Let's talk shop.

I recently shipped out the last of one of my favorite pieces. It really got me thinking that as more and more of our catalog items sell down, I think it's time to talk.

If you've been with us this far (if not don't worry -this will be the short version) you know that this journey wasn't born out of some capitalistic need to get rich or even make much money. It has been a slow, rewarding, and healing process. I like to say that it was a little wobbly at first; in year 1 we learned how to walk, year 2 we hit a stride, and in year 3 this little shop learned how to sustain itself in a purely organic way (did you know we never pay for advertising/SEO ranking?). I still catch myself in appreciation of every single story we get to share with a bar of soap going to Ohio, a woven basket to New York, or that little enamel pin that went all the way to England.

I've always run this catalog with a handful of things in mind:

-Am I respecting my community, am I celebrating history + heritage?
-Is this an authentic item? Am I sourcing directly from the brand / craftspeople?
-Is this responsibly made? Is this good for people and our planet?
-Can we deliver good value for this piece?

Here's the thing. These guiding questions were enough of a challenge to navigate on their own in a functioning economy with good trade relations between the US and Latin America. Restocks and seasonal refreshes happened when they made sense, but these days it's getting more difficult to justify bringing certain items or categories back. In some cases it's impossible as some vendors close their doors, raise their prices, or increase their minimum order quantities.

Since it's ideation, this shop has been an extension of my soul, reaching through heritage and history to broaden my understanding and appreciation which allowed me to try and make something out of an idea - and share those stories with you.

While the future is pretty unclear, I am pretty resolved to stick it out and do some creative problem solving to navigate this:

-We are not going away, but will be pausing restocks and refreshes for the time being. Once an item is sold out, it's not likely to come back for the foreseeable future - we respect our artisan partners making decisions to protect their businesses and livelihood.
-We are not raising prices for any items currently in stock. New additions will be priced in line with updated costs. As always this calculation is based on what we know is fair to the vendor, us, and you.
-New items and categories are being explored, but this will take time. We will run into more out of stock items while I work on this process.

I appreciate every single person out there for your support (past, present, & future), and especially appreciate your patience while we navigate this together. Thanks for letting me talk about it out loud. I'm a person who appreciates transparency, and I know many of you do, too. Hopefully this note and the points below answer some questions. Of course you can always ask questions in the comments here, on IG @valley.trading, or send us an email.

Thanks as always,
- Chris
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Q1: "Why don't you source domestically from America?"
It definitely happens sometimes, it's just a very strategic process. As the price of materials, transportation, logistics, MoQ, and every other moving part of this process rises, the final costs do, too.

As much as I'd like to source domestically, many of the items produced here aren't premium quality. Of those that are, those designers craft with the intention of selling direct to the household, not wholesale -- at least not in the smaller quantities I have to order -- we just aren't able to make the the math work out for certain categories. Believe me, I'm tryin'.

Q2: "Have you tried going to maker markets?"
I want to do this more often, but when I do it's not the vibe. Maybe it's just the areas I've checked, but I find it hard to source and sell items IRL outside of retro/vintage pieces. Have you been on etsy lately? I'm not trying to throw shade, but many of the booths are practically an Etsy store, and just don't match what we're going for. The world is a big place, I just need to keep looking.

Q3: "Can you make any of this yourself?"
I wish! I'm honestly just not talented in that way. Also, see Q1.

Q4: "Are there any specific types of items or categories that are becoming particularly difficult to source?"
Most of our catalog comes from Latin America, so there's that. Increased freight overall has contributed to stone and glassware becoming pretty expensive. Out of respect for our mission/values and niche we like to sit in, we've never sourced outside of the US or Latin America, and I don't expect that to change.

Q5: "What kind of new items and categories are you exploring?"
I've spent the better part of the past year or so finding more inspiration through design, architecture, fashion, textiles, and art. I'm looking for ways to incorporate these into what I look for in functional goods. The hard part is finding suppliers that check all of our boxes; we don't want to compromise our values.

Q6: "What does 'creative problem solving' mean?"
Going beyond searching out new vendors and categories. I've always liked the idea of exploring collaborations with other makers or businesses (community) to contribute to making something special, like tapping in with other folks who I know can bring a vision to life. Who knows!