Ever decreasing bead market

Alright?

Bead-wise, I've been quiet. We had Covid a couple of weeks back and then more heatwave happened which made the shed far too warm for work but I was back in there this week and I got a few beads made. I think the summer is slowly fading now, much like my pot marigolds, so give it a couple of months and I'll be wanging on about how cold my shed is instead.

The beads I made were these black and white 'Dapple' ones:

These are Effetre white 204, black 064 and light red 428. Encasing is Effetre super clear 006, as always.

The customer who purchased them asked me to turn them into a bracelet and earrings for her.

I also got my Whirly-Go-Round on and made these teal and blue ones: 

They're Effetre white 204, light teal 026, dark periwinkle 222 and super clear 006.

At the time of blogging, the Whirly-Go-Rounds are in my shop and a bracelet upgrade is available.

A note to my American customers:

I'm sure you're probably aware by now that the de minimis exemption will be no more as of the end of this month. This rule allowed you to receive parcels under the value of $800.00 without having to pay any tariffs or suchlike. 

Because of this, and because it's happened much sooner than people were expecting, I am unable to post beads to you for the foreseeable future. This is because there will be inevitable customs delays and potentially very high import charges that the buyer is responsible for. It seems nobody quite knows or understands exactly what the outcome will be but apparently things will be uncertain for the next few months, and platforms like Etsy are advising people not to send orders via Royal Mail. To say this is a bit of a bummer is an understatement. You Americans make up about 70% of my customer base. At the start of the year I lost all my EU customers due to their new postage and import rules, and now I've lost you too. A few years ago I could post packages to pretty much anywhere in the world and now I'm down to England, Scotland, Wales and Canada.

I've seen so much talk of Etsy shops shutting and people giving up their little craft businesses because of this and I totally understand why. I've not yet ruled out doing so myself but I'm going to hang on until I find out if this de minimis thing can be fixed in a way that works for me and my customers.

I think I just wanted to say "thank you" to my American customers for all your past orders and support and also that I'm sorry I can't send my makings to you right now. And I'm sorry too for anyone who is going to have to give up their businesses because of all this.

Who knows what my bead future will bring? Maybe I'll end up with so much bead stock I'll do an actual craft fair (URGH! and ARGH!) or something? Perhaps the US will sort its mind out with regards to import duties and tariffs? Or could it be that my time as a beadmaker is coming to an end? Who can say? What will be will be. In the meantime I shall just plod on.

Enjoy your day and if you're Bank Holiday Mondaying, I hope you have a nice one. Personally, I'm heading shedwards.

See you soon!

A post about post

This past year or so I've had more "my beads haven't arrived" emails than ever before. Most of the things I make are one-offs that I either can't or simply don't want to make again so a missing bead package always gives me the jitters.

Because of this I've made some postage and delivery changes in my webshop. These changes mean that my postage prices have gone up but everything I send out will now be insured and/or trackable.

UK Customers

Postage is calculated by the value of your order.

Orders worth up to £20.00 are sent Royal Mail 2nd Class to UK addresses. This is £1.50 per order and usually takes two to three working days. In the event of your parcel going astray we can claim the value of the beads inside it.

Orders worth over £20.00 and up to £150.00 are sent Royal Mail Tracked 48. This is £3.50 per order, insured, trackable online and usually takes two working days.

Orders worth over £150.00 are sent Royal Mail Special Delivery. This is £7.50 per order and is insured and trackable online. A signature is required upon delivery. This is a next day service.

Overseas Customers

If you are outside the UK - including all EU countries - you may have to pay import duties, VAT, other tax, postal service handling fees, or other fees, at your end. Normally your country's postal service will contact you to arrange payment of these fees before they will deliver your package to you. I am not responsible or liable for these taxes or fees - you are. Please check with your local postal service or relevant body to see what the current import value thresholds are where you live, and what taxes and/or fees you may be liable for.

Postage to Europe, America, Canada and the rest of the world is Royal Mail International Tracked and postage is calculated by the value of your order.

Postage for orders worth up to £50.00 costs £10.50. This is insured and trackable online.

Postage for orders worth over £50.00 costs £13.00. This is insured and trackable online.

