Atlas Insider
Atlas Insider: Global Entry
As you might imagine, MDK HQ is a hotbed of brainstorming. Every five minutes there’s a flurry of Slacks and dings and bleeps that indicate, uh-oh, Kay has had some free time to think about Things and Concepts and New Ideas, all of which she is going to tell us about right now.
It’s very exciting. It’s very exciting. It’s. Very. Exciting.
With all that forward motion happening at any given moment, it’s easy to lose track of the things we go backwards and revisit. The monthly Gems feature you of course know about already, but some of the things we revisit are less glamorous and reveal a more under-the-hood type of progress.
One of those is international shipping. We’ve always shipped to the UK and Canada and—up until the USPS halted some classes of service headed that way due to COVID—Australia.
But it’s always been tough to open up that option to other destinations because look: it is just astonishingly expensive and the one relatively affordable option (First Class International) hasn’t always been 100% reliable.
But! The times, they are a-changing.
We looked at things and scribbled some important figures down and erased and carried the one and re-figured and scratched our heads and then threw caution to the wind and quietly opened up international shipping a couple of weeks ago to most of Europe, a few Asian destinations and…Australia! again (as well as New Zealand). Let’s see how it goes!*
It feels a little bit like the moment when Indiana Jones picks up the thing in the scary place and does the thing and ta-da, success, and then the big rock or ball or whatever (it’s been a while) starts rolling towards him and, you know, the rest of the movie starts.
We’ve sort of picked up the thing and now we’re just waiting for the big ball to come hurtling our way.
It won’t be a perfectly smooth process the first few times, so if you’re jumping up and down in your Estonian seaside cottage—thrilled that you can at last order that Lilly Brush!—but can’t get your order through, give us a shout and we’ll try and problem-solve it for you.
One thing we cannot problem-solve, though: it’s still freakishly expensive to send a ball of yarn around the world. It just is.
The cost is never going to go the other direction, so we just have to get used to it costing what it costs. It’s cheaper than raising a flock of sheep, though (probably)!
Because of the cost, you should definitely brush up on MDK’s international shipping policies. We tried to streamline the info as much as possible, but if you have any questions at all about that—if there’s something we did not answer—please email us first so we can save you any potential headache or unnecessary expense.
So order up, Alice Springs! See you in the order queue, Aix-en-Provence! At your service, Kanagawa!
*If it’s a disaster, forget you read this.
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As an Australian reader, this is good news!
OMG. Having lived abroad for so long, I had abandoned all hope of ordering yarn from y’all. Alas, I may have to continue to wait as I absolutely need a tracked option to ensure I get the package. Not your fault – it’s a quirk of the local post. They almost never deliver nor leave pickup notices, so telepathy is required to know when to go to the post office before the 3 day window shuts and they return to sender. Ask me how I know. Still – I’m thrilled!
Kanagawa??? So glad I still have a brick-and-mortar Atlas. I’m assuming Japan, but you never know since it is not one of those myriad Noro yarn names. DG, I hope you love the geographic aspect of your job. I am thrilled every time I send off an email to some friends in Australia. So glad people all over the world love your Atlas yarn enough to pay extra in order to get their hands on it. My small stash of it might be augmented in order to make the Musselburgh which is burning a desire in me to knit those stripes that Kay weaseled me into wanting by next autumn, which at this point would require another skein or two. Kay, do you have a secret Ph.D in salesmanship? If you can’t get me with a log cabin blanket/cushion/scarf, you have gotten me with a Hat! And that lady in Estonia hopefully might be feeling the same regarding her next pair of mittens.
Kanagawa – yes, that is the one in the title of the famous wave image by Hokusai, which I am sure every reader of MDK newsletter has seen before!
And BTW, I agree – the shipping costs to many places including Canada are sometimes as high as this sweeping wave…
Yes, it’s the prefecture (Japanese equivalent to a state/province) that includes Yokohama, where I used to live. I was in Kanagawa Ward for the first three years, too. I am thrilled to see it name-dropped here! (Is DG a Pacific Overtures fan, perhaps? Welcome to Kanagawa?)
I’m not NOT a Pacific Overtures fan.
Here in Sydney I’ve been waiting forever for this news. FANTASTIC thanks so much
I am a maps lover, so thank you for illustrating your message using this fab photo of an old map of the Easter Med
I looooooove a good map! Finding an illustration for this piece was a joy.
I have knitting and art friends in England, The Netherlands, South Africa, Tokyo, Canada, Thailand, and Australia because of the Internet. To exchange more than text and video calls is such a treat! There is an amazing world beyond our shores, and I wish MDK well in this venture.
Great news! For me, this begs the question of the greater knitting family reaching out to help each other. Many of us travel, and leave extra space in our bags for the exciting yarn or foreign treasures we hope to bring home….. Shouldn’t there, couldn’t there, be a way to fill that space with yarn for a fellow knitter at our destination??? If only we knew who they were and what they dreamed of. For your most difficult destinations, I’ll bet your readers could help you out! At the least, something new to muse about when you can’t sleep!
Okay, so this is good news for some, but I’m in Canada so not such a big new deal for me. But kudos for bringing it back nonetheless. What gets me is DG’s brilliantly hilarious and witty delivery of this news. DG, you are a the best storyteller and I’m so happy you are on the MDK team.
DG, you’re the best! Glad I live in the US (for now) but love reading your posts, they always make me smile.
You have a very lovely way of providing information. Even if the news is not always the best. Luckily I’m only in California, so I have easy access to all of your lovely things. I always enjoy reading your posts even when it’s something as administratively required, but not necessarily exciting, as shipping information.
Thanks very much for this change to introduce international shipping, especially with your new partnership with Knit Superstars.
Are there any alternatives to mailing? My daughter lives in the UK. Years ago I started sending family presents by ordering through Amazon in the UK so presents were delivered directly from the UK in the UK. Also wondering whether shops in Europe, Australia, etc etc stock your yarns and customers could buy directly from your stockers. I bet you have thought of all of this and have come up with the best solution, at least for now anyway.