A short shipping update
over 2 years ago – Sat, Dec 25, 2021 at 03:56:02 PM

Hey Everybody,

I just wanted to write a quick update to let everybody know that the yarn has made it to Pittsburgh, but we're still in queue to get things through customs and delivered here locally. I was hoping it would get here today but looks like it will be sometime next week. One way or the other you'll hear from me then, hopefully with pictures of the yarn arriving (and then quickly leaving again)! As always, please holler with any questions, comments, or concerns!

Happy holidays to everybody as well!

-Jon

Website is up for addons and locking addresses for delivery!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Dec 13, 2021 at 03:02:31 AM

Hey Everybody,

Just wanted to bring everybody up to date before things get moving! We're still waiting for the yarn, but the itinerary has it landing in Pittsburgh on the 14th. I'm hoping that customs and local delivery will be mostly smooth, and I will talk with DHL on Monday to arrange things before it lands as much as possible. Realistically, shipping could start as soon as the end of next week, but may be longer depending on when things finally show up. I don't really know exactly what to expect here!

Honey!

VERY happy to announce that our HONEY finally showed up! I was actually starting to get nervous about this as there were some dancing to do with the FDA to have all the right forms and documentation, but IT IS HERE and it showed up in great shape! I only have a couple jars left but what's still available is on the website. 

After seeing my parents reaction to the taste it renewed my confidence once again that there is something  really unique here, so I'm hoping to have more in stock once ocean freight becomes viable again for shipping. As it was for this batch, the pricing wouldn't really be practical if shipping prices don't drop substantially. 

After the issues with the recycled cashmere and natural dyed camel wool, it was a relief for at least one of the new things this year to show up in good shape. This really opens the door for other unique things from Mongolia like gourmet yak cheeses, so thank you to everybody that gave this a shot and kept me motivated to push things through!

Website

The new website is mostly finished! I'm still waiting for the inventory to get here to finish up some product photography for the new apparel items and a light box to redo some shots from our older yarn, but we're definitely good for launch! I haven't gone through for the final edit yet, so please feel free to let me know if you see mistakes or thins that should be swapped around by sending me an email at [email protected].

I have all of the yarn and spinning fiber on sale currently to match the Kickstarter prices (or very close to it) and the sale will end on December 16th, so please get your last round of addons in before then! All purchased items will be added to the final Kickstarter shipments, so please make sure you use the same email or make a note of it when making a payment so I can join the shipments. For free shipping, please use the code 'KICKSHIP' at checkout.

If you have other coupons, please do not use them while this sale is ongoing. Apparel and handspun yarn does not show 'on sale' on the site, but it is still at nearly the same prices as Backerkit.

Locking Addresses

You should get an email shortly after I post this update about addresses locking for shipping. If you'd like to make any changes to your shipping address, please follow the link and do so now. After addresses lock, please email me directly if there are any changes that need to be made.

I THINK that's it! We're getting close! I'll write a quick update whenever the yarn finally gets here and is ready to go out. As always, please holler with any questions, comments, or concerns.

THANK YOU!

-Jon

Yarn has left Mongolia!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Dec 06, 2021 at 07:40:22 PM

Hey Everybody,

Not a very long update to post but just some good news to share. I successfully made it all the way back home, and the yarn has officially left Mongolia. I was a bit nervous everything was going to get locked in Mongolia because of the shenanigans with the new variant, but luckily everything (and I) got out without issue. There's still going to be a bit of a pitstop in Korea (I was told two weeks last I checked) but I don't think we'll run into any serious issues with air routes between Korea and the US since there will still be freight flights, even if more restrictions start coming up for travelers. Mongolia could have been a different story, so I'm happy everything is at least en route. 

Here are some pictures of all the yarn colors:

For those that would still like to add some things on, I'm in the process of updating my website now that I have all of the photos. When that is finished, we'll be able to do one last round of addons (at Kickstarter prices) that will get added in with the final shipments.

November was definitely a long month, but I think we came out alright in the end! Still knocking on wood that everything gets through Korea quickly enough, but it should be alright and it is the quickest way possible regardless. Going the other way around through Turkey would have been slightly cheaper, but wouldn't have been delivered to the states until 2022! International logistics is absurd right now.

I'll keep everybody posted as things start moving from Korea or the middle of the month, whatever happens first.

As always, please holler with any questions, comments, or concerns!

THANK YOU!

-Jon

Final Charge Card Warning and Shipping/Production Update
over 2 years ago – Sun, Nov 21, 2021 at 10:42:14 PM

Hey Everybody,

Just as a final warning, cards will be charged for backerkit addons at 12pm EST on November 20th, so if you get any goofy warnings from your bank, no worries, just me over here clicking buttons! 

