissioner of this suit needed more clearer references.

    If this particular commissioner really had a problem with LemonBrat they would provide more prior detail and the MAIN BODY part of the suit and not just the head and tail issues.

    The only part that I agree with in this entire beware is the head. I do agree that it does look slightly rodent like. 

    I feel like it's very important to do research on not just makers, but on different furs, foams, and so fourth before commissioning a suit. I did my share of research and chose the fur I wanted used on my suit, as my maker (who shall remain nameless) had plans for a different fur option and was happy to use a different option with a slight pay increase (because of ordering). 

    I wasn't planning on commenting on this beware, but I can't sit by and let a wonderful company lose potential customers. I've met the people who help create these suits and they deserve so much credit. I own quite a few LemonBrat products and that number continues to grow. I personally think they're a great company with lots of potential.

    I'm not trying to attack anyone who agrees with this beware, I'm simply sharing my opinion/experience. 

    - picture of the new suit below -

     

     

    new suit.jpg

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    • Administrator

    Comments have been locked. This is an old post, and if you're interested in talking about positive experiences please go to the positive reviews forum.

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