The Mjölnir Crowdfunding Mess: A Fxxxking Disaster
The Rise and Fall of the Mjölnir Wallet Project by FEB29.
In mid-2019, the “Mjölnir: a Fxxxking great wallet” campaign took Kickstarter by storm. Billed as a feature-packed minimalist wallet inspired by Thor’s hammer, it became the most-backed and highest-funded wallet of 2019 raising over $450,000 in crowdfinding success a staggering 12,579% of its original $3,888 pledge. However, in the months and years that followed, the project’s promise gave way to repeated delays, sparse communication, and mounting frustration ending with backers ultimately never received their wallets and the company behind the campaign fading into obscurity. So what went wrong? In this article i'll being taking a deep dive into the Mjölnir wallet, exploring its exciting launch and analysing its disappointing aftermath.
In the beginning: Campaign Launch
The Mjölnir wallet campaign launched on June 18, 2019 on Kickstarter. It struck a chord immediately – the project hit its tiny funding goal in mere minutes and rocketed upward. By campaign’s end on August 17, 2019, Mjölnir wallet had amassed 11,104 backers contributing nearly $500k. This made it the highest funded and most backed wallet project on Kickstarter in 2019. Pretty good for your first crowdfunding campaign.
I wrote a brief ‘overview and review’ of the Mjolnir outlining my intial thrtoughts on the wallet. I had a lot of positives to say about the wallet mentioning its unique choice of material (RS15 Fibers) and innovative coin sorting features. I ended the article with a now humerious ”the Mjolnir wallet is not yet available for purchase outside of those who backed it on Kickstarter. That being said, the wallet should be available to the general populous soon” - unofunartley that was not to happen.
By the time the Kickstarter closed in August 2019, the cmopany behind the brand, FEB29, had also opened an Indiegogo InDemand campaign to capture late backers. The creators invited those who missed the Kickstarter to “Pre-order on Indiegogo” , leveraging the campaign’s hype.
Indeed, the Indiegogo page showed that by September 13, 2019 the project had raised a cumulative $600k when combining platforms. At this stage, everything seemed on track. The guys at Mjolnir had promised an October 2019 delivery for the wallets - a bold goal even for a less successful campaign - but with three pervious crowdfunding campaigns fulfilled, both FEB29 and backers were optimistic.
Post-Campaign: The Cracks Start Showing
After the funding period, focus shifted to manufacturing the Mjölnir wallets. In late 2019, Feb 29 LLC began sharing progress reports – initially maintaining an upbeat tone. An update in August 2019 declared Mjölnir the “highest funded + most backed wallet 2019” and was for backers only, indicating the team’s pride.
They addressed numerous backer questions in updates (e.g. demonstrating that cards wouldn’t slip out even if you only carry one card, confirming the wallet works with certain phone cases, etc.), showing off prototype photos and soliciting feedback.
Behind the scenes, however, it appears the team was iterating the design beyond what was initially planned. The creators later revealed that they had decided to upgrade Mjölnir from “V1” to “V2” before mass production. This likely stemmed from testing and backer input – the wallet had many moving parts and the team “went through up to 50 prototypes” fine-tuning features as talked about in an interview with the founder Eden Kew by Vulcan Post back in Stepemebr 2019.
Rather than ship the original design on the promised schedule, Feb 29 opted to improve it further, even if it meant delays. Backers were informed of the change to V2, though the exact timing is unclear (it may have been in late 2019 or very early 2020).
The Indiegogo campaign page later noted: “the team have improved V1 with V2 and the current pledges will be the upgraded V2’s. For backers with the phased out V1 from Kickstarter & Indiegogo” (suggesting they promised all Kickstarter backers would get the new version). This decision, while well-intentioned, introduced additional production complexity and pushed the delivery timeline out.
Meanwhile, FEB29 expanded their operations geographically. The previosuly mentioed Vulcan Post reported in September 2019 that the Singapore-based team set up a small U.S. presence to handle their growing international customer base.
The creators also continued taking pre-orders for a while – Indiegogo remained open, and their own website listed Mjölnir under “Funded on Kickstarter” products. All of this gave backers the impression that FEB 29 was confidently moving forward. In reality, however, delivering such a complex wallet at scale was proving harder than expected.
Mjolnir’s adveriting was quite creative at the time and humorous. Featured on their Indiegogo.
The Setbacks Continue: Covid & Delayed Production
As 2019 turned to 2020, backers grew eager for news – the original October 2019 ship date had passed with no wallets delivered. On January 5, 2020, the creators posted what would be their final update on Kickstarter. (After this point, most communications were via Indiegogo or email, leaving many Kickstarter-only backers feeling in the dark.) In early 2020, Feb 29 focused on finalizing the Mjölnir V2 design and starting production tooling.
Then a major unforeseen challenge struck: the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s manufacturing shutdowns in Q1 2020 and global logistics chaos threw a wrench into the schedule. In an April 2020 update, the team explained that “due to the pandemic lockdown, production of V2 was delayed” and they estimated shipping by July 2020.
This update – posted on Indiegogo in April 2020 – was frank about the situation and provided a new target date, suggesting that mass production was just a few months away. Backers were understandably disappointed by the delay, but most remained patient given the extraordinary circumstances. One supporter commented, “I really like your project and I have patience to wait for my Mjölnir wallet”, noting they hadn’t received a tracking number yet but remaining optimistic.
During this period, the creators also had to navigate other hurdles such as international tariffs and shipping logistics. They had earlier promised “EU-friendly shipping” and heavily subsidized rates for backers, , but cost overruns forced them to adjust plans (one update noted a small increase in EU shipping fees to cover new tariffs). These hiccups, while minor relative to the pandemic, further complicated fulfillment.
