This has been a tough week.
I had to send apology emails to everyone who placed a pre-order, letting them know their orders were running late. That’s never easy, especially when you are trying to build a brand rooted in trust.
I want you to trust that the product you receive is of the highest quality. I also want you to trust that when I say I’ll ship by a certain timeline, that is what I will do. But this time, I wasn't able to keep my promise.
Looking back, there were so many small factors that compounded and ultimately delayed this production. But the biggest and most unexpected factor was tariffs. I knew I'd be impacted by tariffs, but not in this way...
In the past, I shipped my goods by air, which meant short and reliable transit times. As tariffs came into play, I had to make some difficult decisions. To offset rising costs, I increased production quantities in order to have fewer shipments. But that in turn made shipping by air no longer an option as it would be too costly.
So I decided to ship via ocean freight, something I’ve done a few times in the past. What I didn’t anticipate this time was how significantly India would be impacted by tariffs. With fewer goods leaving the country, ships weren’t sailing as frequently, as it wasn't economical for them to depart half empty. So even though production was finished, our shipment sat at the port, waiting for a vessel to sail.
It was incredibly frustrating. And it meant I could no longer meet the original pre-order ship dates.
I emailed customers to explain the situation. For the most urgent orders, some pre-orders dating back to September, I worked closely with my manufacturer to rush-produce and air a tiny batch. Even if it was produced at a loss, I felt it was more important to get these orders out.
I’ve never been in such a tight position before. For months I have been feeling my stomach churn as new variables surfaced day after day.
This morning, I sent the last of the apology emails. All I can do now is hope that people understand and choose not to cancel. At a dinner party recently, a friend gave me this advice: All you can do is be transparent and hope they understand. That’s it. That is the best you can do.
Still, there’s a voice inside my head that questions this.
Have I done my best?
Could I have pushed my manufacturer harder?
Made one more phone call?
Smoothed out one more issue?
Yes, probably. Hindsight is always 20/20. But that’s the past. What I can do is learn from this experience and carry those lessons forward.
To everyone still waiting on their orders: truly, thank you. Thank you for your patience, your trust, and your grace. I am doing absolutely everything I can to get these to you as soon as possible and I don’t take that trust lightly.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
With love,
Maria