In the rare event of your parcel not arriving, please contact me and we will work together to resolve the issue.

A few changes

Hello, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year etc!

I'm just doing a quick post to let you know about a couple of bead tweaks I'm making. In February I am starting a full-time distance learning degree in Archaeology with the University of Leicester. This means I will have to make a couple of Beads By Laura changes. (I will explain this archaeology development in a separate blog post.)

Firstly, I am not offering tuition for the foreseeable future. I am teaching at MangoBeads at the end of this month (and there are a couple of places left) but after that, I am taking zero tuition bookings.

Secondly, I am cutting back on the amount of bead 'sets' I make. There will still be sets but I am going to sell some beads as singles. That way I can make a bunch of beads in one design and you can buy one, a pair, or several of them. And if you're thinking "No way am I paying a couple of quid for one bead and then £1.99 postage on top!" then panic not; I am now offering FREE Royal Mail 2nd Class postage to UK addresses.

It's going to take me a while to get into a routine; I have an idea in my head of how studying for a degree alongside running a business might work, but until I actually start doing it, I shan't know for certain. The best way to keep updated with beads is to regularly check this here website, or to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. You can also sign up to my mailing list for sort-of-monthly updates and discount codes.

The photo at the top of this post is of some 'Stormcloud' beads which are currently available as singles. There are a few other beads for sale too. All of them can be found in my shop.

Ladybirds, Toadstools & Postage

Hello to you!

I am SO busy you wouldn't believe it. Does anyone know anywhere that could possibly make a clone of me? If so, can someone sort out about another four Lauras? (Actually, I just stopped and pictured that and no, scratch that plan. Far too scary.)

Right, beads. Ladybirds and Toadstools are now available to order in my shop. Ladybirds are £4.00 each and can also be ordered as charms for an extra £1.50. Toadstools are £4.50 each and there is a pendant and charm option for those too.

Now, postage. For as long as always my bead prices have included postage to UK addresses. I've held off for charging you for postage for as long as I can but I'm afraid the time has come to start adding postage and packing to UK bead orders. I've implemented a flat rate per order and I've kept the charges as low as I can and from now on P&P prices are as follows:

• UK by Royal Mail 1st Class: £1.99 per order
• UK by Royal Mail 1st Class Signed For: £3.49 per order
• Europe, US and everywhere else by Royal Mail Airmail: £3.99 per order

Will you look at that? I managed to write about Royal Mail without getting my knickers in a knot about their crazy, ever-increasing prices! Oh ...

Okerleedokerlee, it is time I went. I have about seventy-five beads to make today. It's going to be a Two Shift Tuesday.

Have a super duper day!

Sneaky Peek

I thought you might like a sneaky look at some of the beads that I'll have for sale later today. Those up there are they. New beads will be for sale at 8:30pm this evening.

Thank you so much to everyone who has completed my bead survey so far. Your responses have been brilliant and I really do appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

I'll be making a few minor changes to my little bead business (hence getting your opinions) and I've already implemented a couple of those.

Firstly, due to what seem to be constantly rising postal rates, I am now charging £3.50 to post beads to Europe, America, Canada and the rest of the world. However, postage to the UK mainland remains free of charge.

Secondly, I have opened a Folksy shop. I did consider Etsy but a few of you expressed a negative opinion about buying beads through Etsy and suggested Folksy instead. So, I listened and have set up shop there. In my Folksy shop you will find any Freshly Baked Beads that don't sell within a week of my listing them on my website. I'll put the odd set of Lonelies and one-offs in there too so do have a look occasionally to see if anything tickles your bead fancy.

Lastly, I am here now giving you prior warning of bead sellery tonight. A few of you have told me that I don't give you enough notice about new beads. It's not always possible for me to give you lots of notice but I promise you I will do my utter best. If you are signed up for email blog notifications and you rely on these for news of new beads then might I suggest that you sign up to my actual mailing list? It's just that the blog emails are sent via a third party service and I never know exactly when they'll be sent (I can only select a three hour window) which means that they might well be out of date when you receive them. Annoying, I know.

Righty-ho, that's enough waffling from me. I'd better go and melt some glass.

Have a fab Tuesday,