Manufacturing Update #10
over 3 years ago
– Tue, Dec 01, 2020 at 02:51:20 PM
Dear lovely backers,
Yes, we're alive!!
We're currently re-negotiating mass production & logistics contracts, and with borders still closed we've had to alter many of our original plans. Once again we thank you for your patience over the ups and downs of our manufacturing adventure.
We are not, and will not give up until you all have your KLIKs in hand!
With love,
Yuki, Creator & Founder of KLIK
Manufacturing Update #9
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Aug 05, 2020 at 12:45:55 AM
Dear lovely backers,
Here's a long awaited update to the project!
Lots of trials and tribulations have come about over the past few months, and we've been ironing them out one by one. Every time we think we're ready, a new issue comes up which requires a new set of samples to be built, continuously pushing the finish line further out - but we are are not giving up!
Some things that have kept us busy:
- While testing our production samples, we've found that with continued use, the metal handles would scratch off the brush heads' finishing due to metal on metal. Our solution, among other considerations, was for the handles to be in plastic instead. On top of solving the scratching problem, doing so would also make the counterweight effect more pronounced and the entire kit considerably lighter for travel use. One minus point in terms of premium materials, but many plus points for functionality.
- The small brushes originally had metal caps for a more premium feel. But when we ran tests with our production samples, we found that strangely our brushes lost the twisting magnetic action due to the interference of the metal! We're now swapping them with plastic caps, which means another mold to wait for and another set of brush samples to make.
- Due to differences in manufacturing techniques for metal vs plastic, some design changes had to be made to the inside of the handle. And once again, the big brush heads stopped sticking! The metal plate and the twisting magnet inside the big handle re-directed the magnetic field in a way that cancelled out the magnetic force inside the big brush head. Luckily this was an issue that we ran into in our original samples before our campaign, so we were able to teach our manufacturer how to fix this issue fairly quickly - but this meant another set of samples wasted.
Who would've thought such little details would make such a big difference?
Some of you are frustrated with the delays, and understandably so. Some, on the other hand, have reached out with incredibly heart-warming messages, which we appreciate from the bottom of our hearts. Regardless, all of you are our precious backers who are making our dream possible. And no matter how hard our road is, we will continue to persevere until all our backers receive their KLIKs!
Cheers,
Yuki, Creator and Founder of KLIK
Manufacturing Update #8
almost 4 years ago
– Mon, Apr 27, 2020 at 05:26:16 PM
Hi lovely backers,
WE'RE SO EXCITED - the case samples are here!!
Hot off the press, directly from the manufacturer:
There are, of course, still things to tweak (that brush ferrule color... almost there!), but I'll leave the perfectionist gloom for a next update. For now, let us rejoice on being one step closer to completion!
We've also just received our shipment of magnets, so next up will be our finished handles and brush heads. Stay tuned.
Cheers,
Yuki, Creator & Founder of KLIK
Manufacturing Update #7
about 4 years ago
– Wed, Mar 18, 2020 at 11:52:14 PM
Hi lovely backers,
Good news! Our manufacturer has officially reopened last week, and so did their factories. We don't have further updates than this as they are still working on ramping up their operations and reshuffling their backlog of orders. The only thing we can do at this point is to heckle them for updates every day - and you bet we are, every single day (and night)!
We are so, so close - and we will keep pushing until we get your KLIKs into your hands!
Wishing you and your loved ones the best of health in these tumultuous times. We will get through this!
Cheers,
Yuki, Creator & Founder of KLIK
Manufacturing Update #6
about 4 years ago
– Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 02:06:21 AM
Hello lovely backers!
We hope everyone's keeping warm and healthy during this time of the year, especially those of us on the North side of the planet! There's definitely been heightened awareness to our health this year, and so we send our best wishes to all of you.
We don't have any particularly exciting news to share, but we felt we should provide an update anyway as many of you have been waiting for a while (we understand, we really do!). In our last update, we shared our travels to China to meet our KLIK manufacturing partners. We ironed out the mold and production concerns, got the thumbs up to start work, sent it to the factory and right before the Chinese New Year hit, sent through answers to some of their questions. We were ready to receive a production date that we can share with our backers as soon as the factory staff came back from the holidays... but here we are.
For those who aren't familiar with the situation in China right now, the Chinese New Year holiday had been extended until February 10 by the government to ensure everyone's safety. We were crossing our fingers, hoping to have happy news to share as soon as the virus passes... except it still hasn't.
While our manufacturers' office workers are online from home, all factories are still currently closed. We are in daily contact with our agents and are following the situation closely, however even they cannot ascertain when the factories will reopen as they will need governmental approval before being allowed to operate.
Several of you have requested for refunds due to the delays. We have honored a number of them in the early stages as this is the fair thing to do, but we have since stopped issuing them. We are truly terribly sorry for this. But we are working on preventing a situation far worse: that none of the backers end up receiving their KLIKs due to money issues.
Rest assured that aside from paying off our marketing vendors and the initial part of the manufacturing work, the funds are still intact in our account. We have been extremely frugal in our spending, maybe even overly so, which may have been one reason why things moved excruciatingly slowly as our over caution put us at the bottom of our manufacturers' priority list. But better get there slow, than never get there at all, right?
Due to our need for custom parts, our Minimum Order Quantity with our manufacturers are in the thousands of units, and so we need to be extremely careful in our expenditures. In fact, the first batch of KLIKs will mostly be covered by personal funds. This unfortunately is the truth behind any product startup, and why many crowdfunding projects that are not extremely cautious with their costs ultimately fail.
SO. What have we been working on lately?
We've had a lot of interest in our product, and had several e-commerces and retailers reach out to us for reselling opportunities. We are NOT currently pursuing them however, to avoid overpromising or impeding on our manufacturing efforts. Instead, we are focusing on ensuring this first batch of KLIKs 100% happen, as you early supporters are our number one priority.
We've been reaching out to our backup manufacturers to have them on standby, should our current ones run into irremediable issues. We've got the logistics companies (and backups!) lined up, waiting for news. A soon as the Chinese government gives our manufacturers thumbs up, we will be in full gear again rolling towards production!
Rather than running like the hare, we instead have opted to move like the tortoise, safely, step by step. There have been lots of grief and frustrations along the way, but once we get there it will be worth it, and it will be because we have been blessed with all of your support on this journey.
Thank you all for your time.
Cheers,
Yuki, Creator & Founder of KLIK
