Believe it or not it’s exactly 10 years since the first Granite came to life. It was June 2014 and DSA Granite took its first breath into the world. It was a set designed to meet the need of custom keyboard makers because of the flat profile and the gargantuan amount of available kits and options. Something that nowadays we rarely see unfortunately.

It took little more than a year from concept to production but MTNU is finally out! All sets have been shipped to vendors and a few lucky EU customers already got their copy! It’s time to review what we’ve done so far and see what is left to do for the near future.

Unfortunately I still don’t have a full set but I wanted to show you guys live what MTNU is about before the end of the pre-orders. Today June 21 at 17:00/5pm CET I’ll be streaming on YouTube the definite guide to MTNU and answer all your questions.

The stream will then be available for everyone to replay here:

We’ll talk about ergonomics, sound, materials and I’ll show you all the keycaps that have been manufactured so far.

The preorders end in just a week so if you haven’t already reserved your copy hurry up! Vendors per region are:

• Asia – iLumKB
• Canada – DeskHero
• China – Matrix Labs
• Europe – Oblotzky industries
• Oceania – DailyClack
• United Kingdom – proto[Typist]
• United States – NovelKeys

SOD is the original typeface designed specifically for MTNU. The idea was to revisit old IBM and RadioShack keyboards font under a modern light. The defining characteristics are an off-center mid line (that you can see on letters like E, F, H) and the use of “retro” numbers.

Ohboy! It has been a long journey… The official announcement of my collaboration with GMK is dated 2022 May 25. Almost precisely one year later MTNU finally goes into pre-order phase, but the work for me (and GMK) is far from over!

An update about the MTNU profile was long overdue. Let me start by stating the obvious: it is taking more than expected… but less than I feared. I have a little experience in manufacturing by now and a couple of weeks late is really nothing. Let’s do a recap.

On Monday February 20 at 18:00CET (12:00EST, 09:00PST) I’m hosting a streaming on YouTube. We’ll talk about MTNU and PBS of course, I’ll show some samples and give you some insight on my two new keycap profiles.

We’ll also talk about PBT colors and color matching, so if you are interested in designing sets for MTNU be sure to tune in!

During the stream I’ll give away a Drop ENTR Elvish Keyboard to one lucky viewer :) Rules to apply will be disclosed during the stream.

The stream address is https://www.youtube.com/live/h5e1oV8Zmpc?feature=share

The video will be later available for anyone to watch.

This is probably one of the most important updates I’m going to do about MTNU (excluding the final release announcement of course). There’s a lot to cover so buckle up and let’s get started!

Last week I’ve finally met with the GMK guys in Germany to review the first injected MTNU prototypes and to decide on the next steps. I was expecting “corporate courtesy” and instead I got sincere kindness and a lot of fun.

Time flies when you are designing keycaps! 3 months have already passed since the announcement of my collaboration with GMK and MTNU has already gone through multiple revisions. I think it’s time for a well due update.

The main shapes and physiology of the profile are defined but small adjustments can still be done. We had a few prototypes 3D printed to check the overall look’n’feel and GMK is working on the tooling as we speak. The first batch of injected proto-keycaps should be manufactured in about a month, that will give us a better sense of what this profile will actually be. I don’t hide that I’m a bit scared but mostly excited :)

By now the news is out but it’s time to make it official.

If you follow my Discord you know that MTNU (pronounced emty-new) is the code name of the new profile I’m working on since a few months. You haven’t heard much about it since the initial announcement because I was busy finding the right manufacturer.

I’m happy to announce that I not only found a manufacturer but also the perfect partner with years of experience in the keycap industry. The moment I reached out GMK they showed great interest in my new profile and I feel incredibly honored that they are willing to take this project under their wing.