Things are quite difficult here at ECY Shedquarters at the moment. Lots of UK yarnies are struggling with the drop in sales at the moment (I tweeted about it recently and got a lot of sad DMs from various folks). This isn’t a cry for pity or help by the way (I’m pragmatic about it!) – just an explanation of where we’re at; and if you see people trying harder than ever on social media or reducing general stock levels this is probably why. If you are one of our EU or U.S. customers (the U.S. shipping charges tripled last year) and are still buying yarn from the UK then I really have to thank you profusely because I am acutely aware that the fees and stuff are not in your favour!
Brexit is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s basically a case of fighting something that’s actively trying to destroy my business and livelihood (and many others). We keep on dealing with things that it throws at us, and hopefully we will continue to do so, but it’s just constant and it feels so unnecessary. Plus it’s costing money which I don’t have. If you’ve ever wondered why on earth I’ve developed a love of running, this might help to explain why I do at the moment, as it’s the one thing that absolutely forces my brain to switch off (or should I say, into ‘trying to breathe’ mode ????????). Apologies for being ranty, but I do feel like I need to communicate sometimes about what is happening behind the scenes here.
Anyway… on with the yarn as that is what you are here for! I have added lots of new yarn to the website. Most recently was a few dyelots each of Pendle Chunky and Titus Fingering. We haven’t been able to get hold of Pendle Chunky for ages and so even though it is now summer in the UK (just about, haha) we had to have a little bit of a restock.. plus it is winter elsewhere in the world! (Pendle Chunky in Viola is shown in the images) Titus Fingering was really popular when we introduced it and we couldn’t resist restocking Sea Spray which sold out really fast, and adding a few other colours. Plus Falling Leaves (soft gold) is featured in The Knitter magazine which is out now. (Titus Fingering in Peony is shown in the images)
Before that we had updates of Brimham 4ply and Brimham DK. Brimham 4ply is our extrafine Merino/nylon sock yarn. Although we class this as a sock yarn it is a great all-rounder. It is soft enough for garments while being hard-wearing enough for items that get heavy usage. It’s soooo soft. If you would like some inspiration of how to use Brimham 4ply check out our Projects and Patterns blog post which can be found in the Yarn Specific Blog Posts section of the blog. (Brimham 4ply in Delphinium is shown in the images)
Brimham DK is the same Superwash Merino/nylon blend that you will find in Brimham 4ply but in DK weight. It is SO squishy and lovely. We debuted Brimham DK last year (in amongst the beginnings of the pandemic chaos!) but think it has been underrated so it is back this year with some different colourways. If you have a project you have made using Brimham DK that you would be happy for us to share in a blog post please drop us an email with the details and a high res image. Laura and I will also be starting projects using it very soon – we didn’t realise that we haven’t done yet! (Brimham DK in Pollen is shown in the images)
We have loads more yarn in progress and that includes Titus 4ply which should be going live on 7th July, a big Hayton 4ply update (finally – hooray!!!), Pendle DK which is even softer and more lush than it used to be, and the return of Brimham High Twist!
Don’t forget you can get a 10% discount on orders with a pre-tax value of over £100, excluding shipping costs which are calculated separately. Enter code 100THANKS in the discount codes box during checkout, to redeem it. Multiple codes cannot be used.
Would you like to see Eden Cottage Yarns in your LYS?
Well so would we! In 2014 I made the difficult decision to stop offering hand-dyed yarns to wholesale customers in all but a few cases, because I just didn’t have the infrastructure to be able to do it. However, 2021 finds ECY in different premises and with a whole team at my disposal, and I now think we are in a good position to start doing wholesale hand dyed yarn again. People already on our Wholesale Newsletter (I’m not sure if any of you are here) already know this but I thought it would be good to let you all know too.
So if you have a yarn store or know of one that might be interested they should get in touch by emailing us on info@edencottageyarns.co.uk. This is especially important to us for international stores as we continue to be impacted by the increased strain imposed by Brexit (I’m sure you can see now why I’m constantly ranting about it ????).
This next bit is for EU customers and it is REALLY important that you read this please (U.S. customers can ignore all of this!)
As of 1st July there will be changes to the rules regarding shipping orders to the EU. Orders below €150 (that’s £135 at today’s exchange rate) will incur VAT alongside potentially-higher customs charges upon import and we will not be able to join the IT system which would allow us to pay them until some time after 1st July (we have no idea when, and the only current system available is literally thousands of pounds to use). We have looked into limiting EU orders to those over €150 but this is not really feasible and actually it doesn’t benefit anyone as they’re also still liable for VAT and carriage fees anyway (just maybe less of an impact than on the smaller orders). A number of other sellers have decided to stop sales to the EU completely but we REALLY don’t want to do that.
There are a number of possible solutions in development and as soon as one becomes available to us we will implement it. Until that happens we will continue to ship orders to the EU but they will be classed as Delivered Duty Unpaid. This means there will be additional carriage charges to pay before the parcel will be delivered. Please do be aware that these charges are much higher than just the VAT alone, and if you return the parcel without accepting the fees we will be charged instead which would be really detrimental for us at what is already a very difficult time (it would force us to suspend EU orders altogether), so please, please, PLEASE consider that orders will be subject to additional fees at your end. It is out of our control unfortunately. Orders over €150 remain the same as they have been since January the 1st.
As soon as we are able to sign up for a system to allow us to include the fees upfront we will do so but as with everything else our government is woefully unprepared for these changes making it impossible for anyone else (especially us small businesses) to be prepared either. All of this being said, we are hoping to have a few more wholesale customers in Europe over the next few months which will help for ordering within the EU. I really hope you will stick with us though this difficult period – it’s pretty amazing that we’re still here as it is and I am so grateful to be able to say that.
If you’ve read this far I just wanted to say THANKYOU! We often get such lovely emails and comments, and it really does make our days. I generally try to be cheerful and positive, and that genuinely helps a lot with dealing with stuff, but I do believe in being realistic and communicative too.
Thank you again ❤️
– Victoria xox