The reason I haven't manufactured or sold any formicaries in the past year is that there are so many great vendors out there, and I haven't really seen a need for it, especially when manufacturing thousands of liquid feeders, bottles of Sunburst, and Fluon is taking up so much of my time.
That said, I completely understand that a lot of you want something a bit different than what currently exists in the marketplace; but please, let's lower expectations a bit. This product is not intended to be "the" byFormica formicarium. It's simply "a" byFormica formicarium. For the price I'm targeting, one can expect best-in-class design that is the most advanced, yet still acceptable and familiar.
I've never been too concerned with size. Most vendors offer larger sized formicaries, and I'd speculate the vast majority of customers who purchase them never obtain a colony of sufficient size for the habitat, making them into little more than expensive paperweights. I'd rather offer a quality product that does what is advertised and offers keepers of small- and medium-sized colonies the opportunity to observe their ants without worrying too much about the tools or formicarium.
Nor has it been my intention to compete with any vendor on price—especially the Chinese, which have a far lower cost of living, labor, and manufacturing. Few here in this forum, or in European forums, can get in touch directly with a Chinese product creator and have a discussion like they can with me on this forum. That is just one great benefit of buying from a small vendors like myself.
Finally, no additional information will be released until the product is finalized and ready for manufacturing. While I greatly appreciate all the feedback I've received over the years, you guys are relying on me to use my vast knowledge and experience to design a great formicarium for you to enjoy, and that is exactly what I intend to do.