Makestar Lovelyz Special Photobook Project Review

To my surprise, on March 12th, 2019 Woollim announced via Twitter here that Lovelyz would be participating in a special photobook project via Makestar here. The project began on March 13th and was originally opened until April 30th. Makestar then extended the deadline by a week and added two events for those purchasing within 2 periods from the new timeframe, where 8 winners from each period will receive a Polaroid. There were other events throughout, like sending a supporting comment for a chance to win an autographed Polaroid. What's unique about using Makestar is that production doesn't happen until the goal is reached, and Makestar holds polls for Starmakers to vote for various aspects of the production, like photobook title and cover.

The funding goal was US$30,869.64 and the project would only succeed if the goal was met by the deadline. In the end, we reached 343% of our goal at US$105,838.32 by 1,606 Starmakers! Below are the rewards sets (excluding shipping):

Set 1: $34.40

• Starmaker certificate (Digital)
• Lovelyz Special Photobook
• Starmaker's name is listed in the Photobook Credit

Set 2A: $47.70

• Set 1
• Lovelyz TALK-PIC SET1 (Babysoul, Jiae, Jisoo, Mijoo)

Set 2B: $47.70

• Set 1
• Lovelyz TALK-PIC SET2 (Kei, Jin, Sujeong, Yein)

Set 3: $60.90

• Set 1
• Lovelyz TALK-PIC both sets

Set 4: $176.40 (Limited to 100 sets)

• Set 3
• Lovelyz Limited Photobook Sticker set
• Lovelyz Polaroid Photo Set (8 total)
• Lovelyz Handwritten Postcard (random member)

I was hesitant about this because it made me question Woollim's financial stability, and before I knew it, all 100 sets of Set 4 were sold out, and I felt that it wasn't worth it if I couldn't have the complete set. But after the additional event was announced, I decided to participate and purchase a Set 3. Shipping options to the US were DHL for $27.80 or EMS for $47.70.

There are also stretch goals, where if the goal is exceeded by a certain percent, Makestar will add additional goods. Below are the list of special events and stretch goals we reached:

• First 300 Starmakers: Special Folding Poster
• 100%: Lovelyz Photobook Production and Special Signing Event (100 Starmakers)
• 200%: Special Folding Poster (different from early bird event poster) and Limited Edition Photo Card set
• 250%: Postcard set and Bookmark set
• 300%: Lovelyz Photobook Mini Poster

On August 6th, Makestar announced on the project's page that production has been completed and Starmakers have until August 9th to modify their shipping address. On August 12th, Makestar announced that they were preparing the reward delivery, and on August 13th, Makestar announced that shipment has begun. I received a text from DHL on August 13th PDT saying that my package would arrive on August 15th!

My order was packaged really well and I was pleasantly surprised to see Makestar had their own packaging tape for the finishing touch.

And even better, I've never seen such great packaging! The photobook and extra goods were all secured inside a resealable large bublewrap bag for the utmost protection.

Here are all of the contents of Set 3 and stretch goal add-ons.

The bookmark set, photo card set, and postcard set all come in their respective resealable plastic bags. These all have similar designs for the backside.

Here is the bookmark set. It's interesting how the filters are so different for some of the members; Jin and Yein are so bright while Jisoo, Soul, and Sujeong have a much darker feel.

Here is the photo card set.

Here is the postcard set. These photos are so cute, especially Soul and Jiae with their props!

Here is the special folding poster. This is such a cute group photo.

And this must be the photobook mini poster! There is one per member and these are A4 size.

These mini posters came in a resealable plastic bag. The backside has a similar design to the other stretch goal add-ons.

Set 3 comes with the full TALK-PIC set, with maknae line in one set and unnie line in one set.

There is 1 plastic card per member. To use this, download the TALK-PIC app, then scan the card to activate the video message. There is a disclaimer that these videos may only be available for 3 years.

It was a bit difficult for me to activate each card, but once I got it to work, this was such a cool feature! I think these TALK-PICs are my favorite part of this photobook project. Each video is just under 30 seconds long.

Basically once the app identifies the card, it plays the corresponding video on top of where the card is. I tested this out more by rotating my phone, changing the angle, and even putting an object between the phone and the card, to see if the video would still play. You can see the results above.

And now onto the photobook! The photobook came in a plastic shrink wrap and arrived in perfect condition with perfect corners. I can't stress how happy I am with the pristine condition and packaging of Makestar.

I was really surprised that the photobook cover has no Makestar branding; the front cover and spine only say the photobook title.

The photobook cover is made of canvas. It's a thick hardcover with dimensions 8.875" by 12.125" by 1.0625". There are no page numbers, but for sure this book is quite thick and large, and filled with high quality photos!

There is a group photo from the same shoot as the special folding poster.

The photobook is split into 5 sections. The first section is photos from the recreational photoshoot. The section is broken up by age order pairs (from Soul to Yein).

There are individual photos of each member, as well as photos of each pair.

Jiae's individual photos are so adorable! I think her photos from this shoot are my favorite from the entire photobook^^

These photos are so cute; is Soul completing Jiae's heart...?!

I love just how soft this shoot is. Also I love the formatting of each page; it's usually a large, high quality photo taking up majority of the page, but if it's not, it's still high quality photos with no wasted space, like on the left.

Kei and Jin are just too adorable. This section is my favorite photoshoot; I love seeing the girls' playful side.

The second section has a party theme.

The format is similar to the first section with individual and pair photos in age pairs, but this time in random order.

I really like Jisoo and Mijoo's photos; the composition of their pair photos is pretty, with Mijoo the focus and Jisoo slightly blurred.

Kei always looks so perfect.

I'm always really drawn to Kei and Jin's pair photos!

Another cute and fun 4-cut page!

The third section contains photos in both menswear and glam attire.

Photos from this section are all individual shots, with each mini-section focusing on just one member, but in a random order.

Again, I love the formatting; there may be wasted space, but it frames and separates the 2 photos really well.

This look suits Kei so well!

This page layout is really pretty and fits the photos so well.

This menswear style looks so good on all the members! While Lovelyz tends to have a concept in their albums, I'm really happy to see their various sides from this photobook. I never would have thought menswear would suit everyone so well.

And of course Sujeong is no exception; she rocks this look as well.

Sujeong pulls of the glam look well too!

I am absolutely in love with this look on Jin; her photos from this shoot are my favorite!

The fourth section contains 8 pages of random pair photos from the menswear shoot and glam attire shoot.

Mijoo looks absolutely stunning here!

This section also contains 3 pages of group photos from the menswear shoot.

This section finishes with 2 pages of group photos from the party shoot.

The last section contains the list of Starmakers. I really like how Makestar made this multilingual, thanking all Starmakers in both Korean and English.

There are 8 pages listing all Starmakers.

The last page lists the credits for both the artist and contents production.

Overall, of course I was skeptical on Woollim working with Makestar, but now I'm really happy I participated in this project! The TALK-PIC cards are definitely my favorite, followed by the different concepts the girls portrayed. I can't wait to see what other types of concepts the girls can challenge and conquer.