Natural Dye Ochre and Natural Dye Red Baby Camel Wool

For those that still have natural dye camel wool (this only includes the natural dye ochre and natural dye red) in your orders, please send me an email at [email protected] if you'd like to swap them out before charges. There are no problems for the natural sandstone and dark harbor blue, so no problems for those that selected these fibers!

For those that are going to wait for resolutions with the natural dye ochre and red, your cards will still be charged and I will send out a separate shipment whenever these are finally in stock. I was a bit more pessimistic about this last week, but we have made some progress recently with rinsing and getting somewhere that will be acceptable to spin. I'm hoping that these will be ready for shipping sometime in early spring assuming our current solutions work out, and shipping is reasonable.

There's also a second issue that we ran into with the natural dyed red, which *should* get worked out.  You can see in the following picture our two colors. The top two colors in each color group are the colors we got in the hand-dyed laboratory setting, pre and post washing. The bottom two colors in each group are the machine bulk dyed colors, pre and post washing. The swatches on the right side are these fibers after being rubbed against cotton fabric (while dry on the left, while wet on the right) to show color fastness.

For the ochre, color fastness is good after washing, so we're in good shape there!

For the red, it turned a more purple color when dyed in bulk compared to the lab results. It's actually a rather pretty color, but the color fastness is not great compared to the red in the lab results, although manageable after washing. We have made some corrections to the process so we can reproduce the laboratory results in bulk, but there is still a chance the the 'red' turns out more of a 'purple'. We also already have 30kg of the purple anyways from the first bulk dye, so there's a chance we might end up with a 3rd naturally dyed purple color anyways! I'm not sure what else to do with it :p

If you can't remember if you ordered natural dyed camel wool and would like to check your order, please follow the link here for instructions in the previous update. If you decide you'd like to change items, please send me an email at [email protected]. Because orders are now locked, you will not be able to change them personally. As these are finally spun, in stock, and ready to ship, I'll post an update for those that are still interested in ordering.

Shipping/Scheduling

A lot to say here so I'm just going to go full honesty and lay everything out, although it's not all bad news! As it looks right now, everything is going to be ready for shipping (leaving Mongolia) next week and the earliest it will realistically make it to Pittsburgh for final distribution will be sometime around mid December if the quotes I've received hold up.

I had to delay my flight until the 30th because 1, I wanted to be here for production to finish up and help manage shipping from Mongolia, and 2, I tested positive for the 'rona earlier this month. I need a negative PCR test to leave Mongolia, and even after recovery (and you aren't contagious) it's still possible to test positive on a PCR test for a few weeks due to RNA shedding. My case was luckily very mild and I recovered quickly, so I'm optimistic the flight on the 30th should be fine. There is a chance my flight will have to be delayed further for the previously stated reason involving testing. It's not possible for me to get on a flight with just my vaccine documentation and proof of recovery (as it is elsewhere), but I should still be OK for this trip.

All of the supply chain issues in America that were previously just in ocean freight have boiled over to air freight. I was warned last week by my rep at DHL here in Mongolia that I should delay the yarn exports because rates have gotten 'crazy high'. After getting a quote, the bill to get stuff just to my home in America (not including import duties and final distribution to backers) is going to be over $20,000, which is more than twice the quote in the summer and 50% more than the quote just last month. This itinerary includes around a 2 week wait time in Korea due to shipping backlogs. I'm currently waiting for a quote that goes through Turkey (which also has a 10 day backlog before going to the states) which will hopefully be slightly more reasonable, but only marginally if it is. Also waiting for a price and time quote that would deliver via ocean freight to the east coast, but it will most likely also still be very expensive and take too long, so I don't see this as a viable option. There's zero chance I'm putting things on a boat to the west coast at this time, as backlogs at all west coast ports are out of control.

Difficult choices, but right now, flying through Korea to Pittsburgh, I would say the earliest things get home and are ready for shipping to customers is going to be mid December. It doesn't make sense to wait because 1 - There have already been delays this year and I obviously want everybody to get their items ASAP and 2 - there's no guarantee when shipping prices will drop. I'm probably going to leave a few boxes of inventory here in Mongolia that aren't needed for Kickstarter fulfillment to keep the weight down as much as possible. In spring when prices are hopefully cheaper after the holidays, I'll send the rest of the inventory and the naturally dyed baby camel wool to the states. I'll also be able to use ocean shipping for those as it won't be as time sensitive.

