In the early 1990s, as kite festivals throughout the world became increasingly popular, a parallel movement affected the kite world like a tsunami. Kite pins became the rage and were collected voraciously at kite festivals throughout Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States. They were an easily transported, inexpensive token that could be traded, sold, or given as gifts to remember of a person, place, or time, be an artist expression, an homage to a kite, or a keepsake from an event.

In the United States there were a number of avid collectors whose collections reached epic proportions. All employed strategies to keep their collections growing: asking friends to obtain pins, buying or trading with other collectors, and traveling to local, regional, or international events.

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