Let's get the gloomy news out of the way first. Lots of folks have been asking me if the tariffs have been effecting my business and/or if I am worried about the tariffs. Short answer: yes I am worried but I am cautiously optimistic. The reality is that the tariffs definitely threaten my profit margins and my ability to keep goods available at an affordable price. But as a general rule I (at least attempt) to not allow things that I have no control over to disrupt my peace and so far I have been able to strategically avoid having to pay exorbitant tariffs if any at all. Today I thought I would share how I am navigating this tricky time for my little shop.
One thing has become clear to me in the last few months: I have some really amazing vendors in my list of collaborators and that has helped me to navigate this chaos. Redecker, based in Germany, has been very proactive at helping me avoid tariffs by working with me to keep orders below the "de minimis" (yes, this is still in effect for all countries except China) and by keeping any products that are made in China off my orders at this time. I will say this last part was my first tariff disappointment as I just recently started carrying the most amazing whisk I have ever met but at the moment I simply cannot restock it.
Baggu is one of my big brands that makes all of their products in China. They have communicated with all vendors to ensure us that all pre-orders are already in the United States so for the time being all purchases are tariff free. However, if things don't clear up by later in the year I fear they risk having to ship with tariffs which could make their product quite expensive. So let's keep our fingers crossed on that one.
I use a distributor for some of the Japanese goods that I sell, mainly MT Washi Tape and Delfonics/Rollbahn products. This is the first batch of goods that I have had to pay the tariffs. Sweet Bella has been very generous with their approach. For one thing they are being completely transparent by including all tariff charges on the invoices and they give the vendor an opportunity to reject the order if the tariff charge is cost prohibitive. They are also sharing the expense of the tariff by passing only a percentage of the charge to the vendor while lowering their profit margin. I have followed their cue with this as I have only slightly raised the price of this little bag (my first real tariff victim) while accepting a lower profit margin. In the small business world we all work together to find solutions that have the least amount of negative effect for the consumer.
Many of you know that I do carry a lot of products from Japan. I have been working hard to keep my restock order amounts low which so far seems to be working in my favor but this is truly the area of most concern for me. We all love the imabari towels and I try so hard to keep them as affordable as possible but in all honesty, they truly are a luxury item. I have purposely kept them as low as I can with a small profit margin but it is very clear to me that if I did have to raise the price they would just be too expensive.
By the way: here is the newest design of Imabari towels I have added to the shop!
Now: The Rainbow News, for a little good old fashion cheering up! A few Saturdays ago 9 year old Cora came into my shop and asked me if I wanted her to write a story about my shop for her newspaper, The Rainbow News. Obviously, the answer was yes. So a few days later, Cora and I sat in my shop, her with her questions and a juice box in hand, and we talked about my shop. At the end of the interview Cora informed me that it was her first ever interview and when I asked her if she was nervous she replied, " I have been biting my fingernails all day." Sunday came and sure enough Cora arrived at the shop with her first edition of The Rainbow News in tow. You could see the pure sense of satisfaction all over her face.
Here is the feature article introducing Pink Moon Goods!
I just wanted to let you know that though I live close,
I hadn't heard of your business until I read your interview
in The Rainbow News (a very small newspaper by Cora).
And now I'm happily browsing your website because anyone
who takes the time to encourage childhood creativity deserves
my dollars. Stay well!
I am sure you can imagine how surprised I was to get this email. It took a very ambitious little girl to write a newspaper to get at least one person in my small neighborhood to find out about my shop! But more than that it gave me a chance to reflect on why my shop strikes a chord with folks. When I was struggling to justify opening a retail shop I could have never imagined how truly unique this shop would be in its manifestation. Of course, I hoped it would be. I have purposely done many things to ensure it. But some things you can't plan for and this little but mighty newspaper is proof.
I mentioned at the beginning of this blog that I attempt each day to not allow the yucky things out of my control get me down. Some days that is harder than others. But here is the thing: no matter what political strife there is in the world, no matter what suffering there is, no matter how powerless we feel at times...there is magic in the world and it is just waiting for us to acknowledge its presence and to embrace it and spread it willingly. No amount of challenges, tariffs, or any other absurdity can take that away from us unless we allow it. Sometimes the magic in the shop shows up by giving away the old window display pieces to a completely in awe person and other times it looks like me walking around with a 2 year old to "water" all of the plants while mom shops and other times it is the look on someones face when they find something super cool in the Free Box and turn to me to ask "is this really free".
So when people ask me about the tariffs I just shrug and think to myself, we will get through because that is what we do. When you see magic in the world it gets easier to understand that we can weather any storm. We truly can.
Here is to magic and The Rainbow News! Thanks for being here.