Building Kahli | July 2026 Recap: The Foundation Is Coming Together

Building kahli | July 2026 Recap: The Foundation Comes Together

July felt different.

For the past few months, so much of kahli has existed in spreadsheets, supplier orders, unfinished product pages, plans, and an unreasonable number of browser tabs.

This month, some of those pieces finally started becoming real.

The website is live. We've added more than 200 products. The systems behind the shop are starting to work. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I've also been learning how to make candles.

There still wasn't one giant launch moment where everything suddenly felt finished.

But for the first time, people can actually visit kahli and see what I've been building.

That's a pretty big change.

The Website Is Finally Live

Probably the biggest milestone this month was making the kahli website publicly available.

After spending months adding products, rewriting descriptions, organizing collections, adjusting pricing, figuring out shipping, and constantly changing small things nobody else will probably notice, I finally reached the point where I needed to stop hiding it.

The shop now has more than 200 products listed across stationery, stickers, postcards, gifts, accessories, and other things I've found along the way.

Not everything is perfect.

I still want to add products, improve pages, replace photos, and probably fix things I haven't even noticed are wrong yet.

But the website exists.

People can visit it.

And that's a lot more useful than waiting forever for some imaginary version where everything is completely finished.

Then Came All the Invisible Internet Stuff

Getting the website online apparently doesn't mean you're finished building a website.

It means you unlock another list of things to do.

This month I've been working through Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Merchant Center, shipping settings, customer reviews, search visibility, and all of the other systems sitting quietly behind the storefront.

None of this is particularly exciting.

Nobody is going to visit kahli and say, “Wow, I'm really impressed by the Google Search Console configuration.”

At least I hope not.

But these systems matter.

I'm trying to build the infrastructure properly now so I can understand how people find the shop, what they're interested in, where things aren't working, and what I need to improve as kahli grows.

There has been a lot of trial and error.

Especially error.

But slowly, it's coming together.

More Than 200 Products Later

Seeing more than 200 products on the website is still a little strange.

Not that long ago, I was excited about reaching 67.

Now I'm looking at a catalog that's several times larger and realizing how quickly this project expanded.

The bigger catalog has also made me think more carefully about curation.

I don't want kahli to become a place where I add products endlessly just because I can find them.

The fun part is discovery.

I want someone browsing the shop to find things they haven't seen everywhere else, whether that's a tiny stationery set, an interesting sticker, an unusual gift, or something completely unexpected.

As the catalog grows, I think being selective will matter more, not less.

Somehow, I'm Making Candles Now

One of the biggest unexpected developments has been candles.

What started as another product idea has turned into a much deeper project than I expected.

I've been experimenting with wax, fragrance blends, scent combinations, temperatures, pouring, and all the little variables that apparently exist between “melt wax” and “make a good candle.”

There are a lot of them.

The fragrance side has been especially interesting.

Changing a small amount of one fragrance can completely change the way a blend feels. Something that sounds great on paper doesn't always smell the way you imagined, while another combination can surprise you.

I've been testing, adjusting, smelling, waiting, and then doing it again.

It's slower than I would like.

But I don't want to release a candle just because I successfully managed to put scented wax into a tin.

I want the finished fragrances to feel like they belong at kahli.

So I'm giving myself time to get them right.

The Brand Is Still Changing

One thing that's becoming obvious through these monthly updates is that kahli's vision keeps moving.

A few months ago, I was thinking mostly about original artwork and artist collaborations.

Then I started leaning much more heavily into stationery and curated goods.

Now candles are becoming another part of the picture.

I used to think changing direction meant I hadn't planned enough.

I'm starting to see it differently.

Sometimes you don't know which part of an idea will excite you until you start working on it.

I'm trying to leave enough room for kahli to surprise me.

Still Preparing for the Real World

The online shop is only one part of what I want to build.

I'm still thinking about returning to conventions and eventually bringing kahli into physical spaces where people can actually pick things up, flip through stationery, see the artwork in person, and discover products in a completely different way.

That means booth displays are still on my mind.

So are original character products.

Moriko and Rara are still early, but I want to keep developing them gradually instead of forcing them onto everything immediately.

There's plenty left to build.

The difference is that now there's finally a foundation underneath it.

July Wasn't Loud, but It Mattered

There wasn't a huge launch party.

There wasn't a convention.

There wasn't one dramatic moment where I suddenly felt like kahli had officially arrived.

July was mostly hundreds of smaller things finally connecting.

The website went live.

The catalog passed 200 products.

The systems behind the store started taking shape.

Candle development moved forward.

And the version of kahli that I've been imagining for months finally became something other people could actually visit.

There's still an absurd amount left to do.

But that's becoming less intimidating.

A few months ago, I was building an idea.

Now I'm building an actual shop.

That's enough progress for one month.

Huy Đăng Nguyễn
Founder of kahli