I’m really sorry to tell you this news…but our time on American soil is up! For those of you who don’t know, we’re a small UK based business who have a manufacturer and fulfilment centre in Phoenix, Arizona.
Before I go on to tell you why we are moving away from US operations, I need to catch you up on how we ended up over there in there first place…
…cast your mind back to 2020 and the global situation at the time. We'd just had our second baby and I was due to start paid employment in mine and my husbands other start-up business, which we’d started the year before. It was a Giant Tipi hire firm essentially hiring out large marquee structures to weddings and events. We spent all of 2019 earning no money while we featured at trade shows to get bookings for the following year.
I assume you know how this ended up…all weddings and events were cancelled and we had zero money coming in. Job opportunities in a pandemic with a 2 year old and a baby were non existent, hence how Moon Phase Studios was born.
I had been a bit of a hobbiest painter selling my large Moon Calendars on Etsy in previous years, selling around 200 or so copies via their platform. With finances looking dire and stuck at home I decided to spend my overdraft on a basic website and on Facebook advertising (having looked on YouTube to find out how to do it).**
I sold 30 Moon Calendars on the first day and the rest is history. That year I bought 2,500 calendars and ordered another print run of 5,000. Selling in the USA seemed logical as I’d only have to send over a digital file of the artwork, get them printed and use a fulfilment centre to send them out. Which is what I did.
**I absolutely, whole heartedly do NOT recommend doing your own Facebook advertising after watching YouTube videos**
The following 2 years were a blur of running the newly resumed and busy summer marquee hire business then painting and selling moon calendars in the winter. After much number crunching and assessing ones life’s goals - we decided that MPS is where our heart really lay and both my husband and I were far more passionate about this business than we were about the events industry.
Fast forward to today….now we have a lovely design studio in Cornwall. My sister in law as our customer service manager. Our amazing designer Anna who made our first Moon Journal a reality. We know we want this little business to grow, but in a way that works for us.
Technically a lot of our business operations in the USA has been a success, we have some incredibly loyal and wonderful customers (thank you!) who we really value and don’t want to lose! But also the logistics of being a UK business trading in the US is difficult and expensive. Theoretically the only way for us to maintain presence in the US is to take on a huge financial risk, set-up in 3 fulfilment centres that service the whole country more cost efficiently. And essentially that will change my job description from artist/designer to operations & logistics manager.
I don’t really want to do that. At least not now anyway! I’m really excited to launch and develop some new products which will be easier to navigate now we have just British suppliers where we can see and feel the products in development.
But I do hear you asking…Where does that leave us? Can we still buy your things or what??
YES. Like I say, some of our American customers have been amongst the most loving, vocal and loyal we’ve ever had - I don’t want to leave you guys!
At the time of us deciding how we could make this business more viable, the unit next door to our lovely little studio became available. (Moon magic manifestation wishes coming true right there).
So we now have the most beautiful, accessible perfect place to expand into and become our own head quarters. We’ll be able to make beautiful parcels with lovely branding and finishing touches which were previously too difficult to organise.
We’ll still be making a PST time zone of next years calendar and journal and plan to send items out to you directly from our little Cornish studio premises. We know there will inevitably be shipping cost implications with this move and we are bracing ourselves for less orders this next year from our USA crew. But we’d be absolutely over the moon if you could support us whilst we try to regain a bit of direction over our business and develop more products to share.
So that's it really. I hope that explains a bit more about how we ended up where we are and why we’re making this decision. We have very little stock left in the USA but what we do have is now up to 50% off and the website will officially close it’s doors in 5 days on the 28th February.
Then we’re moving to a new website and will be sending out all new products direct from our Cornwall H.Q in a few weeks time when we’re all set up. Eeeeep! Exciting times ahead.
I hope you can understand why we're making this decision and thank you so, so much for your understanding.
I’ll next be swinging into your inbox with the Full Moon newsletter (which you’ll be receiving tomorrow.)
But until then my moon lovers,
Love from Hayley and the MPS team x
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