Two years after minting Mad Masks, it’s time to take a moment to review.
While celebrating a significant milestone is due, it’s also an excellent time to reflect on where we came from.
Long before we launched, developing, exploring, and refining the concept took time and many months.
We remain a small, solo creator-lead on-chain collection of pixel art enthusiasts. We are independent and unclouded by chasing the latest meta. No venture capital or KOLs pump and dump the price on the timeline. While we are not building a business, we have cultivated a culture.
When Mad Masks was launched, it sent a message about the state of the NFT market, giving us hope and something to stand for. Since then, we have fostered a community of artists, developers, degens, and collectors.
Minting
Remember, remember the 5th of November.
I remember it like it was yesterday. Launching on Indelible Labs as part of the notorious alumni.
It was the weekend and it started slowly on Saturday for the AL and the public mint the next day on Sunday flew immediately after some alpha groups picked it up. While walking in the woods with family, I was feverishly tweeting and supporting the timeline after minting out on a day I will never forget.
We trended pretty well on the initial launch!
Mad Drops
One of the benefits of owning a Mad Mask is access.
This includes the member area on our website, which offers exclusive content and downloads and additional benefits like gaining access to other mints.
Thanks to the support of so many artists, we’ve made some fun drops and hope to do more soon. While meme coin season and gas fees were a deterrent, I hope we can get this program rolling again.
Check them out here and look for the next one!
Merch
This year, we explored a limited edition of hats, which was not part of any roadmap or a utility but a small gesture to support the desire to sport the brand out in the wild.
Many received a free set of stickers, which was well received. If there is any expressed interest, we might do another run later. I enjoyed seeing people rocking their hats!
Mad hatters, rejoice 😉
Physicals
We did a small competition that gave some community members art prints of their selected masks.
A slight hiccup with a supplier forced us to pivot to another option, but it ultimately turned out great.
Physical work hits differently.
Ordinals
Dipping our toes into BTC, we did a small series of mask-themed custom Node Monks.
Focusing on pop culture, we approached this one with a different take on masks while remaining pixel-based and in a slightly different canvas size: 24x24px. Despite any sales, they were enjoyable to create, and there will only ever be six.
The first unofficial ordinal collection! They are still available for purchase. Browse them here
Honoraries
They say it takes a village. We have created a collection of 32 on-chain 1/1s on Base to pay homage to those who have supported or inspired us in one way or another.
From PNG to SVG and dynamic enhanced HTML versions to experiment with and pay our respects. There were eight dynamic (animated) pieces included.
You may see some familiar faces; take a browse through!
The future
While many folks are looking for the next best thing, we’re still here doing it.
We remain an art-focused collection with no roadmap and no promises.
What’s next? We aim to support the community however we can; anything else is a bonus.
While we are technically a PFP collection, I can’t see why it isn’t considered art.
Most collections face the challenge of new chains and shifting meta, which creates a constant state of change—capturing attention is difficult.
Overall, NFTs have faced a significant downturn in market sentiment. We’re certainly not in 2021 anymore. (We launched in 2022, for the record)
Despite all this, we are fully on-chain, pixel-based and provide a unique take on a subject that will forever be iconic.
For everyone with us, supporting one way or another, thank you for believing in us and I appreciate all your support.
!Mask On
