Hello again!
If you’re reading this on November 9th 2016 then there are exactly three weeks left for you to register for EMULSIVE Secret Santa 2016. Depending on how you want to look at it, that’s 21 days, or 504 hours, or 30,240 minutes. If it’s easier to grasp, that works out to less than half a day if you were living on Mercury.
Put simply, time is running out
Sit tight, though. This update isn’t only about annoying you with units of time. Actually, it’s to announce the sponsors for this year’s event. So without further ado, here you go!
Sponsor roll call
We’ve got five sponsors on board so far for 2016 and as there’s no real concept of one being better than the other, here they are in alphabetical order:
Billingham
Yes, that’s right Billingham, subject of the latest Community Interview announced On November 8th. They’re keeping quite tight lipped about what’s on offer for their gift but don’t worry, we’ll figure something out – a luggage tag, add-on pouch…maybe even a bag. Who knows. Billingham’s gift will be going to whoever is lucky enough to match with EMULSIVE.
Expired Film Day
Fresh off the success of Exprired Film Day 2016 (get it?), Daniel J Schneider is back to with good tidings and three EFD packs to give away as gifts to Secret Santa 2016 participants. Each pack contains a vintage or almost-vintage camera and format-appropriate film; and maybe some other surprises too. One EFD gift will be going to whoever matches EMULSIVE, the remaining two will be going to two lucky randomly selected entrants.
~ Billingham website: billingham.co.uk
ILFORD Photo
You can’t turn around without seeing or hearing about these guys. I’m pleased to say that ILFORD are back as Secret Santa sponsors for 2016 after finally having recovered from last year’s event and their more recent Community Interview.
Up for grabs are three goody bags, each containing an ILFORD Obscura camera, an ILFORD Photo Negative Loupe (not for sale, so very few in existence!), a roll of SFX 200 35mm film, another roll of SFX 200 in 120 format and the piece de resistance…an ILFORD “I love B&W badge”.
Seriously, that last item is the icing on the cake. I’ve pictures but am currently resisting the temptation to share them. As above, one of ILFORD’s gifts will be going to whoever matches EMULSIVE, the remaining two will be going to two lucky randomly selected entrants. If you’re lucky, they may also include a pack of Custard Creams.
~ Ilford website: ilfordphoto.com
Kodak Alaris
The wonderful folks over at Kodak Alaris are also back as sponsors this year and will be providing three gift bags of Kodak Professional film with a sampler of both 120 and 35mm film. The gifts will be split between whoever matches EMULSIVE and two randomly selected entrants.
~ Kodak Alaris website: kodakalaris.com
Lomography NYC
Our friends from Lomography NYC have been kind enough to put together three goody bags containing a camera and a film sampler pack. As with ILFORD and EFD, one of Lomography’s gifts will be going to whoever matches EMULSIVE, the remaining two will be going to two lucky randomly selected entrants.
~ Lomography website: lomography.com
That’s quite a lot to take in, so let me put it another way. Whoever matches with EMULSIVE will receive:
- A gift from EMULSIVE.
- A gift from Billingham.
- A camera / film pack from Expired Film Day.
- An Obscura camera, 120 and 35mm film, a negative loupe and badge from ILFORD.
- A Kodak Proffesional Film sampler pack from Kodak Alaris.
- A camera and film sampler from Lomograhpy.
- …and maybe some biscuits
As opposed to last year, where each sponsor gift was sent to the same two individuals, we’ve decided to break it up a little and send sponsor gifts to eight of you.
The gifts are:
- 2x Camera / film pack from Expired Film Day
- 2x Obscura camera, 120 and 35mm film, a negative loupe and badge from ILFORD
- 2x Kodak Proffesional Film sampler pack from Kodak Alaris
- 2x camera and film sampler goody bags from Lomograhpy
- …and probably no biscuits
There are also rumors of a super-secret-not-so-secret gift coming from an as yet unnamed member of the community. You’ll have to figure out for yourself on Twitter who and what that may be!
What’s next
As per the previous update, we’ll making the draw on Thursday December 1st, or possibly a few days later. So please nudge, nudge, nudge away until then.
Once the draw takes place, you’ll be notified by email. We’ll also be posting on Twitter and Facebook to remind you, just in case it gets filtered to your Junk folder.
Remember that this is anonymous, so you won’t know who is giving you a gift. You will be able to send anonymous messages to your match once the draw takes place and we’d suggest you use the opportunity to find out a little about what they can and cannot use before sending your gift.
You’ll be able to request clarification of address details from your match, so you can make sure your gift goes to the right place. Remember, the faster you send out your gift, the better chance your match has of getting it before Christmas Day – which is the point after all.
We want to make sure that everyone is protected, so we’re asking you all to make sure you get a proof of postage and to make sure you take a photo of it for your records – we can’t stress this enough.
If you have ANY issues at all, please let us know using the contact page, or by sending an email to secret.santa.help@emulsive.org.
In case you don’t know what this is about
The premise of the EMULSIVE Secret Santa is simple; commit to sending a fellow lover of film photography a gift – with a value of at least US$10 – be it film, a cereal box camera, or perhaps something much bigger. You can read more here.
Registration is open until Monday November 30th 2015 and the draw will be made on or around Thursday December 1st 2016. Once the draw is made, you’ll be matched up with someone and you’ll be tasked with sending a gift to them. Remember that they might be in a different country to you.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting involved:
- Sign-up for the EMULSIVE Secret Santa 2016 using Elfster, our chosen service provider.
- Add your real name, your preferred internet handle, or something else.
- Add some details about yourself, a picture (if you want), and details of what you want from your Secret Santa.
- Wait until the draw and then jump into action and send your gift.
- Wait…
- Receive and share your gift on Twitter with @EMULSIVEsanta!
- Really, it’s that simple. Sign up, add some info, wait, send, receive!
Things to remember
- Confirm anything you need with your match using Elfster’s messaging system and get your package ready for shipping by December 9th 2016 at the very latest..
- Remember to package responsibly and in the same manner you’d hope to receive something yourself.
- Finally, GET PROOF OF POSTAGE. This little idea is reliant on trust. Everyone is taking everyone else for their word. If you don’t intend to send a gift, don’t take one from someone else. We cannot stress this enough.
Still have a few questions? Not to worry, leave them in the comments below and we’ll do our best to help you out.
Good luck!
~ EMULSIVE
