Update: May 7th
I know you need knitting now more than ever, we’re currently super busy (THANK YOU!) and working our hardest to get your orders out to you as quickly as possible. Here are some quick updates and more details below.
Despatch Times
Due to the circumstances we’re a little slower than usual and there is a delay getting orders out to you. Our current despatch time is approximately 2-5 working days as it depends on so many things (supply chain, stock, how many coffee’s we drink 😉 etc) Any order that take us over 5 working days to get out will get a free pattern (+ an extra pattern per day after that)
Please note that these are our despatch times in the studio and we then rely on Royal Mail to get your orders to you and they are under an enormous amount of pressure. We’re seeing that some orders are arriving within 24 hours whereas others are taking over a week. They are also not updating much tracking information – I imagine to save time – and so currently tracking information only updates when the delivery has been made/attempted so i’m afraid we don’t have any further information on where your parcel might be until it arrives. I know you want it quickly and we’re so pleased you’re excited but please be patient as they’re doing the best they can.
Where's my Order
We totally understand you want your order quickly but please note that we can’t really answer ‘where’s my order’ email with any solid information – Most of the team are working from home so do not have any order info and when one of us is in the studio we are concentrating wholly on getting orders out. In short, I know it’s mean of me to ask but pretty please if you can, avoid emailing and give us some time we’d be very grateful. We are working around the clock to get orders out and I hate making you wait but please know we’re doing absolutely all we can.
Please note and I cannot stress this enough: that this is only in reference to ‘when will it arrive’ ‘where is it’ emails (as nice as some of them are!) If you have a question or want to add something or change your order, if you have a query about a pattern or want to know what colour something is…we are HERE and open for all other emails and enquiries! You’re more than welcome to get in touch we just can’t really do any more than we are on that one topic…I hope you understand!
Knitting Needles
Knitting needles have been our biggest struggle as all the factories have been shut for safety so essentially we only have whatever was already made before lockdown which – thanks to your amazing orders – we are blowing through incredibly quickly. I’m trying to stay on top of if but it’s a constantly evolving situation that is changing daily. For instance one week I was expecting a delivery of 150 x 12mm knitting needles and only 6 pairs arrived! I’m ordering different brands of needles (of the same quality) to build up our stocks. Our main priority is fulfilling existing orders and we will be in touch as early as possible if there’s a problem with your order. Most listings state than needles are out of stock – at this point this is mainly a precaution and we do actually have most in stock. I’m planning on leaving this notice up until I have a steady supply.
A quick search on Ebay or Amazon show up plenty of 12mm long & 10mm circular needles, so it may be that you’d like to order your kit from us without needles so you get it quicker, and order your needles elsewhere.
Yarn Balling
We will also be pausing out Balling option for yarn as it’s too time consuming for us at the moment. I’m sorry for any inconvenience and so grateful for your understanding!
Thank you SO MUCH
Thank you for your understanding!
We’ll continue to go as fast as we can to get you knitting ASAP thank you for bearing with us. Stay safe & stay home friends! x
More details below from my blog post in March…
Hello lovelies
How are you?
I hope you’re well, mentally and physically. It’s very strange out there and I don’t want to focus on it too much because it can easily become overwhelming. I’d like this to be a safe and happy place for you and so ideally I’d like to gently acknowledge it and then move on to positive, cosy feels away from all the bonkers reality. But I thought it would be good to keep you updated with LAD plans during these strange times so I’m going to do a quick update on what you can expect from us at LAD.
Obviously it’s a very fast moving situation and so we’re keeping up to date with news and government advice and will do what’s recommended (I’ll update this post with any new developments so it’s as relevant as possible) but for now here’s our deal….
What's LAD's plan?
I’m extremely aware that lots of you are turning to knitting as a distraction and a tool for mental wellbeing at the moment and so we are determined to act as safely and efficiently as we can to get orders to you quickly so that you can enjoy some calming knitting at home.
