Glitch in the Matrix. Designer, maker, gardener, cyclist, accidental photographer. BFA Textiles/Art History. Adder of alt text (photos I post are my own or credited). Rarely reads the instructions. Kind, unpretentious folks are my jam.
Professionally: marketing & ops consultant for independent business & nonprofits. WordPress website builder.
Avatar: Photo of the seated account owner wearing a white long-sleeved top, looking down and laughing. Her right elbow is on her knee / Overhead view of grasses and cloud reflections in a slow-moving river with a small portion of an iron bridge girder.
Since I'm in procrastination mode, here's a re- #introduction: I work as a fractional nonprofit executive director in the #arts & culture sector, unconventional marketing strategist, and WordPress website builder/renovator. I also have a #jewellery design business, diploma in graphic design, and BFA in #textiles / art history.
Late-discovered #neurodivergent brain (with the above work description I realize that's surprising), with a slightly ironic sense of humour.
You'll often find me outdoors, hiking, #cycling, #gardening and doing in-the-moment #photography, taking snapshots of the things I see.
Longtime DIYer. Once tore the roof off my house.
Big fan of alt text and #cats. Not a fan of "AI." Working every day on decolonizing my world view.
You might be seeing posts from artists and craftspeople about no longer shipping to the US due to the "de mimimus" executive order.
Some posts include the background, but if you haven't seen that, here's a quick summary as I understand it:
De mimimus is an exemption that allows small orders to enter the USA duty-free from other countries. It ends August 29.
So not only do tariffs apply – paid by US customers – but there could be an additional fee applied by the USPS of anywhere from 10% to a flat fee of $80 - $200. Also paid by the customer.
No one knows which fees will be applied, and of course no one knows when or if that will change.
So there aren't a lot of options. Someone suggested orders of less than $100 be shipped as gifts, which is still permitted, and I suspect there will be some businesses willing to roll the dice. (FWIW I'm not one of them.)
The executive order can be found here for anyone interested.
"18 Air support is clear of Bayers Lake and returning to their respective provinces. At this time, the fire is believed to be manageable by Nova Scotian resources — but remains an out-of-control fire.
"Ground crews are now re-entering the woods.
"Due to safety, crews pull out of the woods after dark."
The latest chapter in the car repair story: It popped a spark plug while I was driving.
I know. "Wait, what?"
The mechanic doesn't know either. Spark plug undamaged, replaced, and everything is working fine.
Except I have to get some rocker panel work done so it'll pass safety inspection before the end of the month mutter sigh.
If anyone is curious, a popped spark plug sounds like the most obnoxious after-market muffler, but the sound comes from under the hood. It'll make the Check Engine light flash too, go figure.
Gotta appreciate the professionalism of a car repair shop (full disclosure, it's my local dealership, where the car was purchased back in 2013) that calls you to say your car's arrived and how much the "check engine light" investigation will cost, plus they're verifying a note about how your pretty old car is popping out of first gear – which is something you discussed with the mechanic some time ago.
And that they'll call as soon as they have more information.
I continue to be impressed by the culture created, and more importantly, sustained, by the management here. They take a small extra step to deliver excellent customer service.
That return of investment, aka ROI (I hate jargon, but still) is massive.
Whoever is in charge, five big gold stars. This is why I've not sought out a potentially cheaper option elsewhere. And as a marketing cynic who's worked in the field for years, including teaching marketing workshops... this is how it should always be done.
Still praying the repair won't break me. And I still loathe late-stage capitalism.
Cheers to everyone who's stuck with the story so far. Fingers crossed.
Stacey Cornelius 🇨🇦
