Hi all,

Just a quick update - my pin factory has been working hard on getting all the designs done and said they expect to ship the order out this week. It usually takes about a week in transit. Then, I'll be quality checking, putting them on their backing cards and getting stuff in the mail. So we are pretty much on time for early May send out.

Keep in mind that things are currently a bit chaotic with customs due to the trade wars. I hope the pins get through smoothly and that I don't get a massive tariff, but I'll keep you updated as news comes to me. Not gonna lie, it's been a very stressful time for small business owners, especially those of us who have large pin orders in from Pintopia.

Cards were charged last night. I ran into a bit of a technical issue that was on my end - yet another learning curve moment.

Here's a factory pic of the ramyeon. I love how the halftone gives it a retro vibe.

Hi All,

Cause time got away from me, I'm moving the order locking date to this Thursday - 4/10 and the card charge date to Friday, 4/11. This will be the last date move, I swear! Pre-order shop will also close 4/10.

Thank you all for bearing with me. This is my first successful BK project and so there's been a definite learning curve.

Does this mean the pins are behind? Nope! I have a minimum quantity that I have to order from my manufacturer and I knew that I wouldn't max out any of those minimums, so production started when the first wave of funds were deposited to my account. Granted, with all the tariff changes and stuff, there could still be delays with customs based on whatever is going on at the time when the pins arrive, but I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, here's a look at the persimmon tea pin in progress showing the translucent enamel in the tea part.

Speaking of tariffs, unfortunately the situation remains in a steady state of flux. Tariffs are charged at the rate that is in place when the product arrives at US customs. There is no way to predict what they will be at this point due to all the changes. The fact of the matter is, I will most likely have to pay an unplanned tariff rate out of pocket. Tariffs are 100% the responsibility of the customer, NOT the country of origin.

Depending on how bad it is, I may have to increase the retail price of the pins when they go up for general sale. To be fair to everyone who's backed here - the prices you backed at and the listed prices in the add-on shop will NOT increase. So if you have other designs you haven't added on to your pledge, this would be the time to do so before likely price increases when my pins are listed to the general public.

Hi all,

I'll be locking surveys and charging cards in three days, so make sure to get your info in before 4/2!

Here are some more works in progress shots from my manu. These show some of the translucent enamel 'broth' on two of the pins. Screen printing still to be added on some and clean up of enamel on the honey butter chips. They were just verifying that the glitter was correct before doing the finishing.

Hi all,

Just a super quick update here. I got some videos of the enamel being done in the pins from my factory this morning and so I wanted to share. Did you know that sometimes they fill by hand? I found these oddly satisfying to watch.

Check it out on Instagram or Tiktok. (I also post on Insta the most so give a follow if you want to see what else is coming from Kimchi!)

Hi all,

I just got a first look at the first pin. My manu likes to send me pics at times to verify that stuff is in the right place. This morning, I got to see the initial stages of the hotteok as they wanted to make sure the glitter placement was right. I love it! It's perfect to represent the brown sugar filling in traditional hotteok. This is just the first round. They will then clean up the enamel fill, add the screen printing and the gold tone to the metal.

Glitter is kind of hard to convey in the mockups used to run the campaign, so if you're now really liking this one or future ones that include glitter, you can add on to your pledge using the pre-order shop (or jump on to the Seoul Food train here if you missed the live campaign).

Surveys are about 80% done, thank you to all who've filled them out! If you haven't, don't forget. This is the only way I can get your rewards to you and I don't want people to miss out.