🧭 March Dispatch: A Month at the Cartographer’s Table

February brought no distant expeditions for IONOX Media, yet the workshop remained lively from start to finish. Kara and I devoted the month to clearing the remaining orders from 2025, finishing our January 2026 commissions, and making strong progress through the February queue. With the backlog finally thinning, the forge of the workshop has begun to breathe a little easier again.

Even without travel on the calendar, the expedition still found moments to step out into the world. We spent time among friends and fellow adventurers at local gatherings like the Happiest Market and the annual Adventureland Day celebration. To those who raised a glass in honor of the old adventurer’s greeting, Kungaloosh to you all!

Behind the scenes we also laid the groundwork for something new for the expedition: the first official IONOX Media newsletter. Beginning this season, our dispatches will travel out twice each month to subscribers, carrying exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes notes from the workshop, and the occasional field supply in the form of subscriber-only discounts and coupon codes.

If you would like to receive these messages from the trail, you can enlist here:
-Join our monthly newsletter here-
 

⚙️ Workshop Log: A Stronger Crew

The workshop has been running at full steam as we prepare for the coming show season, and a great deal of that progress is thanks to the newest member of our expedition. Karen joined the crew in June of 2025 and has been nothing short of incredible in helping us reclaim ground on the long order queue.

Through her steady work alongside our own, the backlog that once stretched far across the horizon has finally been brought under control. For the first time in quite a while, the workshop is not only fulfilling orders but also building something we have sorely missed going into a convention season: fresh stock for the show floor.

Karen’s craftsmanship, reliability, and positive spirit have quickly made her an invaluable part of the expedition. From the bottom of our hearts, we offer her our sincere thanks for helping bring the workshop back to full strength.
 

🧭 Dispatch on Provisions & Pricing

We have an important update to share about our pricing. For years we held the line as material costs rose around us, doing everything possible to keep our work accessible without compromising its craftsmanship. That time has finally caught up with us, and in order for the expedition to continue forward, we’ve had to adjust our prices across the board. This wasn’t a decision made lightly, but one made so we can keep creating the maps, landmarks, and artifacts that define our journey. We’re grateful for everyone who has supported us through every season, and we hope these changes are met with the same understanding you’ve always given us. Our wooden art remains available through Etsy and Shopify, our textile designs live under Retro-Realm on Redbubble, and The 3rd Unit continues its run in both print and digital form on Amazon.
 

🔭 Mission Log: Maps in the Making

The 2026 show season begins with a wave of new artifacts joining the expedition’s collection. Inspired by the recent success of the Fallout television series, and our long shared love of the world behind the games, Kara has expanded our Fallout line with a new series of signs drawn from across the wasteland. Joining our existing pieces will be designs for The Lucky 38 Casino, The Tops Casino, the New California Republic, Caesar’s Legion, Nuka-Cola, Red Rocket Truck Stops, RobCo Industries, and Vault-Tec Industries, each one bringing a bit more of the Mojave and the wider Fallout universe into the workshop.

On the cartography side of the table, Mike has taken some time to bring the long-forgotten XS Tech logo from Walt Disney World’s Alien Encounter back to life, giving that infamous Tomorrowland company its own artifact worthy of display.

One of the expedition’s largest undertakings is also nearing completion. While it will not be ready in time for Awesome Con in Washington DC, the long-awaited map of Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe is on course to make its official debut at MegaCon in Orlando.
All of these art pieces will make their online premiere in April, once we are back in the workshop.

A few other major charts remain in development as well. Work on the maps for Men in Black: Alien Attack from Universal Studios Florida and Ironforge from World of Warcraft have slowed temporarily as we focus on the opening shows of the season, but both projects remain on the drafting table and will surface later in the year.
 

🌅 Forward Momentum: The Road Calls Again

March marks the official beginning of the 2026 show season, and the expedition wastes no time setting out. The journey begins with three of our largest conventions arriving back to back within the span of just three weeks: Awesome Con in Washington DC, MegaCon here in Orlando, and C2E2 in Chicago.

Starting on March 10th, Kara and I will take to the road for this stretch of the journey, traveling from city to city as the season opens. With the schedule packed so tightly, the expedition will remain away from the workshop until April 6th.

Under normal circumstances we try to carve out a little time in each city to explore its landmarks and stories, but this particular stretch of the trail leaves very little room for sightseeing. Even so, we are incredibly excited to take part in these events and to meet so many of you in person along the way.

If you happen to be attending any of these three conventions, we hope you will stop by the booth, say hello, and see the newest artifacts from the workshop.

None of these journeys would be possible without the continued support of everyone who follows our work. Whether you have collected our pieces for years or are just discovering the expedition for the first time, your encouragement, enthusiasm, and belief in what we create are what allow us to keep pushing forward on this trail. For that, we offer our sincere thanks.

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— Mike & Kara
IONOX Media: M & K Cartography