Dear friends,

Today I have to share another difficult update. With every passing year, international shipping becomes more complicated, more expensive, and more burdensome for small independent creators. First came higher postal costs. Then stricter customs requirements. And now another major obstacle has appeared for shipments to the United States. Under the new system, before I can even send your package, I am required to complete U.S. customs procedures online and pay the required U.S. import charges in advance. Only after payment is accepted and a declaration ID is issued is the parcel allowed to be shipped.

Think about that for a moment.

I am not a U.S. resident. I do not operate my business in the United States. Yet I am now expected to pay U.S. import charges before a parcel has even entered the country. This completely changes the way small international businesses are forced to operate. For large corporations with logistics departments and warehouses around the world, this is just another automated process. For independent artists and small family workshops, it is yet another financial and administrative burden. The most frustrating part is that these measures are often presented as a way to stop massive low-cost imports from huge international marketplaces.

But the reality is very different.

Large corporations have the resources to adapt. Small creators do not. Every new regulation pushes another independent maker closer to giving up international sales. Every new barrier makes it harder for collectors to support the artists they love. Because of these mandatory U.S. import charges, shipping to the United States will unfortunately become more expensive. I have absorbed rising costs for as long as I possibly could, but I simply cannot continue paying foreign import charges out of my own pocket. Even more worrying is the new automated customs system itself. If it proves to be unreliable, inconsistent, or unfair, I may have no choice but to temporarily suspend shipments to the United States until a more reasonable solution becomes available.

I sincerely hope it never comes to that.

To everyone who has supported Anna Fortune over the years…

Thank you.

Every order helps a small independent creator continue doing what she loves. I truly hope these new barriers won’t separate handmade art from the wonderful community that has supported it for so many years.

With gratitude,

Anna