Because we can carry out our work from home or solo in the studio (more on that below) unless we’re advised otherwise we will continue to process orders.
Social Distancing
We are now working solo rather than a group of us in the studio out of courtesy to each other. Sally and I are alternating coming into the studio whilst Helen and Chloe are working from home and of course if Sally or I show symptoms we’ll be self isolating at home immediately.
We are taking this very seriously and ensuring that we’re not coming into contact with any other people – including the postal workers.
Parcels & Post
Royal Mail Advice:
With regards to coronavirus and parcels Royal Mail have confirmed the following on their website:
Public Health England (PHE) has advised that people receiving parcels are not at risk of contracting the coronavirus. From experience with other coronaviruses, we know that these types of viruses don’t survive long on objects, such as letters or parcels.
Based on this information we will continue to send orders out whilst Royal Mail are happy to collect them. One thing that has changed is that signatures are no longer required for delivery, this is to prevent customers from touching the handheld devices to protect both us and RM staff.
Our Postage Days:
We’re reducing our postage days to 3 times a week; I’ll try to keep you up to date on postage days if it’s less than every other day.
If Royal Mail change their service and our parcels aren’t collected, I will contact all customers with outstanding orders and make it clear on the website we don’t have a collection.
(On a separate note, we’re currently out of stock of a few colours due to unexpected demand so some orders from the weekend are slightly delayed and will leave as soon as the colours arrive with us – apologies for the delay)
Customer Service
We’re receiving more messages than usual with customers asking to change addresses on their existing orders and new customers who want to take up knitting asking for advice on what to knit first and I just wanted to reassure you that we are here if you have any questions or amendments to orders. Please do feel free to reach out to us if you have any knitting or order queries. While we’re all social distancing it’s lovely to chat and to pull together anyway so it’s a lovely excuse. Team LAD are here and happy to help however we can with knitted related questions. 🙂
Running A Small Business
Clearly these are strange times and I know I’m in an incredibly lucky position in the way I can cope with this. Part of me wants to step back and not bother anyone while we’ve got so much on our minds and at the same time I want to keep our business out of trouble.
I’ve made a decision to continue as normal – as much as possible and of course, within reason! – therefore we will continue to drop into your inbox, I will be on instagram blathering on about knitting (and other rubbish) and I will be seeking as much joy as I possibly can. A lot of this is for my own sanity to keep me going as well as the business. As I mentioned at the beginning, I’d love for this to be a safe and happy space for you. I don’t wish to be insensitive in the slightest so I genuinely hope that makes sense and sits well with you too.
Helping Others
It’s so beautiful to see that we’re all doing everything we can to help others during this time (I’m not including people hoarding loo roll because I trust that those people aren’t here)
One of the ways we’d like to help is by donating to food banks, therefore for every order you place with us from now onwards we will donate an item to the local foodbank. This will continue indefinitely while we’re all dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. I will check the high priority items required by the food bank and include a variety of them in my weekly shop to spread the selection out as much as possible, leaving plenty still on the shelves for others.
**Update 23/3 – our order volumes are really high (THANK YOU!) so instead of purchasing items and putting them in the food bank I’m totting it up and donating the money to different foodbanks instead which seems far more practical than me wondering round Tesco trying to buy 200 items to donate!
Thank You
Finally I want to say Thank You. We all need each other right now and I’ve never been more grateful for my LAD community. Thank you for your orders which are helping us survive – of course they always have but it feels more important than ever right now doesn’t it? – and for your love and kindness.
I feel so incredibly honoured that the products we make are helping you at this time. Whether knitting has always been your solace or it’s a new hobby you’ve decided to take up as a distraction, it’s a privilege to be part of your day, now more than ever.
It goes without saying although it really NEEDS to be said repeatedly – thank you to everyone who is working through this. Everyone with front line jobs and all the key workers. NHS workers, teachers, delivery drivers, supermarket staff and SO MANY MORE – thank you.
That's all for now
I hope that’s helpful my loves, take care and speak soon. Look after yourselves and each other x
