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human interest
She invests in bear markets.
A once-successful Wall Street restaurateur whose business is in jeopardy due to the pandemic, he turns to an unlikely second career sewing unique keepsake bears for families across the country. I’m grabbing it.
Jin Kim, 64, spent the first 30 years of his life in New York City serving delicious dishes of raw fish and rice to power brokers at Niconico Sushi Deli.
But after seeing her beloved eatery close twice, first at 80 Wall St. due to Superstorm Sandy and then moving to nearby John Street before closing due to COVID-19 After watching, the mother of two headed to her sewing machine and got back to work.
She now creates about 150 keepsake bears a week through her fast-growing Etsy shop, and creates beautiful bespoke fabrics like bloodstained clothing and baby blankets for mostly grieving customers. I’m turning it into a bear, a quilt, and a pillow.
“The clothes mean a lot to that person, so it means a lot to us that they would send it to someone.” [us]” Kim told the Post from her newly purchased studio in Palisades Park, New Jersey.
“Clothes hold stories and memories, so it makes sense that people send them to us and trust the clothes and the creative process that makes the bear or the quilt. ”
After launching JinsBearsLLC on Etsy, Kim was inundated with orders for her cute creations from customers looking to memorialize loved ones in sentimental style.
The bears are made from materials such as old shirts, T-shirts, uniforms, and favorite sports jerseys of deceased relatives, while some people send in blood-splattered clothing that has been cut by medical workers.
Kim once received a blanket as a gift from a mother who had lost her baby.
“Mom sent it to me. [the blanket] “To create a memorable bear,” Kim said. The heartbroken mother later sent a photo of her dead baby and the bear. “It was so sad and heartbreaking.”
Kim initially started sewing mini bears for sale, but has since expanded to 12-inch and 15-inch pieces.
“People would send T-shirts and say, ‘Hey, this looks like the T-shirt my son always wore.’ Even though he’s no longer here, I wanted to keep him as a keepsake. Kim’s 26-year-old daughter and business partner, Grace Kim, explained.
find success
Jin immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1991 with her husband and two-year-old son, settling in New Jersey. After saving up for her two years working menial jobs, they ventured into the food industry for the first time, opening a deli near Madison Square Garden.
The Kims eventually sold the deli to fund their first restaurant venture, which failed and drained their bank account.
After studying abroad early in his life, Jin, who also speaks Japanese, returned to full-time work at a Japanese food supply company.
Together with a colleague, she launched a sushi deli called Niconico in Secaucus, New Jersey. That huge success inspired them to dream even bigger, and in 2000 they opened another Niko Niko on Wall Street.
For decades, the quiet but courageous entrepreneur woke up at 4:30 a.m. to make the trip from his home in Fort Lee to a Manhattan eatery.
“I was a very hard worker. I have been in the restaurant industry for about 30 years. [they] It was actually very difficult for me,” she said. “It’s been 30 years of really, really hard work.”
Niconico suffered devastating flooding during Superstorm Sandy in 2012, which coincided with the end of its lease. So Jin and her team packed up and moved a few blocks away to 133 John Street until the coronavirus forced the city and her business to shut down completely.
“All the businesses were closed. The buildings were pitch black and there was no light,” Jin recalled. “We don’t have any business. The deli store next door is closed. So we finally decided to close down the business and not do any more business.”
family values
The pandemic has given Jin a temporary respite and a new creative impulse. She sewed her first bear as a surprise Christmas present for her grandson Lucas, who was 3 at the time.
“I don’t want to buy something like a toy, it doesn’t make sense,” Jin said. “So I secretly planned to make something for Lucas.
“My daughter and Lucas’ mother are watching [it] And I say, “Done?!” Did you really make it? ! ‘Yes, I did it,’ Jin said with a smile.
They encouraged her to open an online shop selling Lucas’ handmade memorabilia, but Jin wasn’t convinced until she posted a photo of Lucas’ bear on Instagram. And her first real orders started pouring in.
“My friend [Liz] I actually bought a bear,” Grace said. “She said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s so cute. I’ll give you the money,’ and she said, ‘My boyfriend wants it.’ So now they have matching mini bears. Liz and I urged my mother, “You should sell this, it’s going to be a real hit.”
JinsBearsLLC was launched in 2021 out of Jin’s bedroom, then expanded to the living room and then basement, before she and Grace set up a studio in October. The company also hired four employees to meet demand.
“That used to be my bedroom, the basement, but the bears took over so I moved!” Grace said. “I think that’s when we realized we were trying to get something done. It was paying the bills and paying the employees.”
Jin has made nearly 7,000 sales on Etsy and has over 3,000 5-star reviews. On her page, she features custom pillows made from neckties, a handsome fabric bear wearing a bow tie and vest, and colorful memory heart decorations.
keep the memories alive
One of Jin’s customers, Julia Goodyk, was surprised to find out her daughter had a special bear in honor of her late brother Mark, who died of colon cancer in 2022.
“I was surprised because I knew she had given it to my mom. And little did I know, she got me,” Goodyk told the Post. “It’s funny because I’m wearing a Chicago Bears shirt.”
“When I step down the stairs every day, the first thing I see is… [the bear] and his photo used at his funeral. He was one in a million. ”
The magnitude of these precious memories is not lost on Jin.
“This is from the heart,” she said. “When you touch clothes, you remember the person who died and their life.
“So, that’s [not just about] It’s business, but [it’s] It means a lot to me. It’s fulfilling. ”
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