By mid-2020, the team began pilot production of the Mjölnir V2. A limited batch of units may have been produced around this time – enough for internal testing, a few early reviews, and perhaps to send to a handful of backers or influencers. Indeed, an in-depth unboxing and review video of a Mjölnir wallet appeared on YouTube (by user Ming Jun Siek) around mid-2020, demonstrating the product and noting that people could still pre-order via Indiegogo (not only three videos reviewing the Mjolnir Wallet exisit online).
One of a very few unboxing videos of the Mjolnir. Video courtesy of YouTuber Ming Jun Siek.
This suggests that at least some finished wallets existed by then. Feb 29 likely shipped a very small number of rewards in mid to late 2020 (possibly to local backers or as smoke tests for their fulfillment pipeline). For example, one Facebook commenter in 2020 proudly posted, “Wallet received. I can’t wait to hammer on this thing and really test it out!”, indicating he got his Mjölnir in hand. Such reports were sparse, though, and the vast majority of backers were still waiting.
Throughout late 2020, backers grew restless with each passing month of non-delivery. Communication from the creators became infrequent. The July 2020 shipping target slipped; by fall 2020, many backers heard little beyond occasional reassurance that production was ongoing.
In early 2021, Feb 29 provided another update acknowledging further delays. Over a year after the campaign, they were still struggling to fulfill orders. An Indiegogo update on 20 April 2021 admitted that due to the ongoing pandemic and associated challenges, the project was still not fully delivered. No firm new date was given – just an explanation that COVID-19 had continued to disrupt supply chains.
The Majolnir was very innovative with many of its features including this hidden key storage.
At this point, patience was wearing thin among backers. Some had been waiting for well over a year and a half. The optimistic tone that carried through 2019 was now replaced with silence or generic excuses. Backers who asked for refunds were typically rebuffed (Kickstarter creators are not obligated to refund, and Feb 29 repeatedly directed refund-seekers to email their support, which yielded little result). The once-vibrant comment sections turned grim, with backers trading theories about what was happening behind the scenes.
Backer Reactions and Community Fallout
By 2021, frustration in the community boiled over. The Kickstarter comment section – which amassed over 7,000 comments – became a hub of anger and disappointment. Backers noted that the creators had effectively “gone silent” on Kickstarter after January 2020. Occasional Indiegogo updates weren’t reaching everyone, and many felt outright abandoned. “It has been weeks since you’ve taken my money. You have not informed me if my order has even been processed, let alone shipped,” one backer angrily posted, reflecting a common sentiment.
Others reported sending “endless emails asking for help” or refund requests with no meaningful reply, only automated response. By late 2020, some backers openly accused Feb 29 of running a scam, believing the creators never intended to deliver after collecting funds. This accusation grew louder as months dragged on. In response, Feb 29 at one point updated their FAQ to plead with backers for understanding – addressing whether Mjölnir was a “Scam like some backers felt” and insisting that was not the case. But such assurances rang hollow against the backdrop of broken promises.
The once-supportive community had definitively turned. Backers congregated on Reddit and Facebook to commiserate and share any attempts at recourse. A few in the US and EU contacted consumer protection agencies or considered small claims court, but since FEB29 was based in Singapore, legal action was impractical for most.
Kickstarter’s Terms of Use provide that backers may pursue the creator legally if a project fails to deliver, but coordinating an international lawsuit for a $39.00–$59.00 wallet was not feasible. The community consensus by 2022 was that the Mjölnir campaign had effectively collapsed, leaving thousands of early supporters in the lurch.
A Campaign Failure - What went wrong?
In the end, the Mjölnir wallet became a cautionary tale in the crowdfunding world. A project that started with so much promise ended with thousands of disappointed backers and a creator whose reputation took a serious hit. overambitious design, production problems, and poor communication seem to be one of a few problems that plagued the FEB29 Team all compounded by Covid-19 and the struggles of manufacturing and shipping at the time.
It’s unknown how many wallets were actuaty furfilled by FEB29. What is clear many people did receive the wallet. Backer Dylan on Kickstarter commented back in 2023 ”Sounds likeaybe 25% of the people did. Mostly in Europe. I’m in USA never received the wallet or a refund or even a reply''. Prehaps there’s some truth in this but the fact of the matter is we’ll never really know.
The F29 Website as it resides in 2025
While many are quick to throw around the word ‘scam,’ in my opinion, the Majonir Wallet and the team behind it were simply a combination of being in over their heads and facing unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic. I genuinely feel sorry for the founder, Eden, who I truly believe loved his craft as a leatherworker and sincerely wanted to create a wonderful wallet for people to use and enjoy.
This wasn’t like many other crowdfunding campaigns and wallet failures I’ve come across, The Keplero Wallet comes to mind, where it was clear the creators were only in it for the money. Instead, this felt more like a case of mismanagement and poor decision-making. Backers are rightfully frustrated, but Kickstarter has always carried risks and nothing is ever guaranteed with crowdfunding. I don’t believe anyone at FEB29 deserved the hate they received.
So what happened to FEB29? Their website still exists, but it’s essentially abandoned, left unupdated, with a shop that has no products for sale. It’s clear the failure of the Mjolnir Wallet was too damaging to the FEB29 brand, which now stands as a defunct reminder of what once was.
As for the founder, Eden Kew, what became of him remains unknown. No recent traces of him can be found online, and it’s likely he removed himself from the public eye following the fallout from the Kickstarter campaign. All I can say is that I wish Eden well and hope he’s still out there, handcrafting the leather goods that made him great, a brilliant craftsman, in the first place.