It's hard to believe it's been a year since the pandemic completely changed our lives. Last year we had both our highest sales and as a result we are now at our lowest stock levels since we launched in 2013! And like many other parents - we managed all of that with 2 kids at home remote learning! For many people, us included, life is beginning to return to a new normal. But there are many lasting impacts throughout the world that are still affecting the way we do business.
December 2020 - Jofi, our "warehouse" dog in Poland, fast asleep after working so hard to prep those nutcrackers for shipping!
As many people know, all of our products are made by small businesses in Poland. We then gather those products together into one container to self import into the United States. We started working on our latest shipment in December. With the holidays and the continued impact of COVID-19 on small business worldwide, our artisans weren't able to fulfill our orders until late January. We contacted the shipping company to arrange for a container to be delivered to load up all those products, only to discover there was a shortage in Poland and the next container wouldn't be available for a month! Luckily, we didn't have to wait that long and the shipment left our facility in southern Poland on February 4!
February 4, 2021 - All packed up and ready to make the long journey across the ocean!
Typically once a container leaves our warehouse in Poland it takes about 4-6 weeks to get to our facility in the Chicago suburbs. However, once the shipment arrived at the port we learned that ships leaving Poland for the US were all booked for the next 2 weeks! So we waited impatiently for the container to finally make it on the ship on February 19. The ship is currently making it's way across the ocean and hopefully will have smooth sailing!
With all of these delays, it is taking much longer than normal to restock the website. We know it's frustrating for our customers (and us!), since we are at our lowest stock levels with many items sold out. Right now, the shipping company is estimating that the container will arrive at the very end of March. But with all the delays we've seen so far, it could be into the beginning of April before we can restock.
The good news is we ordered double our typical quantities for this shipments in the hope that we can avoid selling out again soon! But as always, we recommend ordering soon after the restock if you have your heart set on a specific item. We will likely have longer order processing times once the items do arrive as we anticipate a high order volume. Of course, you can always email emily@stonecreektrading.com with any questions or special requests and we will see what we can do!
So, if you've been anxiously awaiting this container to finally get here - we are right there with you! And if you want to be the first to know when it arrives, be sure to sign up to be notified when we restock on the individual item's product page.
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