I thought this year would be easier than last in general, but that has definitely proven to not be the case! The factory has been dealing with constant labor shortages due to covid cases and close contacts needing to isolate. It seems every week there's another few people sitting out. For next year I'm trying to diversify the spinning factories and start my own group to do the skeining so everything isn't so reliant on one establishment. I'm hoping the world looks a lot different 9 months from now, but better to start planning now. For the natural dyed baby camel wool, we may use another factory so we have at least a second tested partner to work with and rely on for a quality product if needed next year.

Further Addons and Changes to Orders

I should have some final pictures to show off by the middle of next week and will refresh my website. At that time, you'll be able to addon at the same prices from Kickstarter and items will be added to your final shipments.

If you need to change or make adjustments to your Kickstarter/Backerkit order, please send me an email at [email protected] and I can change things around! If you want to find your survey, please follow this link.

OK I think that's all! Some good news and some bad news, but I think the water is at least a bit less muddy after a rather stressful couple of weeks. As always, please holler with any questions, comments, or concerns! I'll post an update next week with some final pictures of all the skeins.

THANK YOU!

-Jon

Natural Dyed Camel Wool Update
over 2 years ago – Fri, Nov 12, 2021 at 09:52:18 PM

Hey Everybody,

Unfortunately I don't have any good news to share about the naturally dyed camel wool. It seems like the main issue is that the fiber needs to be rinsed more deeply to fully get the extra dye removed from the wool, and the equipment we have available isn't up to the task with the natural dye for unknown reasons at the moment. There are some possible solutions that we are looking into, such as using smaller batches for rinsing or using a detergent to help the process, but there aren't any guarantees this is going to work. 

The spinning factory is also requesting (and rightly so) that the fiber be tested for fastness before trying to spin again so we don't run into the same issues as before and they don't end up with spinning equipment that is filled with dye, which would contaminate other products.

I personally did some handwashing of some fiber to test the fastness and had good results, although the initial wash did shed quite a bit of dye. I think it's something we'll be able to solve, but I don't have a good timeline for it at this moment.

Here are the real solutions available at the moment:

1) You can switch from the natural dye to another color on your Backerkit survey

2) You can remove the natural dye order from your Backerkit survey if it was an addon and you will not be charged for them

3) If it was a pledge level choice from Kickstarter (i.e. it was part of a camel wool or variety package from the campaign), you can switch your color on the Backerkit survey

4) If it was a pledge level choice from Kickstarter, I can process a refund for the natural dye skeins. Please email me directly at [email protected] for this!

I'm worried this process to swap these out is going to get a bit messy, but I'll try to make it as clear as possible. I understand that Backerkit is a little confusing sometimes, so if these instructions don't make sense but you know that you ordered natural dyed camel wool, please send me an email at [email protected] and let me know which of the above options you'd like for your account. If you want to swap to a different color, please let me know to which yarns, including the weight, fiber, and color.

*INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHECKING/CHANGING YOUR ORDER*

To access your survey, you can follow this link:

https://herders-to-home-2021.backerkit.com/

*TO CHECK YOUR ORDER*

Once in your survey, you can view your pledge items and add-ons by going to the top right corner of the page, clicking the 'go-to-page' drop down menu, and clicking review. Here, you can see your pledge items (ordered on the kickstarter campaign) and any add-ons that were added in Backerkit.

*TO CHANGE ADD-ONS*

Once in your survey, you can change your add-ons by going to the top right corner of the page, clicking the 'go-to-page' drop down menu, and then selecting 'add-on questions'. From there, you should be able to click through all of your skeins and change the colors there.

*TO CHANGE YOUR KICKSTARTER PLEDGE*

Once in your survey, you can change your pledge choice by going to the top right corner of the page, clicking the 'go-to-page' drop down menu, and then selecting 'Pledge Questions'. From there, you should be able to click through all of your skeins and change the colors there.

Please send an email to [email protected] with any questions.

I still have a lot of materials and money invested in this process so it is definitely not over yet! I hope it will ship soon and I will post an update and sell it directly at that time, but at this time I cannot postpone the other shipment from Mongolia and the shipments to everybody until it's finished, nor hold people's money for it in good faith.

The other colors available for the camel wool are the dark harbor blue and the natural sand color. It really is a beautiful fiber this season so I hope you can switch to one of the available colorways so you can still enjoy the fiber. Here's a picture of the dark harbor being spun up!

For another factory picture, here is the charcoal gray turning into hanks.

Sorry for the bad news, but everything else is going mostly smoothly at the factory for now, apart from a somewhat strained workforce due to COVID cases and close-contact protocols. I'm still slated to fly out of Mongolia on the 19th, and hoping things will be wrapped up and ready to ship by then. I will have more definite info around the beginning of next week when things will be ready to make their way to the states.

THANK YOU!

-Jon